ALTA/NSPS Surveys
Built on a forensic boundary — every encroachment named, every line reasoned.
EVERY SURVEY BUILT FOR
LEGAL DEFENSIBILITY
EVIDENCE, LAW & REASONING
FULLY DOCUMENTED
HIGHLAND
LICENSED PLS, PE, UTAH
START WITH
A CONSULTATION
An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is the most rigorous survey in the profession — the instrument commercial transactions rely on when the stakes are highest. It reconciles the title report against the physical reality of the property and documents every discrepancy of legal effect. And because every ALTA is built on a boundary determination, it is only as reliable as the boundary beneath it. The standard that governs it is detailed and specific. A section-by-section overview follows.
Section 1, Purpose
An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is intended to meet the needs of clients, insurers, insureds, and lenders who are entitled to rely on surveyors. The intent of creating standards for an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is to provide transparency in the scope of work among all parties involved.
Section 2, Request for Survey
Your Professional Land Surveyor is required to have a request for an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey along with the desired Table A requirements and/or any details above these standards. Once the client and Surveyor agree on terms, the person responsible for paying for the survey must provide written authorization to proceed.
Section 3, Surveying Standards of Care
Within this section, it is specified that any rules or regulations with respect to local governments or organizations that are more stringent should be applied in the ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey. This section also gives requirements with respect to measurement standards required in the survey. If you were wondering, your Professional Land Surveyor must be within a tolerance of 0.07 feet plus 50 parts per million for each measurement.
Section 4, Records and Research
Provides a standard of the research your Professional Land Surveyor must conduct in addition to the research provided in the title report.
Section 5, Fieldwork
Did you know your surveyor must visit the surveyed property? While there, the surveyor is required to locate the following details:
- Monuments, their type, size, and details regarding any monuments set.
- Ways of assessing access to the property as well as their relationship to any Right-of-way.
- Lines of possession and improvements along the boundaries. These details could be fences, walls, buildings, door stops, flue pipes, and really anything. We are Professional Land Surveyors. We know what to look for.
- All buildings and structures located on the property.
- Any evidence of easements that are recorded or not recorded. This could be above-ground utilities, sidewalks, paths, and ditches.
- Your Professional Land Surveyor must look for evidence that the property has been used as a cemetery.
- Any and all water features, including springs, ponds, and lakes. Data must also be collected concerning the high watermark in cases of boundary significance.
Section 6, Plat or Map
As a result of all of the sections above, your professional land surveyor must present all of the findings on a plat map. Collecting that data is one thing, but depicting all of the data in a way that can be understood is another. Within the plat map, the following details must be shared:
- Facts and notes of features as deemed necessary by the surveyor.
- Boundary information, descriptions and closures.
- Easements, servitudes, Right-of-Ways, access, and applicable documents.
- Presentation must be to scale, with notes regarding details that should be shown, but none of the features were found in the survey. Additionally, all Table A items included with the survey must be documented, with descriptions of Table A item 20 when applicable.
Section 7, Certification
The survey must be certified by a professional land Surveyor of the state where the property was surveyed. When your surveyor certifies the survey, they are certifying to the name of the insured, lender, insurer, and any other entities negotiated that the survey has been completed according to the standards of an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey.
Section 8, Deliverables
Your Professional shall furnish copies of the survey. Hard copies and electronic formats are acceptable depending on the terms of the contract.
Table A, Optional Survey Responsibilities and Specifications:
In addition to all of the standards listed above, an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey commonly includes the following additional standards:
- Monuments were placed at all major corners of the boundary of the surveyed property unless an acceptable monument was found.
- Specifications regarding the address of the surveyed properties.
- Flood Zone classification.
- Gross Land Area of the surveyed property (as well as other areas specified by the client.)
- Vertical relief with specifications regarding contour interval and benchmarks.
- (a) Current zoning facts as set forth in a zoning report as provided by the client. (b) Show the set back lines as specified by the zoning report. It is important to note that your Professional Land Surveyor is not a city or county official. If there is any question about the interpretation of the code, the Surveyor is not obligated to depict the set back lines.
- (a) Exterior dimensions of all buildings at ground level. (b) Square footage of: (1) the exterior footprint of all the buildings. (2) other areas specified by the client. (c) The measured height of all buildings above grade as specified by the client.
- Substantial features when conducting the fieldwork, such as parking lots, billboards, signs, swimming pools, landscaped areas, and any other features that your professional land surveyor may find beneficial to the client.
- Number and type of parking spaces.
- As designated by the client, the relationship and location of certain divisions or party walls with respect to adjoining properties.
- Evidence of underground utilities existing on or serving the surveyed property as determined by: (a) plans and/or reports provided by client. (b) marking coordinated by the surveyor pursuant to private utility locate request.
- As specified by the client, Governmental Agency survey-related requirements (e.g., HUD surveys, surveys for leases on Bureau of Land Management managed lands). The relevant survey requirements are to be provided by the client or client's designated representative.
- Names of adjoining owners according to current tax records. If more than one owner, identify the first owner's name listed in the tax records followed by "et al."
- As specified by the client, distance to the nearest intersecting street.
- The use of photogrammetric mapping or remote sensing, and or laser scanning for mapping features on the surveyed property.
- Evidence of recent earth-moving work, building construction, or building additions observed in the process of conducting the fieldwork.
- Proposed changes in street Right-of-Way lines, if the information is available.
- Plottable offsite easements are to be included in the standards of the survey.
- Specifications to the project's minimum professional liability insurance amount.
- Anything that the client may want on their survey. When using Table A 20, a clear scope of work is required.
Every ALTA Survey Is a Boundary Survey First
The ALTA/NSPS standard is built on a boundary determination. Before an easement is plotted or an encroachment is noted, the boundary itself has to be established — and everything the survey reports depends on getting that line right. Highland treats the boundary inside an ALTA the way it treats a standalone retracement: a forensic investigation of the record and the ground, resolved under boundary law and documented. The reconciliation, the findings, the certification — all of it rests on that foundation.
A Forensic Boundary Is What Lets Highland Name an Encroachment
An encroachment finding is only as strong as the line it is measured from. The first response to any encroachment is the same three words — 'that's my land.' That challenge lands when the boundary was assumed. It has nowhere to go when the line has been forensically retraced and documented under boundary law. Because Highland proves where the line is before it reports what crosses it, Highland can name an encroachment and stand behind it — and the documented line is what makes the finding hold.
The Title Report and the Ground, Reconciled Before Closing
An ALTA survey reconciles two records that rarely agree: the title report and the public record on one side, the physical reality on the ground on the other. Highland weighs them against each other and identifies every discrepancy of legal effect — an unrecorded easement, a break in access, a boundary that does not match its description. Each is far less costly to resolve while the transaction is still open than after it closes, and Highland states them plainly to the parties who rely on the survey.
Certified for the Parties Entitled to Rely on It
When Highland certifies an ALTA/NSPS survey, it certifies to the named insured, lender, insurer, and any other negotiated party that the survey meets the standard in full. That certification is a documented professional opinion those parties are entitled to rely on — not a formality. Highland builds the survey to carry that weight.
The Record Is the Product
Highland delivers the plat and the documented record behind it: the evidence located, the discrepancies found, and the reasoning that supports the survey's conclusions — prepared to be relied on by title companies, lenders, and every party to the transaction. The measurements are where the work begins. The documented record is what the client is actually buying.
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What Property Owners Say About Highland.
Homeowners, developers, and landowners across Utah trust Highland for accurate, defensible surveying.
Tyler knew exactly what I needed to start my process with a city council. He drew up 3 options I could use without getting expensive survey or engineering work done. He nailed it for what I needed and I will 100% use him for everything when the project moves forward.
Larry P.
Tyler completed our survey for a development project in Harrisville and did a fantastic job, exactly what we needed with great detail. The quality of their work was outstanding, and they maintained clear and consistent communication throughout the entire process.
Jim B.
Fees were reasonable and the end result was better than any company I have worked with in the Utah region. They were able to meet all of our specified criteria for airport work — incredibly precise survey was required and completed perfectly.
Connor B.
We are building a shop and needed a survey to present to planning and zoning. Highland sent me a layout map within a very short time. They were understanding of our limited knowledge and very responsive. We would gladly utilize their skills in the future.
Matt W.
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