When do you need an ALTA survey in Utah? Consider an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey when a commercial purchase, refinance, title-insurance decision, or redevelopment plan needs clear information about boundaries, easements, access, and visible site conditions. Discuss the scope at the beginning of due diligence.
Quick answer: An ALTA survey is commonly requested when a lender, title company, buyer, attorney, or purchase agreement requires detailed commercial property information. It is especially useful for sites with existing improvements, multiple parcels, utility corridors, recorded easements, access questions, or planned development.
What Is an ALTA/NSPS Survey?
An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is a detailed boundary survey prepared under national standards from the American Land Title Association and National Society of Professional Surveyors. It helps the client, lender, title insurer, and surveyor evaluate boundaries, easements, encroachments, and access.
The current 2026 ALTA/NSPS Standards took effect on February 23, 2026 and address the request, title evidence, fieldwork, map preparation, certification, and optional Table A items. Scope depends on the property, title documents, deal terms, and intended use.
When Commercial Teams Commonly Need One
During a Commercial Purchase, Sale, or Refinance
An ALTA survey is often part of due diligence for office, retail, industrial, multifamily, warehouse, and vacant development properties. It compares physical conditions with the legal description and title documents.
This can surface conditions for review before closing, such as a driveway, fence, building element, access route, or utility feature near a boundary. It does not replace legal or title advice, but it gives those professionals dependable information.
Lenders and title insurers may also require specific certifications, delivery formats, or Table A items. Coordinate the scope with the buyer, title company, lender, attorney, and surveyor rather than simply requesting “an ALTA.”
Before Redevelopment or Early Site Design
A developer may need an ALTA survey before committing to a Salt Lake City redevelopment site, initiating civil design, or finalizing an acquisition. Boundaries, access, easements, and improvements can affect feasibility.
An ALTA survey may be one element of a broader scope. A civil engineer may need a topographic survey for grading and drainage design, while a contractor may later need construction staking. Cook Surveying’s land-surveying and geomatics services support commercial projects across these phases, from early property evaluation through construction-related work.
When Access, Easements, or Multiple Parcels Are Involved
Commercial sites are rarely simple. A project may contain several parcels, shared access drives, utility corridors, private agreements, or older recorded documents. In established Salt Lake City locations and newer Wasatch Front development areas alike, existing improvements can also be close to property lines.
An ALTA survey provides a common reference point for the owner, developer, lender, title professional, attorney, architect, civil engineer, and contractor. It is especially valuable when building placement, parking, utilities, or right-of-way access affect feasibility.
When an Earlier Survey Needs to Be Reviewed
A previous survey may be useful background but may not satisfy a new transaction. Changed site conditions, a new title commitment, lender certifications, or current standards can require an update or new work.
Why Early Survey Coordination Matters in Utah
Early coordination gives the team time to provide title evidence, select Table A items, arrange access, complete fieldwork, and resolve comments. It can also reveal whether topographic, design, right-of-way, or construction surveying is needed.
Salt Lake City advises project teams to review zoning, overlays, subdivision requirements, general-plan considerations, and site-plan requirements when starting a project. Its Planning Division offers Development Review Team and pre-submittal meetings during the concept stage. An ALTA survey does not replace municipal review, but it helps the team begin with more dependable property information.
| Project milestone | How the survey can help |
| Purchase agreement or letter of intent | Defines due-diligence needs and timing |
| Title review and financing | Supports title-related and lender questions |
| Concept planning | Identifies boundary, access, and easement conditions that may shape options |
| Design kickoff | Helps coordinate ALTA scope with topographic and design-survey needs |
| Closing preparation | Allows time for certifications, comments, and revisions |
What Should You Give the Surveyor?
Provide the current title commitment and referenced documents, legal description, address and parcel information, transaction purpose, certification parties, lender or title-company instructions, Table A items, site contacts, access restrictions, and deadlines.
Before authorizing work, confirm:
•The current title commitment and referenced documents.
•Required certification parties and Table A items.
•The closing deadline, access requirements, and site contacts.
Prior surveys, site plans, civil files, and safety requirements are also useful. For a fixed closing date, request a project-specific schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an ALTA survey required for every commercial property purchase in Utah?
No. The need depends on the purchase agreement, lender, title insurer, property complexity, and transaction parties. Confirm the scope early.
Who usually pays for an ALTA survey?
The buyer often orders the survey, but the responsible party is determined by the contract. Identify the client, payment terms, and certification parties in writing before work begins.
Can an ALTA survey be used for construction?
It can support early planning, but construction frequently requires additional topographic, design, layout, staking, or as-built work. Match the surveying scope to the next project decision.
Plan the Survey Before It Becomes a Deadline
So, when do you need an ALTA survey in Utah? Consider one when a commercial transaction, lender requirement, title-insurance decision, or development plan needs standardized information about the property. Early scope confirmation gives the team more time for clear acquisition, design, and closing decisions.
Cook Surveying & Associates serves commercial clients, developers, contractors, utilities, and public agencies from Salt Lake City. To discuss an ALTA/NSPS survey or broader commercial surveying scope, call (801) 364-4051 or email contact@cook-surveying.com.
References
[1] American Land Title Association — ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey Standards
[2] National Society of Professional Surveyors — 2026 ALTA/NSPS Standards
