An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey uses the standard certification naming the insured, lender, and title insurer if known, plus any additional recipients negotiated with the client. The transaction lead should collect and verify those names before the final drawing is prepared. A generic request to “certify to everyone” is not a workable substitute for a current recipient list.
Get the names from the transaction, not an old template
Ask the title officer or closing lead for the exact legal names of the insured and insurer. Ask the lender for the entity that should appear in the certification and whether a successor or assignee provision is requested. If an additional buyer entity, financing party, or other recipient is proposed, send the request to the surveyor for agreement rather than adding it to a reused certification block.
Section 7 of the 2026 ALTA/NSPS standards prescribes the certification text and provides spaces for the insured, lender, insurer, and others negotiated with the client. It also addresses a lender’s successors and assigns when requested. The surveyor should not be asked to replace the standard certification with a transaction-specific paragraph without reviewing the applicable requirements.
Recheck when the deal structure changes
The named insured or lender can change between ordering and closing. A late entity change may require a revised certification, and another revision may be needed if the underlying property, title evidence, or scope has changed. Send the current request to the surveyor, title officer, and lender together so they can distinguish a name correction from substantive new work.
Record which version of the survey each party is reviewing. Confirm the selected Table A items and title package against that same version; a correct certification name does not cure an outdated exception schedule. Terrane’s ALTA Table A guide explains the separate optional-item decision.
Before final delivery, provide one checked recipient list with legal entity names and a transaction contact who can resolve discrepancies. The commercial ALTA survey page is a starting point for discussing the assignment, while the certification is set for the actual deal.
