A single ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey may depict multiple parcels in one transaction, but “one deal” does not by itself define one simple survey scope. The surveyor needs to know which property interests are being surveyed, how their boundaries relate, what title evidence applies, and which parties will rely on the final drawing.
Identify every parcel and property interest
Give the surveyor each parcel’s current record description, parcel identifier, title commitment or acceptable title evidence, and the transaction map. Mark any land that is excluded, acquired separately, leased, or subject to a distinct closing. If the deal includes easements or other non-fee interests, identify those interests and ask how they belong in the scope.
The 2026 ALTA/NSPS standards require the survey to address the relationship between the surveyed property and adjoining properties where the evidence permits. When the surveyed property comprises multiple parcels, the standards call for gaps or overlaps between those parcels to be identified. The surveyor, title team, and counsel should resolve what the drawing can show and what requires a title or legal decision.
Match the records to the drawing
Ask the title officer whether one commitment covers the entire surveyed estate or whether separate commitments and exception documents apply. A utility easement may touch only one parcel; an access right may serve several. The surveyor needs the underlying instruments to decide what can be located and reported, and the title team determines the legal or insurability consequence.
Confirm the required certification recipients, optional Table A items, and deliverable format for the full transaction. Terrane’s Table A guide addresses optional survey responsibilities, which should be selected for the actual project rather than copied from another deal.
Before requesting a date, send a parcel schedule and title-document inventory with one contact authorized to settle scope questions. The ALTA survey service is the relevant Terrane path for a project-specific discussion.
