An ALTA survey costs more than a basic boundary survey because it does more work: it is tied to the title commitment and can add optional items a lender or buyer requests. One consumer cost guide, This Old House, puts ALTA surveys at $2,000 to $3,000 against $400 to $700 for a boundary survey. Those are national figures. Your quote will depend on acreage, terrain, records and which optional items you select.
What an ALTA/NSPS survey is
An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is a survey made to a standard published jointly by the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS). Title insurers and lenders use it to underwrite a purchase. It shows the boundary and, with the title commitment in hand, the easements, encroachments and access that affect the land.
The current standards took effect on February 23, 2026 and replace the 2021 version. Surveys contracted on or after that date follow the 2026 standards. Ask your surveyor to state "2026 ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey" in the proposal.
What the 2026 standards changed
Summaries from law firms and surveyors point to these changes:
- The surveyor now obtains adjoining-property deeds through its own research rather than relying on the title insurer.
- A current title commitment, or equivalent title evidence, is a required input.
- Every easement in the title commitment must be addressed on the survey.
- Differences between record and field conditions must be explained in writing.
- Surveyors can certify to a lender's successors and assigns.
- A new optional Table A item 20 adds an encroachment and access summary table. The write-in item moved to 21.
Cost effect: Taft, a law firm, says developers and lenders may see modest cost and timing impacts if the surveyor must pull adjoining records. A surveyor's own summary says most transactions will not see a meaningful change in scope, cost or timeline, but that changes after fieldwork add time and expense. Confirm the scope in writing before work starts.
Table A: where the price is set
Table A is the list of optional items. The official form says that when any of the first twenty are selected, the wording of the item and the fee may be negotiated between surveyor and client. Items that drive work include:
- Item 1: monuments set at major corners.
- Item 3: flood zone classification from FEMA maps.
- Item 4: gross land area.
- Item 5: vertical relief, with contours and datum.
- Item 6: zoning data and setbacks from a zoning report you supply.
- Item 11: evidence of underground utilities, including private utility locates.
- Item 13: names of adjoining owners from tax records.
- Item 18: plottable offsite easements.
- Item 20: encroachment and access summary table.
The form notes that lacking excavation, the exact location of underground features cannot be accurately and completely depicted. Each item you check adds fieldwork or drafting. Items about buildings, such as 7 and 10, add nothing on bare ground. The lender and title company tell you which ones they require. Ask them before you order.
What you get back
The surveyor's deliverable is a plat or map plus the certification. Under the 2026 standards summarized by a survey firm, the survey must show:
- Written explanations for discrepancies between record and field conditions.
- New legal descriptions where needed.
- Access limits and landowner statements that affect the boundary or title.
- The status of each easement in the title commitment: shown, not locatable, blanket, illegible or not applicable.
- Any negotiated or modified Table A items, with an explanation.
If you select item 20, the survey also carries a table of potential encroachments over boundary lines, into rights-of-way and easements, and into setbacks, along with access between parcels that depends on common ownership. The table records physical conditions. It does not give a legal opinion on ownership. Buyers who read it before closing learn about a fence over the line or an access road with no recorded easement while they still have leverage.
What drives cost
This Old House lists these factors for land surveys in general:
- Property size. Per-acre prices may fall on larger parcels because open ground is faster to cover.
- Survey type. ALTA is among the most expensive types.
- Terrain. The guide adds roughly $100 per 10,000 square feet of uneven or steeply sloped land.
- Availability of records. Existing legal descriptions and maps reduce research time.
- Turnaround, season and travel distance.
- Add-ons such as utility mapping or tree surveys.
We have not found a published Arizona price table for ALTA surveys. Ask each surveyor how distance to the parcel, ground conditions and the number of recorded easements affect the quote.
Published price ranges
Published ranges from This Old House, which draws acreage figures from HomeAdvisor, run:
| Item | Published range |
|---|---|
| Boundary survey | $400 to $700 |
| Land survey, general rate | $50 to $500 per acre |
| 5 acres | $1,500 to $2,000 |
| 10 acres | $2,000 to $2,500 |
| 40 acres | $3,000 to $6,000 |
| ALTA survey | $2,000 to $3,000 |
Those acreage figures are for land surveys generally, not ALTA specifically. A full ALTA with many Table A items on a large parcel can run well above a generic range, so get written quotes that list the same acreage, standard and Table A items. Three quotes on identical scope tell you more than any published table.
When a boundary survey is enough
An ALTA survey is typically required for commercial properties or complex transactions, according to the same guide. If no lender or title insurer asks for one, a boundary survey may be enough to confirm lines and corners on vacant land. Choose ALTA when a lender or title insurer requires it, or when easements and access are in question. The title commitment will show what the insurer expects. Review it before you decide.
Arizona surveyor requirements
Under A.R.S. 32-101, land surveying practice includes measuring land to locate boundary monuments, setting or replacing corner markers and platting land for subdivision. The statute requires registration to practice. Arizona land surveyors are registered by the state's Board of Technical Registration. Hire a registrant, confirm the registration, and confirm that the firm has done ALTA work in your county.
Other Table A items you may see
The official form also lists items for the property address (2), exterior building dimensions and square footage (7), other substantial features observed in the fieldwork (8), parking counts (9), the distance to the nearest intersecting street (14), evidence of recent earth moving or construction (16), proposed right-of-way changes (17), and the surveyor's professional liability coverage (19). Item 15 lets the surveyor show features using imagery, but only if the client agrees in writing and the survey cites the imagery's source and date. On vacant land most of these are small. Ask which ones your lender needs.
How to keep the cost down
- Order the title commitment first and give it to the surveyor.
- Choose only the Table A items your lender or title company requires.
- Share any prior survey, plat and legal description.
- Agree on the standard year and scope in writing.
- Avoid changes after fieldwork starts.
Pair the survey with a title review and an environmental screen. See our raw land due diligence checklist, the guide to a Phase 1 environmental site assessment, and the land development process.
Selling land that needs this work
A current survey makes a sale faster, but many owners do not have one and do not want to pay for it. Red Dirt Property buys land as-is across all 15 Arizona counties, underwrites parcels against its own statewide parcel data, and handles entitlement after closing. There is no agent commission on our purchases. If you own land with no recent survey, send us the parcel.