If you’re buying commercial property, your lender or title company will almost always ask for an ALTA survey. But not every ALTA survey looks the same. The final drawing depends on which Table A items got checked before the surveyor ever picked up an instrument.
Here’s what actually has to appear on the page, and why those checked boxes change the scope of the job.
The Baseline Requirements Every ALTA Survey Must Meet, Regardless of Table A Selections
Before anyone checks a single box on Table A, the 2021 ALTA/NSPS standard already sets a floor. Every ALTA survey, no matter the property type, has to show:
- The boundary lines of the property, based on the record description and a real field measurement
- Monuments found at corners, and any new monuments the surveyor sets
- Visible signs of use or possession that might not match the paper boundary, like fences, walls, or driveways
- Easements and other rights that show up in the title commitment, plotted on the drawing where possible
- How the property connects to a public street or road
- The total land area of the site
- A surveyor’s certification, signed and sealed, stating the work meets the current standard
These items aren’t optional. A surveyor can’t drop them just because a client didn’t ask for them. This part of an ALTA survey stays the same on a small retail pad or a large multi-building complex.
Table A is different. It’s a list of extra tasks a client can request on top of this baseline. Nothing on Table A is automatic. If a box isn’t checked, that item won’t show up on the final drawing, even if it would have helped.
Table A Items Lenders Ask For Most on Commercial Deals
Not all twenty Table A items get requested equally. On commercial deals across the Salt Lake valley, a few come up again and again.
Zoning classification. Lenders want to know the zoning district the property sits in, along with the setback lines that zoning requires. This usually means the surveyor pulls a zoning letter from the city or county and plots the setbacks on the drawing.
Parking counts. If the deal involves a retail center, office building, or apartment complex, the lender wants the number of striped parking stalls, broken out by type, standard, compact, or accessible.
Building height and square footage. For redevelopment deals, or anywhere the buyer plans to add square footage later, the surveyor measures the existing building footprint and height.
Substantial features. This covers things like retaining walls, loading docks, or fences that sit near a boundary line and could affect how the property gets used.
Each of these gets requested for a reason tied to how the lender or buyer plans to use the property. A single-tenant industrial building might need a very different Table A list than a downtown mixed-use site.
How Table A Selections Change What the Surveyor Does in the Field
Checking a box on Table A isn’t just paperwork on a form. Each item triggers real work.
Ask for zoning classification, and the surveyor now has to request and read a zoning letter, then translate setback distances into lines on the drawing. Ask for parking counts, and someone has to walk the site and count every striped stall by hand. Ask for building measurements, and the crew has to shoot exterior corners of every structure on the property, not just the boundary corners.
This is why survey scope has to get locked in early. A crew expecting a boundary-only job isn’t set up to also measure building heights or count parking stalls. Adding items after the field visit usually means sending the crew back out, which costs time and money.
Who Should Fill Out Table A, and Why Waiting Until Mid-Survey Costs You Time
In most transactions, Table A gets filled out by some combination of the lender’s counsel, the title company, and the buyer’s own team. The lender usually drives this, since the survey protects their collateral.
Problems show up when Table A doesn’t get finalized before the survey starts. A buyer might assume the standard boundary work covers everything the lender needs, only to find out at underwriting that a specific item, like flood zone classification or parking counts, never got requested.
At that point, the surveyor has to go back, sometimes to the field, sometimes just to the office to add research. Either way, that’s a delay nobody planned for. In a deal with a set closing date, that delay lands right on top of the calendar.
The fix is simple. Get the lender’s survey requirements in writing before the surveyor mobilizes. A short call between the buyer, the title company, and the surveyor at the start of the deal saves far more time than it costs.
How a Reviewing Title Company or Attorney Checks a Completed ALTA Survey Against Table A
Once the survey comes back, someone still has to check it. A title examiner or real estate attorney will typically go line by line down the Table A form and compare each checked item against what’s actually shown on the drawing.
Did the client ask for zoning classification? The reviewer looks for the zoning district and setback lines on the plat. Did they ask for parking counts? The reviewer checks that a stall count and breakdown appear somewhere on the drawing or in the surveyor’s notes.
If something checked on Table A is missing from the final survey, that’s a red flag. The title company may hold the survey as incomplete, which can stall the closing until the surveyor issues a corrected version. This step is also where the survey gets checked against Schedule B of the title commitment, to confirm every easement or exception the title company flagged actually shows up on the drawing.
This review isn’t just a formality. It’s the last check before a lender relies on the survey to fund a loan.
FAQ
Does every ALTA survey need to include every Table A item?
No. Table A items are optional add-ons, picked by the client, lender, or title company. Only the baseline Minimum Standard Detail Requirements are required on every ALTA survey.
Can Table A items be added after the survey has already started?
Yes, but it usually means the surveyor has to go back to the field or redo research already finished. That adds cost and time to the project.
Who decides which Table A items apply to a property?
Usually some mix of the lender’s requirements, the title company’s underwriting needs, and the buyer’s own concerns about the specific property.
What happens if a required Table A item is left off the final survey?
The title company may flag the survey as incomplete for closing. That can delay funding until the surveyor issues a revised, corrected version.
Is a Table A item ever required by Utah state law rather than by the lender?
Generally, no. Table A items are contract requests tied to the deal, not state surveying law. Local zoning or utility rules may still apply on their own, separate from what’s checked on Table A.
