How the 2026 ALTA Standards Affect Title Companies and Lenders

The 2026 ALTA standards took effect on February 23, 2026. These updates changed how title companies and lenders handle commercial real estate deals. If a survey was ordered on or after that date, it must follow the new rules. Any survey that still references the 2021 standards should be looked at carefully before you accept it.

This article breaks down the four changes that affect your daily work.

What Changed in the Surveyor’s Certification

Every ALTA survey includes a certification. This is a signed statement from the surveyor about what they found. The 2026 standards changed what that statement can say.

Under the new rules, a surveyor can only certify what they actually saw in the field and what the title commitment documents show. They cannot go beyond that. This is a smaller scope than before.

Why does this matter for title companies? Before you use a survey to remove exceptions from Schedule B-II, check that the certification actually covers what you need. Schedule B-II is the part of the title commitment that lists known problems with the property, such as easements or restrictions.

One more thing to check: the certification must name the same parties listed in the title commitment. If the survey names someone who is not in the commitment, that coverage does not carry over on its own.

The New Encroachment Summary

An encroachment happens when something, like a building or fence, crosses a property line or enters an area it should not. Encroachments can create problems for ownership, financing, and insurance.

The biggest change for title companies in the 2026 standards is the new encroachment summary. If Table A Item 20 is requested, the surveyor must now include a separate table on the front of the survey that lists every encroachment they found. This table must show:

• Structures or improvements that cross the property boundary line
• Improvements that go into recorded easements
• Encroachments into setback areas
• Any use of the property by a third party without a recorded easement

Before 2026, surveyors noted encroachments somewhere inside the survey drawing. They were easy to miss. The new summary puts all of them in one spot, in plain view.

For title officers, every item in that summary needs a decision before the policy goes out. You can insure it with an endorsement, list it as a Schedule B-II exception, ask the parties to fix it before closing, or decide it does not affect the property in any real way. You just cannot skip it.

Lenders should pay attention too. If the summary shows a problem with a structure tied to the loan, that needs to be resolved before the loan closes.

How Table A Item 20 Changes Survey Orders for Lenders

In the past, many lenders sent their survey requirements through emails or letters. Sometimes those instructions came in after the surveyor had already started fieldwork. The 2026 standards close that gap.

Table A Item 20 is now the only proper place for any survey requirement that goes beyond the standard Table A items. If a lender has a specific need, it must be written into Item 20 before the surveyor starts work. Both the surveyor and the client must agree to the wording.

This is especially important for certain loan types. CMBS loans, SBA loans, and agency multifamily loans often have survey requirements that do not fit the standard items. Those requirements must now be listed as Item 20(a), Item 20(b), and so on.

If a lender’s requirements are not in Item 20 before work begins, there is no solid ground to ask the surveyor to add them later without starting a new order. Lenders should update their survey instruction documents and share them with borrowers before a surveyor is hired.

Why the Title Commitment Needs to Arrive Earlier

This change may have the biggest effect on closing timelines.

Under the 2026 standards, the surveyor must receive the title commitment, including Schedule B-II, before finishing the survey. This is now a firm requirement.

Schedule B-II is the list of recorded easements, restrictions, and other items that affect the property. The surveyor needs this list to plot everything correctly on the survey drawing. If something on that list cannot be plotted, the surveyor must explain why. A survey that is delivered without this information does not meet the 2026 standards.

For title companies, the commitment needs to reach the surveyor early in the process. A typical commercial survey takes three to six weeks to complete. If the title commitment is sent two weeks before the closing date, that is not enough time. Title officers, attorneys, and closing coordinators should plan for this from the start of the transaction.

Checklist: What to Verify Before Accepting a 2026 Survey

Before issuing a policy or approving a survey for a loan closing, check these items:

• The certification names the 2026 ALTA/NSPS Minimum Standard Detail Requirements
• The encroachment summary is on the face of the survey, if Item 20 was requested
• All Schedule B-II exceptions are shown on the drawing or explained
• Lender requirements are listed under Table A Item 20, not in a side letter
• The names on the certification match the title commitment
• The surveyor has an active license in the state where the property is located
• The survey was ordered on or after February 23, 2026, if 2026 compliance is needed

If anything on this list is missing, the survey may need to be corrected before you use it.