Understanding ALTA Table A Item 2: Address Information

When a client asks for Table A Item 2 on an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey, the surveyor adds one thing to the drawing: the address of the property. That sounds simple. But it follows specific rules under the current ALTA/NSPS standards. People get it wrong more often than you’d think.

What Item 2 Actually Adds to an ALTA Survey

Table A Item 2 is an optional item on the survey request. If a client picks it, the surveyor puts the property’s address on the drawing. That is all Item 2 requires.

The address does not replace the legal description. The legal description comes from the deed or title commitment. It defines the property lines. The address is just a label. It helps a lender, buyer, or building department match the drawing to a real spot on the ground.

A surveyor should not just copy an address from a loan paper, an old deed, or a listing. Not without checking it first. Addresses on other papers can be old or wrong. They might belong to a different parcel. The surveyor checks and confirms the address that fits the land being surveyed.

Once the surveyor adds the address, it becomes part of the final survey. It usually sits near the sign-off, or in a notes section by the legal description. It never takes the place of that description.

When One Property Has More Than One Address

Some properties do not have one clean address. This happens a lot with commercial sites.

A shopping center with five stores might have five street addresses. One for each unit. Yet the whole center sits on one parcel. A large factory site might have one address for the office and other addresses for a warehouse or a smaller building. Office parks and apartment complexes often give each building its own address.

The surveyor has to sort out which address, or addresses, apply to the full property. Not just to one building. Say a survey covers ten acres with three buildings on it. Listing only one building’s address would leave out part of the story. This gets tricky on large or oddly shaped lots. The link between each address and the full property line is not always clear from a map.

Why a Street Address Is Not the Same as a Property Description

This is the most important point in this article. A street address helps mail carriers, delivery drivers, and first responders find a place. A city or postal office assigns it for that reason. It says nothing about where the property lines sit.

A legal description is different. It is the formal, recorded record of the land. It might use a metes-and-bounds format, a lot and block reference, or a government survey system. Courts, title firms, and surveyors use it to know exactly what land someone owns.

Parcel numbers add a third piece. County assessors use them for taxes and records. These numbers usually match a piece of land. But they use a separate system from both the address and the legal description. Lines on an assessor’s map are often rough, not survey-grade.

None of these three things, the address, the legal description, or the parcel number, should be swapped for one another. An address alone cannot show where a boundary sits. It cannot show if an easement crosses the land. When an address does not match the property records, that gap deserves a closer look, not a guess.

Address Changes, New Construction, and Recently Developed Sites

Addresses do not stay fixed forever. Bare land often has no address at all. A local addressing office assigns one later. This usually happens once a building reaches a certain point, or a permit gets filed. A developer might buy land under one address, maybe a rural route number or a stand-in address. Then the finished project ends up with a new address once the county assigns one.

Splitting up land works the same way. When one large parcel splits into smaller lots, each lot usually gets its own new address. The old address used at purchase may not fit any of the new lots once the split gets recorded.

This is why the survey date matters. A survey shows the address that fit at the time it was made. If the property changes hands or gets split after that date, an older survey’s address may not match today’s records.

Changing a street address is a separate government job. A local addressing office handles it, not the surveyor. The survey reports the address. It does not create or approve it.

What to Check When the Address on the Survey Looks Different

Say the address on an ALTA survey does not match the purchase agreement, a loan paper, or a listing. That is worth a second look. It is not proof of a mistake.

First, check the legal description on the survey. Compare it to the one on the title commitment or deed. If those match, the survey almost surely covers the right property. Even if the address wording looks a bit different. A missing suite number, or a spelled-out street name instead of an abbreviation, rarely means a real problem.

Next, check if the property changed status lately. Maybe a new subdivision. A new address. Or new construction not yet updated everywhere. Any of these can explain a mismatch without pointing to an error on the survey.

If the gap still does not make sense, bring in the surveyor or the title company. They can pull county records. They can confirm which address matches which parcel.

Settle any address questions before anyone leans on the survey to close a deal, get a loan, or start building. A loose end like this is easy to chase down early. It turns into a much bigger problem if it shows up later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an ALTA survey show more than one property address?

Yes. The surveyor may list more than one address for a single property. This happens most on sites with several buildings or tenant spaces.

Is the street address enough to identify the property being surveyed?

No. A street address is a wayfinding tool. It is not a legal record. The legal description, from the deed or title commitment, defines the actual land in the survey. Trusting an address alone can lead to wrong guesses about boundaries or what land a deal covers.

What if the address on an ALTA survey differs from the purchase agreement?

A different address does not mean the survey covers the wrong land. First, check the legal description on the survey. Compare it with the one in the title commitment. If those match, the property is very likely correct, even with different address wording.

Can a newly constructed building have different address information later?

Yes. A local addressing office often waits to assign a permanent address. It may wait until a building reaches a set stage, or until a permit is filed. A survey made before that point might show a stand-in address, a rural route, or no address at all.

Does Item 2 establish the official address of a property?

No. Item 2 just reports an address. It does not assign one. That job belongs to a local addressing office, not the surveyor.