Understanding ALTA Table A Item 20: Encroachment Summary

When a survey firm prepares an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey, the buyer or lender picks from a menu of optional items called Table A. ALTA Table A Item 20 is one of those optional choices, and under the 2026 standards it covers an encroachment summary. This article looks at what the item asks for, how it ties into the survey, and how to decide whether to use it.

What ALTA Table A Item 20 Actually Requires

Item 20 is an optional Table A selection under the 2026 ALTA/NSPS standards, so it only appears when the client asks for it and the surveyor agrees. Nothing about a standard ALTA survey forces it onto the finished product. When a client does select it, the item adds a specific piece rather than changing the base requirements.

The item has two parts that work together. The first is a summary, set up as a table, that gathers the encroachment conditions the surveyor has shown on the survey. The second is a location reference that points the reader to where each listed condition appears on the plat or map.

How the Item 20 Summary Relates to the Survey Plat

Every entry in the table has a home somewhere else on the survey, so the table never stands on its own. A fence, a wall, or a paved area that crosses a line is drawn on the plat with its own line work and dimensions. The table lists that condition and then sends the reader to its spot on the map.

The location reference earns its place during review. Without it, a reader would search the whole drawing to match a listed item to the ground. With it, the reader goes straight to the mapped condition and checks the line work and distances.

A summary and the survey are not the same thing. The plat carries the measured detail, the bearings, and the surveyor’s notations, while the table is only a short list. If the two ever seem to disagree, the mapped survey information governs.

What Makes a Condition Appropriate for the Item 20 Summary?

A condition belongs in the summary when the surveyor observed it during fieldwork or otherwise identified it while preparing the survey, and when it reads as an encroachment or a possible one. The 2026 standard ties these entries to what the surveyor sees and works out during the job. Features with nothing to do with lines or shared boundaries don’t belong there.

A driveway, a shed, a retaining wall, or a hedge can all sit on a property without raising a question. What matters is whether the feature crosses a line or reads as an encroachment. The surveyor makes that call from the measured work, not from a wish to list everything in view.

There is a limit to what the summary claims. Listing a condition means the surveyor observed something that looks like an encroachment. It does not say who is right, who owns what, or how a court would rule.

How Buyers, Lenders, and Title Professionals Can Review Item 20

The table works best as a starting index that each reviewer then checks against the full plat. A buyer can read it first to see where the survey flagged possible encroachments, then check each mapped condition against how it affects use of the land. A fence a few inches over a line reads very differently from a neighbor’s garage well inside the parcel.

A lender is usually looking at how a listed condition touches the value or security of the property. The table gives a short list to run down, but the mapped detail is where the real questions live. A small-looking entry may need a second look once its size and position are clear.

Title professionals can match each listed item against the conditions they already track and the notes on the plat. If something is hard to square with the drawing, that is a signal to go back to the surveyor with a specific question. Either way, the summary works alongside the full survey, never in place of it.

Questions to Ask Before Selecting ALTA Table A Item 20

Table A works best when the choices are settled before the survey is ordered. A short talk with the surveyor at the start sets clear expectations and saves rework later. These questions help sort out whether Item 20 fits the job.

• Does this deal gain from a grouped summary, or is the mapped detail already enough?
• Who will read the completed survey, and will a summary table help them?
• Are there project-specific needs the surveyor should hear about before starting?
• Does the client understand what Item 20 adds and does not add to the scope?
• Have all the Table A selections been agreed on before the order goes in?

Settling these points early keeps the scope clear and the survey priced around what the client needs. Changing Table A items after fieldwork can mean extra time and cost. A conversation up front avoids most of that trouble.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ALTA Table A Item 20 required on every ALTA survey?

No. Table A items are optional selections on top of the core ALTA/NSPS requirements. Item 20 appears only when the client asks for it and the surveyor includes it in the agreed scope. A survey without it is still a full ALTA survey.

Where does the Item 20 encroachment summary appear on an ALTA survey?

It appears on the face of the plat or map, usually as a table. Each entry points to where the matching condition is drawn on the survey. That link lets a reader move from the summary straight to the mapped detail.

Does selecting Item 20 require a separate field survey?

Not on its own. Item 20 draws on the conditions the surveyor observes during the normal ALTA survey and shows on the plat. It gathers and references those conditions rather than triggering a second field visit.

Does Item 20 list every possible encroachment on a property?

No. The summary covers conditions the surveyor observed or identified while preparing the survey and treated as encroachments or possible ones. It is not a promise that nothing else exists below ground or beyond the survey’s reach.

Can Item 20 determine whether an encroachment is legally valid?

No. Listing a condition records what the surveyor observed, not a ruling on rights or ownership. Questions about legal effect belong to attorneys and title professionals. The survey shows the physical facts, and others decide what they mean in law.