Understanding ALTA Table A Item 6: Zoning Information

Table A gives clients a menu of optional items to add to an ALTA/NSPS survey. Item 6 is the zoning item. It is one of the most requested items on commercial deals, and it is also one of the most misunderstood.

What ALTA Table A Item 6 Actually Puts on the Survey

Item 6 puts zoning information on the plat. It comes in two forms: 6(a) and 6(b). A client can request one or both.

Both forms deal with zoning facts tied to the exact parcel being surveyed. Not the zoning code for the whole city. Not a general summary of the zoning district. Just the numbers and rules that apply to this property.

There’s a detail that gets skipped too often: every piece of zoning information on the survey has to be tied to its source and its date. That’s not a formality. Zoning rules change. A setback that applied last year might not apply today. A reader needs to know where the number came from and when it was pulled, so they can judge whether it still holds.

Item 6(a): Turning a Zoning Report Into Survey Information

Item 6(a) covers written zoning facts stated on the face of the survey. When requested, the surveyor can list:

• Current zoning classification
• Setback requirements
• Height restrictions
• Floor space area restrictions
• Parking requirements

None of this comes from the surveyor’s own research. It comes from a zoning report or zoning letter, and the client (or the client’s designated representative, such as the title company or a zoning consultant) has to hand that report to the surveyor. The surveyor states what the report says. That’s the job under 6(a).

The date and source of that report matter for a simple reason. If a lender or buyer later finds out the zoning classification changed after the report was pulled, they need to know which version of the rules the survey reflects. Citing the source also draws a clear line: this is reported information, not the surveyor’s independent legal opinion.

This item is not a place to explain zoning law in general. It’s a spot to state facts pulled from a specific document, tied to a specific property.

Item 6(b): When Zoning Setbacks Can Be Shown Graphically

Item 6(b) is different from 6(a). Instead of stating setback numbers in a note, 6(b) puts the setback lines directly on the plat. The reader sees where the buildable area sits, drawn to scale, right on the drawing.

There’s a condition attached to this. The setback rules have to be clear enough that the surveyor doesn’t have to interpret them. If a zoning report gives a straight number, like a 25-foot front setback, the surveyor can plot that line. If the rule depends on a judgment call, such as a variable setback tied to building height or lot configuration, the surveyor can’t guess at the intent. That kind of interpretation belongs to a zoning attorney or the local planning office, not the survey.

On a finished survey, you’ll spot 6(b) as dashed or solid lines running parallel to the property boundaries, usually labeled as setback lines, with a note citing the zoning report they came from. If the lines aren’t there, but the survey mentions zoning restrictions in a note instead, that’s 6(a) doing the work, not 6(b).

The Zoning Report Comes First: What the Surveyor Needs From the Client

Item 6 only works if the client sends the surveyor a usable zoning report or letter before the plat gets finished. The surveyor isn’t the one who orders that report or calls the zoning department to confirm it. The client, or whoever the client designates to handle it, supplies the document.

This matters because the report has to match the property in question. Since the 2021 update to the ALTA/NSPS standards, the rule has been explicit: the report has to be specific to the surveyed property, not a copy of the entire zoning ordinance handed over for the surveyor to sort through. A general ordinance leaves too much room for guesswork, and guesswork isn’t the surveyor’s role under this item.

So what happens if the client requests Item 6 but never sends the report? ALTA’s 2026 FAQ guidance on the standards makes a point of not locking surveyors into one required response. There’s no single mandated procedure written into the standard for this situation. In practice, many surveyors will note on the plat that the requested zoning information was not supplied, so the reader knows the item was requested but the underlying document never arrived. But that’s common practice, not a rule spelled out in the standard itself.

Reading Item 6 on an ALTA Survey Without Confusing It With a Zoning Analysis

Here’s the line that matters most for anyone reading a survey: Item 6 reports zoning information that was handed to the surveyor. It is not the surveyor’s own zoning analysis.

The surveyor did not call the zoning office, did not interpret an ambiguous ordinance, and did not render a legal opinion on compliance. The surveyor took a report from a named source, dated on a specific day, and either wrote down what it said or plotted what it showed. That’s the full scope of the surveyor’s role here.

For buyers, lenders, and title professionals, this distinction changes how you should read the item. Check the cited source. Check the date. If the report is a year old and the deal is closing this month, ask whether the zoning classification or setback rules have changed since then. Don’t treat a zoning note on an ALTA survey as a current legal determination. Treat it as a snapshot, sourced and dated, of what one report said at one point in time.

Before relying on Item 6 for a transaction decision, pull the underlying zoning report or letter and read it next to the survey. The survey shows you what was reported. The report tells you where that information actually came from.