What Title Companies Look for When Reviewing an ALTA Survey

An ALTA survey can be perfect in the field and still get flagged at the title desk. That happens more often than most developers expect.

Title officers read a survey the way a proofreader reads a contract. They are not checking if the fieldwork looks tidy. They are checking if every detail lines up with the deed, the preliminary report, and the closing paperwork. One small mismatch can pause a closing for days.

If you are developing property, it helps to know what the title company is actually looking for. Here is a breakdown, section by section.

Why California Title Companies Rely on CLTA Endorsements, Not ALTA 3.1

California is a “non-filed” state for many standard ALTA endorsements. That means forms like ALTA 3.1 (zoning) are not approved for use here. Instead, underwriters use CLTA equivalents. The 116-series covers zoning. CLTA 103.1 and 103.3 cover easements and encroachments.

For a title officer to approve these substitute forms, the surveyor’s plat needs to show specific things clearly:

• All structures plotted with exact setback distances to each property line
• Any encroachments, whether the property encroaches onto a neighbor’s land or a neighbor encroaches onto it
• Easements shown by location, width, and purpose, not just labeled
• Parking counts and building height, if the zoning endorsement depends on them

Without this level of detail, the title company has nothing to compare against the zoning letter or municipal code. The endorsement gets denied, or delayed while the surveyor amends the plat.

Reconciling the Survey’s Legal Description Against the Preliminary Report

This is where most delays actually start. A title examiner does not just check that a legal description is present. They read it word for word against the vesting deed and the preliminary title report.

They are looking for exact matches in:

• Bearings and distances for every boundary call
• Curve data, including radius, arc length, and chord bearing
• Point of beginning language
• Adjoiner names and reference documents (book and page, or instrument number)

If a bearing is off by even a few seconds, or a distance is rounded differently than the record parcel, the examiner will kick it back. This is not the surveyor being wrong. It usually means the survey used a different source document or a more precise modern measurement than the original recorded deed. Either way, it needs to be reconciled and explained before the title company will rely on it.

Verifying the Surveyor’s License Status With the California BPELSG

A licensed surveyor’s seal on the certification should be enough. In practice, some title companies go one step further, especially on larger commercial deals.

California title officers can look up the surveyor’s PLS number directly through the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. This confirms the license is active and in good standing at the time the survey was certified.

This step is not about doubting the surveyor. It is a liability check. On a large loan, the underwriter wants documented proof that the person who signed off was authorized to do so on that date. If you are a developer working with a surveyor for the first time, it is worth confirming their license is current before the survey even starts. It saves a step later.

Confirming Insurable Access to a Dedicated Public Street

Access sounds simple until a title company has to insure it. They are not just checking if the property touches a road. They are checking if that road is a publicly maintained right-of-way, and if the property has both legal and physical access to it.

Here is the distinction that matters:

• Legal access means there is a recorded easement or dedicated frontage granting the right to cross to a public road
• Physical access means there is an actual, usable connection, not a driveway blocked by a fence, a grade change, or a locked gate

A survey that shows an easement running through a neighboring parcel is not the same as showing access to a dedicated public street. If the only access is a private easement, the title company will usually flag this before issuing an access endorsement. The lender wants certainty that the property can be reached, not just a legal right that might be disputed later.

Matching the Certification’s Named Parties to the Escrow and Loan Documents

This last check trips people up because it has nothing to do with the survey’s accuracy. It is about paperwork alignment.

The surveyor’s certification names specific parties who can rely on the survey. Usually that includes the lender, the borrower, and the title company. Sometimes it includes a guarantor or an assignee.

The title officer compares this list against the escrow instructions and loan documents. If a lender’s name is spelled differently, or an entity name changed between the purchase agreement and the loan documents, the certification does not match. This can hold up closing even when the boundary work is flawless.

Before the survey is finalized, it is worth double-checking the exact legal names of every party who needs to be listed. A quick email to escrow can confirm this before the surveyor issues the final certification.

FAQ

Why does a title company sometimes reject an otherwise accurate ALTA survey?

Usually not because the fieldwork is wrong. It is a mismatch between the certification’s named parties and the closing documents, or a legal description that does not tie exactly to the preliminary report.

Are ALTA endorsements like 3.1 or 9 available in California? 

Not in the standard ALTA form. California title underwriters generally use CLTA equivalents, like the 116 series for zoning, because those forms are filed and approved for use in the state.

Does the title company independently verify the surveyor’s license? 

Some do, particularly on higher-liability commercial deals. They check the PLS number against the California BPELSG license database rather than relying only on the seal shown on the plat.

How old can an ALTA survey be before a title company won’t accept it? 

There is no fixed statewide rule. It is set by each underwriter’s internal guidelines and often by the lender, so it is worth confirming directly with the title officer before ordering an update versus a new survey.

What if the survey shows access only through a private easement rather than a public street?

The title company will typically flag this before issuing certain endorsements, since insurable access generally requires a demonstrated legal and physical connection to a publicly maintained right-of-way.