ALTA and ACSM are each acronyms. ALTA stands for "American Land Title Association", while ACSM stands for "American Congress of Surveying and Mapping". These types of surveys are held to a more specific set of standards (although some of them may overlap Arizona's Minimum Standards) than other types of surveys. This means more work for The Surveyor, and thus, ALTA Surveys tend to have a higher cost. They are most commonly used for lending institutions to rely on in order to finance Property transactions, Title Companies that insure those transactions, and Land Title Attorneys. Many Developers may also require an ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey for their internal use while considering whether to purchase or develop a Property.

For a Surveyor to complete this type of survey, he must be supplied with a current Title Report and the exception documents (Schedule B documents) that are included in the title report. If you don't already have one, any Title Company can prepare a Title Report for your use at a relatively small cost, and we can recommend several that we have worked with in the past.

ALTA Surveys can be "a la carte" to a certain extent. The basic ALTA/ASCM Land Title Standards from 2005 still stand, but there are Optional Items that can be tailored to your specific requirements. These are known as "Table A" items. Understandably, the greater level of detail required for your ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey will affect the cost.

2005 ALTA Standards and the Table A Optional Items

In order to get started on your ALTA Survey, we will need the following information from you: