Types of Property Surveys: A DMV Homebuyer and Closing Guide

A property survey answers a different question than a title search. The title search examines recorded ownership, liens, easements, restrictions, and other documents. A survey examines the land itself: where the record boundary is, where improvements sit, and whether visible conditions conflict with the recorded picture.

That distinction matters before closing. A clean title search does not prove that a fence follows the property line, that a garage stays inside a setback, or that a driveway lies entirely on the parcel. The right property survey can reveal those issues while there is still time to investigate, negotiate, or obtain underwriting guidance.

This guide compares the most common types of property surveys and explains how the terminology differs across Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

Property survey types at a glance

The labels are not interchangeable. Before ordering, describe the decision you need to make—not merely the document name you think you need.

1. Location drawing or physical-improvements survey

This is the limited residential product buyers most often confuse with a boundary survey.

In Maryland, the distinction is explicit. The state’s survey regulations say a location drawing is not a boundary survey and cannot be relied upon to establish the property boundaries. Its purpose is to show the inspected property and visible improvements, giving a lender or insurer some assurance that improvements appear to be on the property. See the Maryland Minimum Standards of Practice for Land Surveyors.

Virginia uses terms such as building-location survey, house-location survey, or physical survey for work determining the location of improvements on smaller parcels. Virginia’s current standards explain that record bearings and distances may be used unless a new boundary survey is performed with it. See 18VAC10-20-380.

A location-type product can help flag an apparent encroachment, setback concern, or mismatch that deserves more work. It should not be used to decide exactly where to install a fence or claim a strip of land.

2. Boundary survey

A boundary survey is the appropriate starting point when the actual property lines or corners matter. The surveyor researches record descriptions and adjoining parcels, evaluates field evidence, retraces or establishes the boundary, and documents the result.

Common reasons to request one include:

• You plan to install a fence, addition, pool, garage, or other improvement near a property line.
• A neighbor’s fence, shed, retaining wall, or driveway may cross the line.
• The deed description, tax map, subdivision plat, and physical occupation do not appear to agree.
• Corners or monuments cannot be found.
• Acreage, access, or the shape of the parcel is important to the purchase decision.
• The title commitment lists survey exceptions that require field information to evaluate.

Virginia’s boundary-survey standards require comparison of land records, adjoining descriptions, and field evidence, and require inconsistencies affecting common boundaries to be identified. They also make clear that the boundary survey is not itself a title or encumbrance search. See 18VAC10-20-370.

That is why the title examiner and surveyor perform complementary work. One interprets the public-record chain and exceptions; the other evaluates boundary evidence and physical conditions.

3. ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey

An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is most common in commercial transactions, development deals, and lender-driven due diligence. It follows nationally coordinated standards developed by the American Land Title Association and the National Society of Professional Surveyors.

The 2026 ALTA/NSPS standards took effect February 23, 2026. They establish minimum requirements for records research, fieldwork, the survey plat or map, certification, and deliverables. They are designed to help title insurers, lenders, owners, and surveyors evaluate boundary issues, access, easements, encroachments, and other survey-related title matters.

Optional Table A items are not automatic. Depending on the deal, the parties may request items involving matters such as zoning information, flood-zone classification, utility evidence, parking, wetlands, substantial features, or other transaction-specific detail. The order should be coordinated early among the buyer, lender, title company, attorney, and surveyor so the scope matches the commitment and loan requirements.

4. Topographic survey

A topographic survey maps elevations, contours, slopes, drainage features, and other surface conditions. Engineers and designers use it for grading, stormwater, site planning, additions, and development.

It answers questions such as:

• How does water move across the site?
• Where are the major elevation changes?
• What existing features affect a proposed design?
• Does the project need additional grading or drainage analysis?

A topographic survey should not be assumed to establish the boundary unless boundary work is expressly part of the scope. Virginia maintains separate standards for topographic surveys under 18VAC10-20-382, which is a useful reminder that “topographic” and “boundary” describe different professional work.

5. Subdivision plat, record plat, and DC building plat

A recorded subdivision plat documents how a larger tract was divided into lots, streets, easements, and other areas. It is an important record source, but it is not necessarily a current field survey of a specific improved property.

The terminology in Washington DC is especially important:

• A record lot is recorded on a subdivision plat in the Office of the Surveyor.
• A tax lot is created for assessment and billing and does not by itself change a record lot.
• A building plat is a scaled drawing showing lot lines and record dimensions, commonly used for a building permit.
• The DC Office of the Surveyor does not perform private field surveys to locate a homeowner’s property lines; owners must hire a licensed survey company for that work.

Those distinctions come directly from the DC Office of the Surveyor FAQs. A DC building plat can be necessary for exterior permit work, but buyers should not treat a record drawing as proof that every existing fence or improvement matches the field boundary.

6. Construction layout, wall check, and as-built survey

Construction-related surveys occur at different stages:

• Layout or stakeout transfers design positions to the ground before construction.
• Foundation or wall checks document the position of work after a critical stage, allowing problems to be caught before the project advances.
• As-built surveys document completed conditions for permitting, lender, owner, or design records.

For a new home or addition, these products can prevent a small placement error from becoming a major setback or encroachment problem. Ask the builder, lender, title company, and local permitting authority which deliverable is required and at what construction milestone.

What a survey can reveal before closing

The survey’s practical value is not the drawing—it is the decision the drawing makes possible. Common findings include:

• A fence or retaining wall that does not follow the record boundary.
• A driveway, walkway, shed, deck, or garage crossing a property line.
• A structure extending into a utility easement or building-restriction area.
• No apparent legal or physical access to part of the property.
• Improvements that do not match the record description or prior plat.
• Occupation lines that suggest a possible boundary or possession question.
• Recorded easements whose field location affects the buyer’s intended use.
• Missing, disturbed, or conflicting corner monuments.

Not every discrepancy prevents closing. The correct response may be clarification, a revised survey, a recorded easement, a boundary-line agreement, corrective documents, an endorsement decision, a holdback, or a change to the contract. The facts, jurisdiction, lender requirements, and title underwriter all matter.

Property survey versus title insurance

A survey and an owner’s title insurance policy solve different problems. The survey supplies evidence about boundaries and visible improvements. The title commitment and policy address covered title risks subject to their terms, exclusions, exceptions, and endorsements.

Providing a current survey may allow the title insurer to evaluate or modify certain survey-related exceptions, but the result depends on the policy, underwriting review, jurisdiction, and facts. Never assume a survey automatically creates coverage, or that title insurance eliminates the need to investigate a physical discrepancy.

If you are buying, refinancing, developing, or improving property in DC, Maryland, or Virginia, contact Will before ordering. DMV Title Guy can help you frame the title and closing questions. Eligible transaction requests may be referred to Pruitt Title LLC for independent review and transaction-specific acceptance.