Land Surveying
Legal Descriptions & Easements
A sealed description and plat defining exactly where a parcel or easement lies, ready to attach to a deed, grant or dedication.
What is a legal description?
A legal description is the written definition of a parcel's or easement's limits in a deed or other title document, precise enough to identify that land apart from all other land, usually by a recorded map reference or by bearings and distances.
A description by bearings and distances from a point of beginning is called metes and bounds; some rural descriptions cite Public Land Survey System sections instead.
An easement is a right to use part of another person's land for a stated purpose, such as access, utilities or drainage. For legal descriptions and easement creation, we prepare two exhibits: the written description (Exhibit A) and a plat, a scaled drawing of the same lines (Exhibit B). Your attorney or title officer handles the deed or grant. Lines tied to ground monuments start with a boundary survey.
Deliverables
What's included in a legal description and plat
Scope is set for each project in the proposal. A typical package includes:
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Legal description
Exhibit A: the sealed written description of the parcel or easement, captioned with its purpose.
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Plat exhibit
Exhibit B: a scaled drawing with north arrow, point of beginning, bearings, distances and width.
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Closure calculations
Math showing each description closes back to its point of beginning, with area if requested.
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Record references
The deeds, recorded maps and title-report items the description relies on, listed for reviewers.
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Site-fitted layout
Easement lines fitted to the driveway, pipe or swale on plans or in the field.
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Release & relocation
Descriptions of an old easement area being released and the new route that replaces it.
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Review revisions
Exhibit updates in response to city, county or title-company review comments.
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Digital files
PDF exhibits plus CAD linework on the same survey control as related surveys.
When do you need a legal description?
You need one whenever a deed, grant or dedication must define land that no existing description covers.
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Shared driveways and access easements
Record ingress and egress across a neighbor's parcel along the existing driveway.
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Utility, sewer and drainage easements
Centerline strips for pipes, lines and swales, sized to the improvement plans.
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Dedications required by a permit
Approvals are often conditioned on street, utility or drainage dedications.
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Lot line adjustments
After city or county approval, the adjustment is reflected in a recorded deed with new descriptions. See lot line adjustments.
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Title, closing and ALTA corrections
Where the surveyor and title insurer agree, a description that doesn't close is rewritten for a new deed. See ALTA/NSPS surveys.
Splitting off part of a lot for sale, lease or financing is a subdivision (Gov. Code §66424). Unless an exemption applies, such as a conveyance to or from a public agency or utility (§66428(a)(2)), it generally needs a recorded parcel or final map first (§66499.30).
Process
How a legal description and plat are prepared
Six steps from first call to recording.
Confirm purpose and parties
We confirm the purpose, width, benefited and burdened parcels, and agency format rules, then write the proposal.
Research the record
We gather deeds, recorded maps, the title report and existing easements, and check that the record descriptions close.
Survey where needed
Crews locate monuments and improvements when lines depend on ground evidence; some fieldwork then requires a record of survey (§8762).
Draft Exhibits A and B
A caption states the purpose, courses run from a point of beginning, and the plat shows every course.
Check, seal and revise
Closure calculations confirm the geometry; the licensee in responsible charge seals both exhibits and answers plan-check comments.
Sign and record (by others)
The owner signs the grant or deed before a notary, and it is recorded with the county recorder.
California rules
California requirements for legal descriptions and easements
The rules that matter most:
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Bus. & Prof. Code §8726, §8761
Descriptions are licensed land surveying
Working out what goes into a deed description that defines the limits of real property, and locating easement lines, are land surveying (§8726(a)(3), (a)(12)). Apart from narrow exemptions (§8730), only licensed land surveyors and civil engineers registered before January 1, 1982 may do this work (§8731). The licensee signs and seals the description (§8761).
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Civil Code §803, §806
The wording sets an easement's scope
The land an easement benefits is the dominant tenement; the land it burdens is the servient tenement (§803). An easement's extent is set by the grant's terms, or by the nature of its use if acquired by use (§806), so the description should state purpose, location and width.
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Civil Code §1213, §1214
Recording gives notice
Recording with the county recorder gives constructive notice (legal notice) to later buyers and lenders (§1213); an unrecorded conveyance is void against a later buyer or lender who pays value in good faith and records first (§1214). An easement granted to a public agency cannot be recorded without the agency's certificate or resolution of acceptance (Gov. Code §27281).
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Gov. Code §66412(d), §66499.35
Where new descriptions appear
An approved lot line adjustment is reflected in a recorded deed (Gov. Code §66412(d)), and a certificate of compliance includes the parcel's legal description (§66499.35). On an ALTA/NSPS survey, any new description must be shown with a statement of why it was prepared (2026 standards, Section 6.B).
Requirements vary by city and county: each agency sets its own exhibit format, submittal contents and review fees.
Sources & references
- Business and Professions Code §8726, Professional Land Surveyors' Act (California Legislative Information)
- Business and Professions Code §8761, signing and sealing land surveying documents (California Legislative Information)
- Civil Code §806, extent of a servitude (California Legislative Information)
- Civil Code §1213, recording as constructive notice (California Legislative Information)
- 2026 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys (PDF, v. 11.25.2025) (American Land Title Association and National Society of Professional Surveyors)
Last reviewed .
Legal description and easement FAQs
How do I find the legal description of my property?
A property's legal description is in its most recent recorded deed, available from the county recorder in the county where the land lies, and is usually quoted in the preliminary title report. A surveyor reviews it when it doesn't close or conflicts with a neighbor's deed.
Who can prepare a legal description in California?
A legal description that defines the limits of real property is land surveying under Business and Professions Code §8726(a)(12). It must be prepared by, or under the responsible charge of, a licensed land surveyor or a civil engineer registered before January 1, 1982, then signed and sealed (§8761). An attorney, title officer or escrow officer typically prepares the deed or easement document it is attached to.
Does a legal description require a new survey?
A legal description does not always need a new field survey. A surveyor can often write one from recorded maps and deeds that agree with each other and with monuments documented on filed maps and corner records. Fieldwork is needed when monuments are missing, records conflict, or an easement must follow an existing driveway, pipe or swale; it may lead to a record of survey (§8762).
Can an easement be moved or removed?
An easement can be relocated or ended, commonly by a recorded agreement or release signed by the easement holder. Civil Code §811 lists other ways a servitude is extinguished, such as one owner coming to hold both the easement and the land it burdens. Your attorney advises on the legal path.
What affects the cost and schedule of a legal description or easement exhibit?
The cost and schedule of a legal description and plat depend on how many parcels and easements are described, how well the recorded maps and deeds agree, whether fieldwork is needed, the easement's shape, and the agency's format rules and review rounds. Share the deed or APN, the title report and an easement sketch; the proposal then sets scope and timing.