For licensed land surveyors in the US, ALTA/NSPS surveys are among the most detail-intensive deliverables in the practice. Every element – boundary lines, easements, encroachments, improvements, access, utilities – must be located, verified, and drawn to a precise national standard. The fieldwork takes a day. The drafting often takes several more.
An increasing number of US survey firms are outsourcing the CAD drafting portion of their ALTA surveys to offshore teams. A2Z Civil Engineers, based in Vietnam, provides ALTA survey drafting support to US land surveying firms – delivering AutoCAD drawing files built to your firm’s standards and ready for your licensed surveyor’s review and seal.
What Is ALTA Survey Drafting – and What Can Be Outsourced?
An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is a nationally standardized survey product used in commercial real estate transactions. It must comply with the current ALTA/NSPS Minimum Standard Detail Requirements, and it typically includes:
- Boundary lines and legal description verification
- Easements and rights-of-way from title commitment documents
- Improvements – buildings, parking, fences, walls, signage
- Utilities and service connections visible on site
- Encroachments and off-site improvements
- Access points and adjoining street information
- Optional Table A items as requested by the client
The fieldwork – collecting the measurements – requires a licensed surveyor on site. The drafting — converting those measurements into a finished CAD drawing – is production work that can be handled by an experienced remote team working from your field notes, raw data, and title documents.
How A2Z Civil Engineers Handles ALTA Drafting
A2Z receives your field data and title commitment, then builds the ALTA drawing in AutoCAD to your firm’s standards. Here is the typical workflow:
Step 1 — Data transfer: You send your field notes or raw survey data (total station data, field sketches, or coordinate files), the title commitment with Schedule B easements, and any reference documents (deeds, plats, prior surveys).
Step 2 — Drafting begins: Our team plots the boundary, locates improvements, drafts easements from the title documents, and places all required ALTA elements in your CAD template.
Step 3 — Check print delivered: We send you a PDF check print, typically within 3 to 5 business days for a standard commercial property. You redline and return comments.
Step 4 — Revisions and final delivery: We incorporate your redlines and deliver the final AutoCAD file. Your licensed surveyor reviews, adds the certification, and seals the drawing.
What Makes ALTA Drafting a Good Fit for Outsourcing?
ALTA surveys follow a national standard – the ALTA/NSPS Minimum Standard Detail Requirements – which means the drafting process is consistent across projects and states. Unlike some local engineering work that depends heavily on jurisdictional knowledge, ALTA drafting follows the same rules whether the property is in Texas or Massachusetts.
This consistency makes ALTA drafting one of the most practical survey deliverables to outsource. The standard is published, the requirements are defined, and a well-trained drafting team can produce compliant drawings from your field data without needing to know local regulations.
Common Questions from US Survey Firms
Will the drawings match our firm’s CAD standards? Yes. A2Z works from your template file, layer names, text styles, and block library. If you do not have a standard template, we can use a clean ALTA format that you can adapt.
How do you handle Table A items? We draft the Table A items you specify at the time of project initiation – flood zone, parking count, building area, utilities, and others as applicable.
What if field data is incomplete? We flag any gaps or ambiguities in the data before drafting begins rather than making assumptions. You receive a question list within 24 hours of receiving the project.
Do you work under NDA? Yes. A2Z signs a non-disclosure agreement for every client relationship. Client data, project files, and title information are not shared with any third party.
About A2Z Civil Engineers
A2Z Civil Engineers is a Vietnam-based civil outsourcing firm providing CAD drafting and design support to US civil engineering and land surveying firms. Our survey drafting team handles ALTA/NSPS surveys, boundary surveys, topographic surveys, and subdivision plats in AutoCAD.
We work on a project-by-project basis with no long-term contract required. To discuss a project or request a sample drawing, contact us at contact@a2zce.com or visit a2zce.com.
