Recording of Surveys

OREGON

Subdivision Plats and Partition Plats:...................................Yes...
Surveys (includes property line adjustments):......................Yes...
Corner Records:...................................................................Yes...

I'm a little confused about the question. First off, in regards to Tennessee, there is no state law requiring any plats to be recorded. Cities and counties can require it though. Surveys are allowed to be recorded according to state law, but there is always a county register somewhere that won't unless the planning commission signs off on it, even though it isn't a subdivision.

A point I'd like to make is it makes little sense to record a subdivision plat in Tennessee unless the jurisdiction requires one. Why not? Because as soon as that plat hits the property assessor's office, they jack up the property taxes. So, after spending all that money on infrastructure, the developer is then forced to pay taxes on lots that may never actually see a house.

Back to the original question, as it relates to general practice, I'd have to answer with:
Yes
No
No

Idaho, Washington, Utah:
yes, yes, yes

Ohio

Subdivision Plats:....Yes... For major (5 lots or more) minor/lot splits are meets and bounds descriptions.
Surveys:...............No (retracement surveys)... County may require lot split plats to be filed with county engineer (not recorded) for review. Plats also may be attached to deeds for new parcels or to deeds of correction.
Corner Records:........No... There are provisions for recording a surveyors affidavit ORC 5301.252(B)(5) that may be either a survey plat or sworn statement.

Illinois
Subdivisions yes
Other surveys-no but they can be
Corner records yes, for section and 1/4 section corners.

I don't think that's a straight-up yes/no type of questions for most, and you'll probably get caveats and explanations for many of the states. That might be why we don't get a yes/no for all the states.

In Colorado, Yes we must record subdivision plats.

Corner records - not exactly. We have a rule that we have to file "monument records" with the State Board but these aren't "recorded" with county with a recording number putting the public on notice. Also, this is just required for PLSS land corners, and not property corners like, for instance, you can (must?) do in California as i understand. We have to deposit land survey plats for new property pins....

"land survey plats" are "deposited" with the County Surveyor or someone else like the clerk and recorder if the County Surveyor can't do it. Depositing is a way to be able to look up other surveys, but it is the surveyor's opinion and his findings of where the lines are, and it is not the original creation of a new boundary as are "subdivision plats".

ARKANSAS
Subdivision Plats - Yes (per City and County regulations)
Boundary Surveys - Yes (Per Arkansas Statute § 17-48-106)
Corner Records - Yes for Section/Quarter Section corner "PERPETUATION" program of the State Land Surveyor's Office. The PLSS corners not under the PROGRAM...NO. Mr. Green, previous State Land Surveyor tried to get ALL PLSS corners recorded, but...well...he got runnoft.

DDSM

"Because as soon as that plat hits the property assessor's office, they jack up the property taxes."

On what basis? Are the taxes significantly higher?

How does one obtain title to a lot in an unrecorded subdivision?

ARIZONA

Subdivision Plats:....Yes
Surveys:..............Yes - unless there is no change from a previously recorded map
Corner Records........Yes - unless the monument is thoroughly described in a recorded document

> "Because as soon as that plat hits the property assessor's office, they jack up the property taxes."
>
> On what basis? Are the taxes significantly higher?
>
> How does one obtain title to a lot in an unrecorded subdivision?

The taxes are higher for an acre lot with water, sewer and a public road than for an acre out in the middle of a farm.

A metes and bounds description.

I understand that it is not necessarily always a simple yes or no. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible to try to get the most responses.

From what I'm getting so far, it appears all of the States require recording of Subdivision Plats, most States seem to provide a method to record surveys (whether mandatory or optional) and Corner Records seem to be a PLS item (some with, some without). I don't want to get into a discussion of the pros or cons of mandatory recording, that has been discussed many times before. I would like to know what options other States have for recording.

Coming from a State where I don't have the option to record anything other than a Subdivision Plat, it's beginning to appear as New Jersey is in the minority.

I'm not saying that I would want to record every survey I do, but there have been times where the ability to record a survey would have been beneficial to both my client and the public.

Oklahoma:

Subdivision Plats: Yes, with county not state, if they include R/W dedications to the public.

Surveys: Nah, we don't need no stinkin' filed surveys :snarky: ...(they can be filed as a misc. document)

Corner Records: Yes, the only actual requirement per State Statute. Only perpetuated corners originally set by GLO are required, however any corner can be filed. These are actually just to let the next guy know which one of the 11 nails, pins and spikes in the intersection which you actually used.

Dan, that makes sense. I just think that I could have answered a couple of the questions yes or I could have answered no depending on the definition of "recorded" and section corner monument records vs. corner records. I understand that some states allow you to record a "corner record" instead of having to do a full boundary survey plat if only one corner was set.

Alabama

Yes
No. It is possible to do so.
No

So you don't do subdivision plats?

> .... there is no state law requiring any plats to be recorded....
There is also some variation from place to place about what the word "plat" means. In Oregon a plat has a very definite form with everybody and his dog signing and notarizing in india ink. In Oklahoma the word is a catch all phrase used almost interchangeably with "map". In British Columbia the word is not in the lexicon.

> Corner Records: ... These are actually just to let the next guy know which one of the 11 nails, pins and spikes in the intersection which you actually used.
I thought it was so you could tell what was underneath that patch in the asphalt without digging for it.

> OREGON
>
> Subdivision Plats and Partition Plats:...................................Yes...
> Surveys (includes property line adjustments):......................Yes...
> Corner Records:...................................................................Yes...
I've never seen a corner record filed by a private surveyor in Oregon. All that I've seen have been filed by the County Surveyor. Perhaps if I worked in timber country more.

I have heard that "some" County Surveyors in Oregon interpret the ORS such that only the County Surveyor can file a corner record. I believe most of them call the northwestern portion of our state home.

I don't agree with that interpretation. Simply being a county surveyor does not grant one some higher level of survey knowledge special to recovery and preservation of PLSS corners. It is foolish in my opinion.

I can assure you that corner records by private surveyors in the State of Oregon do exist. I am fairly certain you can find corner records by private surveyors in Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson (100% certain) counties.