ALTA/ACSM survey: a surveying standard jointly proposed by the American Land Title Association and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping that incorporates elements of the boundary survey, mortgage survey, and topographic survey. ALTA/ACSM surveys, frequently shortened to ALTA surveys, are often required for commercial real estate transactions.

Boundary survey: the actual physical extent of property ownership, typically witnessed by monuments or markers such as iron rods, pipes or concrete monuments in the ground, but also tacks or blazes in trees, piled stone corners or other types of monuments; the actual extents of the property are measured, and a map, or plat, is drawn from the data.

Engineering Surveys: those surveys associated with the engineering design (topographic, layout and as-built) often requiring geodetic computations beyond normal civil engineering practice.

Foundation survey: establishes the position of the house before it is finished being built by accurately locating the footings (many times mistakenly called “footers”)

Mortgage survey: a simple survey that generally determines land boundaries and building locations. Mortgage surveys are required by some title companies and lending institutions when they provide financing to show that there are no structures encroaching on the property and that the position of structures is generally within zoning and building code requirements. Some jurisdictions allow mortgage surveys to be done to a lesser standard, however most modern U.S. state minimum standards require the same standard of care for mortgage surveys as any other survey.

Plot plan: a term used for a survey plat prepared indicating all structures and physical improvements (structures [house, garage, outbuildings, etc.], driveways, etc.)

Subdivision plat: a map based on a survey of a parcel of land. Lines are drawn inside it, indicating the location of roads and lots. Plats are usually discussed back and forth between the developer and the surveyor until they are agreed upon, at which point iron pins are driven into the ground to mark the lot corners and curve ends, and the plat is recorded in the governing jurisdiction (City of Roanoke, Roanoke County, etc.). In nearly all jurisdictions, the recording or filing of a subdivision plat is highly regulated. The final map or plat becomes, in effect, a contract between the developer and the city or county, determining what can be built on the property and under what conditions.

Topographic survey: a survey that measures the elevation of points on a particular piece of land, and presents them as contours on a plat or engineering drawing.

Hydrographic survey: a survey conducted with the purpose of mapping the shoreline and streambed or lakebed for navigation, engineering, or resource management purposes.

Construction surveying: the process of establishing and marking the position and detailed layout of new structures such as roads or buildings for subsequent construction. In this sense, surveying may be regarded as a sub-discipline of civil engineering.

Archaeological survey: used to accurately assess the relationship of archaeological sites in a landscape or to accurately record finds on an archaeological site.