ALTA stands for American Land Title Association. ACSM stands for American Congress of Surveying and Mapping. ALTA is made up of members of all the major title insurance companies and title agencies across the United States. ACSM is made up of surveyors, mappers, cartographers and photogrammetrists. In the 1980s these two groups met and formulated standards for companies purchasing commercial property.

The ALTA survey is the most comprehensive type of survey and improvement location. It covers all aspects of the boundary survey and improvement location, and identification of any additional evidence of possession or use, which could be adverse to the interests of the purchaser. An ALTA Survey is often prepared for commercial properties, as it will provide the title company with the information required to insure the title to the land and improvements to the high degree that a commercial development may require