Idaho Code Title 55, Chapters 16 and 19
Recording a survey in Idaho
Idaho requires many boundary surveys to end with a recorded drawing. This page summarizes when that applies, what the drawing must show, and where it is filed. It is a plain-language summary with links to the statutes, and the statutes control.
Scale and Key Surveying works in Ada, Canyon, and Blaine counties. Seth Kursel, PLS (Idaho license 1181318).
When
Surveys that must be filed within 90 days.
Under Idaho Code 55-1904, a record of survey is filed within 90 days after completing a survey that:
- Discloses a material discrepancy with previous surveys of record
- Establishes boundary lines or corners not previously existing or of record
- Sets monuments at corners of record that were not previously monumented
- Produces evidence or information that varies from, or is not contained in, surveys of record relating to the public land survey, lost public land corners or obliterated land survey corners
- Sets permanent monuments meeting Idaho Code 54-1227 at the corners of an easement or lease area
Idaho Code 55-1908 lists when a record of survey is not required: a survey of a preliminary nature; a survey whose map is being prepared for recording, or has been recorded, under another section of Idaho Code or under federal law, such as a subdivision plat; a mineral claim survey; and a survey such as a topographic or construction survey whose main purpose is not to define boundaries, where none of the conditions above exist.
01What the drawing shows
Idaho Code 55-1906
- Every monument found, set, reset, replaced, or removed
- Basis of bearings, bearings and distances, scale, north arrow
- Section, township, and range, with reference to surveys of record
- Ties to at least two monuments: public land survey corners; center-of-section, quarter or sixteenth corners that have a current corner record; or monuments recognized by the county surveyor. A survey inside a previously platted subdivision of record need not be tied to public land survey corners.
- Corner record instrument numbers
- The surveyor's certificate
- A narrative: purpose, how lines were established and why, which records and found monuments controlled, and the benchmarks, datum, and method if elevations are shown
02Sheet and filing
Idaho Code 55-1905
- Sheet size 18 by 27 inches
- Binding margin of 3 1/2 inches at the left, 1/2 inch elsewhere
- Signatures in reproducible black ink
- Match lines and numbered sheets when one sheet is not enough
- The original on stable-base drafting film and one legible print go to the county recorder
03Corner records
Idaho Code 55-1604
- Filed for public land survey corners, center quarter corners, and corners used as ties
- Due within 90 days after the survey is completed
- Not required when the corner and its accessories are substantially as described in a corner record already filed under Chapter 16
04Where it is filed
- Ada County: Clerk, Recorder's Office, Boise
- Canyon County: Recorder, Caldwell
- Blaine County: Recorder, Hailey
- A survey crossing a county line is filed in each county
Not the same thing
A record of survey is not a plat.
A record of survey is a record of what was surveyed. Recording one does not by itself approve a division of land or transfer ownership. A subdivision, as the city or county defines it, is done by plat under Idaho Code Title 50, Chapter 13 and the local subdivision ordinance, with agency review and signatures. Some smaller divisions and boundary adjustments go through a county or city administrative process instead, and that process may call for a record of survey showing the new lines. Ask the planning department which process applies to your property.
Common questions
What clients ask about recording.
I only want my corners marked. Why is there a recorded drawing?
If a corner of record has no monument and one is set, Idaho Code 55-1904 requires a record of survey. The recorded drawing also tells the next surveyor, and your neighbor's surveyor, what was found and why.
Who pays the recording fee?
The client, as part of the survey. A proposal should say whether recording is included.
Does recording a survey change my property line?
No. A survey shows the surveyor's opinion of where the existing line is, based on the record and the evidence on the ground. It does not transfer land.
How do I find a survey already recorded on my property?
Ask the county recorder for records of survey by section, township, and range. If your lot is in a platted subdivision, also ask for the plat by subdivision name. A surveyor checks these as the first step of research.