The Short Answer: No Survey Required, But It Comes Up
Arkansas does not legally require a property survey to close a residential real estate sale. There is no statute mandating it, and thousands of home sales in Arkansas close every year without a survey being ordered.
That said, surveys come up in Arkansas real estate transactions more often than sellers expect, and knowing when they are likely to be requested helps you prepare.
When Lenders and Title Companies Request Surveys
The most common trigger is the lender's title insurance commitment. When a title company reviews a property for title insurance, it identifies risks that could affect coverage. If the title search reveals uncertain easement locations, a discrepancy between the legal description and the physical improvements, a recent boundary change, or a question about encroachments from neighboring properties, the title commitment may list a survey as a requirement before issuing the policy.
Lenders providing conventional, FHA, or VA financing have their own underwriting guidelines that may require surveys in specific circumstances. Commercial lenders almost always require ALTA/NSPS surveys for commercial property transactions, regardless of title issues.
Arkansas Attorney Closings
Arkansas requires that real estate closings be supervised by a licensed attorney. The closing attorney reviews the title commitment and will identify whether the underwriter is requiring a survey. If a survey is required and none exists, or if the existing survey is too old to satisfy the underwriter, a new survey will need to be ordered before closing can proceed.
This is worth knowing as a seller. If you receive an offer on a property with a complicated legal description, unusual easements, or improvements that are close to property lines, the title process may surface a survey requirement. Ordering a survey before listing can prevent that surprise from delaying or derailing closing.
When Sellers Proactively Survey
Sellers who proactively commission a survey before listing sometimes use it as a marketing advantage. A clean, current survey showing no encroachments or issues gives buyers and their lenders confidence. It eliminates one potential closing obstacle. In Arkansas markets with competitive inventory, having a survey in hand can speed the transaction timeline.
This strategy makes most sense for properties with irregular shapes, older homes in neighborhoods where fences and improvements have shifted over decades, or properties near utility easements or creek lines.
Cash Sales
Cash buyers are not subject to lender requirements and can waive a survey if they choose. However, waiving a survey does not eliminate boundary risk. A buyer who skips the survey and later discovers an encroachment or easement issue has no lender as a backstop and may face significant costs to resolve the problem. Cash buyers should consider whether a boundary survey is worth the cost relative to the transaction price.
Find licensed surveyors for pre-sale and ALTA surveys in our Arkansas directory.