Property Lines in Pennsylvania Are Established by Surveyors, Not by Maps
Pennsylvania is metes and bounds territory. The state was divided into private land grants long before the federal Public Land Survey System existed, and there is no rectangular grid of townships and sections to anchor boundaries to a neat coordinate system. Boundaries here are described as a series of direction-and-distance courses that trace around the perimeter of a parcel, often from a starting point that is itself defined by a prior survey or a physical monument.
That makes property line research more complex than looking up a parcel on a map. The legal boundary exists in the deed language, and translating that language into precise ground positions is the work of a licensed Professional Land Surveyor registered with the Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists.
Why the Deed Description Matters So Much
Your deed contains the legal description of your property. For most Pennsylvania properties, that description is a metes and bounds account of the perimeter, listing bearings and distances between corners and identifying any monuments found at each point.
Modern deeds from recorded subdivisions are usually straightforward: the deed references a plat by book and page number, and the plat shows lot dimensions. But older deeds, common in Pennsylvania's long-settled rural counties and in the dense urban neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and mid-size cities, can reference landmarks that have changed or disappeared over a century or more. A deed written in 1912 might describe a corner as "the northeast corner of the stone wall of the Johnson property." Neither the wall nor the Johnson property may exist today. Resolving what that means on the ground requires professional judgment and historical research.
What Your Surveyor Researches
Before setting foot on your property, your surveyor does substantial record research. They pull the current deed and trace the chain of title back through prior conveyances, looking for prior surveys, recorded plats, and any easements or encumbrances affecting the parcel. They review adjacent deed descriptions to understand how neighboring conveyances describe their relationship to yours.
If a prior survey plat has been recorded at the county recorder of deeds, your surveyor finds it. An existing plat doesn't eliminate the need for new fieldwork, but it provides a framework that can reduce research time significantly. It shows what monuments were set during the prior survey and where the surveyor placed them relative to the deed description.
Fieldwork: Finding Monuments and Measuring Boundaries
In the field, your surveyor searches for physical monuments at your property corners. Common monument types in Pennsylvania include iron rebar or pipe driven into the ground, concrete monuments with a steel rod through the center, and aluminum caps set in concrete for larger parcels. These markers are often buried under grass, debris, or paving, and locating them frequently requires a metal detector.
Found monuments are evaluated before they're used. A monument in an unexpected position has to be analyzed against the deed description and surrounding evidence to determine whether it reflects an accurate prior survey or whether it was set or moved incorrectly. Only monuments confirmed to be consistent with the record can be relied on as boundary references.
Using total station instruments and GPS equipment, your surveyor then measures from confirmed monuments to establish all four corners of your parcel. The measurements are compared to the deed description. Discrepancies are documented and resolved according to Pennsylvania survey law, which has a priority system for different types of boundary evidence.
Situations That Require a Licensed Pennsylvania Surveyor
- Fence installation near a property line, particularly near a line that's been disputed or hasn't been formally surveyed
- Building permits for structures within a few feet of where you believe the boundary sits
- Boundary disputes with adjacent landowners
- Subdivisions under the PA Municipalities Planning Code
- Mortgage transactions where the lender requires a current survey or certification of a prior one
- Purchase of rural land described only by metes and bounds without a recorded plat
- Properties where the deed references landmarks that no longer exist
Find a Licensed Pennsylvania Surveyor
Every firm in our Pennsylvania directory is sourced from the PELSB registry. Search by county to find licensed Professional Land Surveyors familiar with your area's deed records and terrain.