Easement Search
A certified abstractor searches the county land records against the parcel and reports the easements found of record over the term you select, with a copy of each recorded instrument attached so you can read the grant itself.
Certified title abstractors nationwide since 1995
Comprehensive Property Easement Search Services
When it comes to real estate, understanding property easements is crucial for property owners, buyers, and real estate professionals alike. Easements can significantly affect how a property is used and what it is worth. AFX Research searches the county land records against your parcel and reports the easements found of record, with a copy of every recorded instrument attached.
- All 50 states covered
- 2–3 business day turnaround
- 20, 30, or 50 year terms
The Short Version
What Are Property Easements?
A property easement is a right held by a person or an organization to use part of someone else's property for a particular purpose. Easements arenon-possessory: holding one does not make the holder an owner. What an easement grants is a use of the land, such as access for a utility line or a pathway across a lot.
Understanding easements matters in real estate because they affect both land use and value. A house may carry a utility easement that lets the utility run and maintain lines across it, which can rule out building in that strip and can weigh on how the property shows to a buyer.
Most easements that bind a parcel were created by a document recorded in the county land records. That is what an easement search reads.
Our Services
What an Easement Search Covers
Every report is drawn from the county land records by a certified abstractor and returned with the recorded instruments attached, so the grant itself is in front of you rather than somebody's summary of it.
Right-of-Way & Access Research
Where access runs across a neighboring parcel, we look for the instrument that created it, so a driveway that has always been used can be matched against a right of way that was actually recorded.
Recorded Document Retrieval
Copies of the recorded easement deeds, plat maps, and related instruments referenced in the report, pulled from the county record so the exact language and the mapped location are in front of you.
Know What You Are Looking At
Types of Property Easements
Easements divide first by who benefits, and then by what the holder is allowed to do. These four are the ones that turn up most often in a residential search.
Easement Appurtenant
An easement appurtenant benefits one parcel, the dominant estate, and burdens another, the servient estate. It attaches to the land rather than to a person, so it ordinarily passes to the next owner of each parcel when either one is sold.
Easement in Gross
An easement in gross is a right held by a person or a company rather than by a neighboring parcel. There is a burdened property but no benefited one, which is why utility easements take this form.
Utility Easement
A utility easement gives a provider the right to install, access, and maintain electric, gas, water, sewer, or telecommunications infrastructure across private property.
Right-of-Way Easement
A right-of-way grants passage across a parcel. It can serve a neighbor, a utility, or the public, and it is the easement most likely to be load-bearing for whether a parcel is usable at all.
Why AFX
Why Choose AFX Research for Easement Searches?
AFX Research is a trusted leader in property records and title document research, searching land records nationwide since 1995. Three decades of practice, attention to detail, and a commitment to getting the record right are what set us apart.
Decades of Expertise
With nearly three decades in the industry, our abstractors know how easements are indexed, mis-indexed, and buried in plat references, and how recording practice differs from one county to the next.
Certified, Documented Reports
Every easement we report carries its recording date, book, and page, with a copy of the recorded instrument attached. Nothing in the report asks you to take our word for it.
Tailored Search Terms
Whether you need a 20, 30, or 50 year easement search, you pick the window that fits the parcel and the question, rather than paying for depth you do not need.
Searched Where the Records Live
Our team works in the county offices, going into historical records and plats to find easements that never made it onto the current deed.
What turns up in a typical report
- Utility easements that limit where you can build, pave, plant, or add on.
- Rights of way and access easements, including the ones a landlocked parcel depends on.
- Drainage easements created on the subdivision plat rather than by a separate deed.
- Conservation easements and other long-term restrictions on development.
- The recording date, book, and page for every easement found, with the instrument attached.
Delivery performance
- Researching property records nationwide since 1995
- 1995Researching property records nationwide since 1995
- States covered, with abstractors searching records on the ground
- 50States covered, with abstractors searching records on the ground
- Business days for a standard easement search, rush service available
- 2–3Business days for a standard easement search, rush service available
- Year search terms, so the report reaches as far back as the matter needs
- 20–50Year search terms, so the report reaches as far back as the matter needs
How to Order
Ordering an Easement Search
Ordering an easement search online is quick for a residential property. Here is how it works.
Give Us the Property
Enter the street address, city, county, and state. An APN (Assessor's Parcel Number) is not required, but it removes any ambiguity about which parcel to search, and it helps most in counties with repeated street names.
Choose the Length of the Search
Pick a 20, 30, or 50 year term. The longer terms reach back toward the original platting of a subdivision, which is often where the utility and drainage easements that still bind a lot were first created.
Place the Order
Submit the form and a certified abstractor begins the search. Standard easement searches are completed in 2 to 3 business days, and rush service is available when a closing date is close.
Read the Instruments Yourself
Your report lists the easements found of record with recording dates, books, and pages, and it comes with copies of the recorded instruments attached, so you can read the actual grant rather than a summary of it.
If the parcel is commercial, or the question is narrower than a standard term search, tell us what you are trying to establish and we will scope a custom search before anything is ordered.
Search terms and pricing
- 20 Year Easement SearchResidential purchases and refinances
- $325
- 30 Year Easement SearchSubdivided lots and older housing stock
- $525
- 50 Year Easement SearchLand, split parcels, and unresolved access questions
- $675
Backed by our limited guarantee
If a report is found to have a substantial records discrepancy caused by our research, we confirm it and refund the search. Read the full terms.
Common Questions
Easement Search FAQ
What is a property easement?
An easement is a recorded right for someone other than the owner to use part of a property for a specific purpose. It does not transfer ownership. The owner still holds title, but the holder of the easement can do the thing the easement permits, such as running a power line, draining stormwater, or crossing the land to reach a road.
What does an AFX easement search show?
A certified abstractor searches the county land records against the parcel over the term you select and reports the easements found of record, each with its recording date, book, and page, plus a copy of the recorded instrument. The report tells you what was recorded against that parcel in that window; it is a record search, not a survey, and it does not measure where an easement physically sits on the ground.
How long does an easement search take?
A standard easement search is completed in 2 to 3 business days. Rush service is available when a closing or a filing deadline is close. Call 877-848-5337 ext. 138 before you order and we will confirm the timeline for the specific county.
Which search term should I order: 20, 30, or 50 years?
A 20 year search is the common choice for a residential purchase, where the question is what burdens the current owner took on or inherited. A 30 year search reaches back far enough to catch rights recorded when a subdivision was first platted. A 50 year search suits land, split or assembled parcels, and unresolved access questions. If you are not sure, call us with the address and we will tell you which term fits.
Will the search find every easement on the property?
It reports every easement found of record in the county land records for the term searched. Some easements are not created by a recorded document at all: a prescriptive easement arises from long use, and an easement by necessity is implied by law when a parcel is split without access. Neither will appear in the record unless it was reduced to an instrument or a judgment that was recorded. A survey and a physical inspection are the tools for those questions.
Do you search outside my state?
Yes. We search property records in all 50 states, with abstractors working in the county offices where the records actually live. Recording and indexing practice varies from county to county, which is one reason a search performed against the local record is more reliable than a national database lookup.
Order Your Easement Search Today
Certified abstractors search the county land records against your parcel and report the easements found of record, with a copy of every recorded instrument attached. Order online in minutes, or tell us about the parcel and we will help you pick the search term.
Questions? Call 877-848-5337 ext. 138 or email info@afxllc.com