2026 Guide · Boundary Lines
Property survey for a fence: when you need one.
Which survey type you actually need, what it costs, how to read the pins and bearings on the drawing, and how to find your property lines yourself before you spend a dollar. Written by a fence contractor who has had to tear out other people's fences over six inches of encroachment.
Survey or no survey? Check your situation
A survey is not automatic. Most standard backyard fence jobs on platted subdivision lots don't need one. These lists cover which side you land on.
Get the survey
- •You can't find any corner pins with a metal detector or shovel
- •The existing fence is old and you don't know who built it or where the line is
- •A neighbor has questioned the boundary, verbally or in writing
- •Your city or HOA requires a stamped survey attached to the fence permit
- •The lot is irregular, on a curve, corner, cul-de-sac, or has a creek or easement
- •You're building a masonry, brick, or permanent structural fence you can't cheaply move
- •The property recently changed hands, was split, or was re-platted
Plat plus pins is enough
- •Both corner pins on the fence run are findable and match the plat dimensions
- •You're replacing an existing fence in the exact same post holes
- •Your city permit doesn't require a stamped survey and no neighbor objects
- •You're setting the fence well inside your line (a foot or more) on purpose
Even here, set the fence a few inches inside the line. See our Kansas City property line rules for setback and height limits by city.
Survey types and costs
Five different things get called "a survey." They are not interchangeable, and only some carry a surveyor's seal.
| Type | What you get | Typical cost | Sealed? | When it's the right call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded plat / subdivision plat | The filed map of your subdivision showing lot dimensions and easements. | Free – $25 | No | Confirming lot dimensions and easement locations. Not a substitute for a survey if pins are missing. |
| Pin location / pin flagging | A surveyor locates and flags your existing corner monuments (iron pins) without re-mapping the lot. | $250 – $500 | Usually no | The cheapest professional option when you believe pins exist but can't find them. |
| Boundary survey | Full field survey of every property corner, set with new monuments and a signed drawing. | $500 – $1,200 | Yes | The standard for fence permits, boundary disputes, and any lot with missing or disturbed pins. |
| Stake-and-string / construction staking | The surveyor marks the actual fence line with stakes at intervals you can build to. | +$150 – $400 add-on | N/A | Worth it on long runs, irregular lots, and anywhere a neighbor is watching closely. |
| ALTA/NSPS survey | Commercial-grade survey to national title standards. | $1,500 – $5,000+ | Yes | Commercial and industrial sites. Overkill for a residential backyard fence. |
Cost ranges are typical quotes for residential KC-metro lots and vary by lot size, terrain, and record research required. Surveying is a licensed profession in both states — verify any surveyor through the Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Professional Landscape Architects, or the Kansas Board of Technical Professions.
Find your property lines yourself
Five steps, in order. Stop and call a surveyor the moment one of them fails — that's the whole point of doing them in sequence.
- 1
Pull your plat from the county — free
Jackson County, Clay County, Platte County, Johnson County, and Wyandotte County all publish parcel maps and recorded plats through their online GIS and Register of Deeds portals. Search your address, download the plat, and note the lot dimensions and every easement.
- 2
Compare the plat against what's on the ground
Measure the lot width at the front with a tape or measuring wheel. If the plat says 75 feet and you measure 71, something is off — either the fence, the driveway, or your assumption about where the line is.
- 3
Hunt for the corner pins
Pins usually sit 2–8 inches below grade at each corner. Measure in from the plat dimensions to get close, then sweep with a cheap metal detector and probe with a screwdriver or thin rod. Corner pins on KC-metro subdivision lots from the 1960s onward are usually still there.
- 4
String a line pin to pin
Once two adjacent pins are exposed, run mason's string tight between them. That string is your property line. Anything you build inside it is yours; anything crossing it is an encroachment.
- 5
Call a licensed surveyor if any step fails
If a pin won't turn up, the measurements don't reconcile, or a neighbor disputes the string line, stop and hire a surveyor. A $600 survey is far cheaper than moving a finished fence or losing a boundary case.
What we do on a Kodiak job: we locate and flag your existing pins and string the line with you before a post hole gets dug — at no charge. What we won't do is guess. If the pins aren't there, we tell you to order a survey instead of building on an assumption.
How to read the survey drawing
The six things on the page that actually matter for a fence.
Iron pin / monument
A metal rod, capped pipe, or pin driven at each property corner. On the drawing it's a small circle or square, often labeled 'IP FND' (iron pin found) or 'IP SET'. This is your actual corner.
Bearing and distance
Notation like N 89°42'15" E — 120.00'. It means: from this corner, travel 120 feet in that compass direction to reach the next corner. Bearings run corner to corner around the lot.
Easement
A hatched or dashed strip, usually labeled 'U.E.' (utility) or 'D.E.' (drainage). You own the land but the utility has access rights. A fence here can be removed without compensation.
Setback line
A dashed line inside the boundary marking the minimum distance structures must sit from the lot line. Fences are frequently exempt from setbacks — but not always from sight triangles.
Right-of-way (R/W)
Public land along the street, often extending 10–15 feet behind the curb onto what looks like your lawn. Fences in the right-of-way get cut down when the city needs it.
Surveyor's seal
The embossed or printed stamp with a license number and signature. An unstamped drawing is informational only — permit offices and courts won't accept it.
What skipping the survey costs
The survey is the cheapest line on this table by a wide margin.
| Outcome | Typical cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tear out and rebuild an encroaching fence | $3,000 – $12,000 | Full removal, new post holes, new material. The most common outcome of a wrong line. |
| Boundary survey ordered under dispute (rush) | $900 – $2,000 | Rush fees plus potential expert-witness time if it escalates. |
| Fence removed from a utility easement | $1,500 – $6,000 | The utility can cut and remove it with no obligation to replace. |
| Adverse possession / quiet title action | $5,000 – $25,000+ | Attorney fees when a long-standing wrong fence line becomes a legal claim. |
| Doing it right: boundary survey up front | $500 – $1,200 | One-time cost, and the drawing is yours to keep for future projects. |
Where to pull KC-metro plats
Every county in the KC metro publishes parcel maps online for free. Start with your county's GIS or parcel viewer, then the Register of Deeds for the recorded plat.
Jackson County, MO
KCMO, Lee's Summit, Independence, Blue Springs, Raytown, Grandview
Johnson County, KS
Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, Shawnee, Leawood, Prairie Village, Gardner
Clay County, MO
Liberty, Gladstone, Kearney, Smithville
Platte County, MO
Parkville, Platte City, Riverside
Wyandotte County, KS
Kansas City KS, Bonner Springs, Edwardsville
Cass County, MO
Belton, Raymore, Harrisonville, Peculiar
Search "[county name] GIS parcel viewer" or "[county name] Register of Deeds" to reach the official portal. Avoid third-party sites that charge for plats the county provides free.
Related guides
Fence property line rules
Setbacks, neighbor consent, and height limits by KC-metro city.
Fence permits in Kansas City
Which cities require a permit, what they cost, and what we pull for you.
Front yard fence rules
Height caps, open-design requirements, and corner sight triangles.
Fence cost in Kansas City
2026 per-foot pricing by material, height, and city.
- Not always. You need a boundary survey if you can't locate your corner pins, the existing fence may be off the line, a neighbor disputes the boundary, or your city requires a stamped survey with the permit. If both corner pins are findable and match your recorded plat, a plat plus a pin-to-pin string line is usually enough for a standard residential fence.Copy link to this answer
- A residential boundary survey typically runs $500 to $1,200 depending on lot size, terrain, and how much record research is needed. Simply having a surveyor locate and flag existing pins is cheaper at roughly $250 to $500. Construction staking — marking the fence line itself — is usually a $150 to $400 add-on. These are typical ranges; get two or three quotes from licensed surveyors, since pricing varies widely by lot.Copy link to this answer
- Hire a licensed land surveyor, not a fence contractor — surveying is a licensed profession in both states, regulated by the Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Professional Landscape Architects, and by the Kansas Board of Technical Professions. Call two or three local firms, tell them it's a boundary survey for a fence, and ask whether construction staking is included. Turnaround is commonly one to three weeks, longer in spring when fence and deck season peaks.Copy link to this answer
- Find the corner monuments first — small circles or squares labeled 'IP FND' or 'IP SET'. The bearings and distances along each boundary line (like N 89°42'15" E — 120.00') tell you the direction and length from one corner to the next. Then locate the hatched or dashed easement strips, usually labeled U.E. or D.E., because a fence built inside one can be removed without compensation. Finally, confirm the drawing carries the surveyor's seal and license number, or a permit office won't accept it.Copy link to this answer
- Often not. An old fence is not a survey — it reflects wherever a previous owner or contractor decided to build, which may be inches or feet off the true line. Before replacing a fence in the same holes, locate at least the two corner pins on that run and confirm the old line matches. If it doesn't, you get to choose whether to correct it, and correcting it is far easier before the new fence goes up than after.Copy link to this answer
- A fence contractor can help you locate and flag existing pins and string a line between them, and we do that on most jobs at no charge. What no fence contractor can legally do is establish a boundary — that requires a licensed surveyor's stamp. If the pins are missing or a neighbor disputes the line, we'll tell you to get a survey rather than guess, because a guess becomes your liability and ours.Copy link to this answer
- The neighbor can demand removal, and courts generally side with the surveyed line regardless of who paid for the fence or how long it stood. You'd pay to tear out and rebuild, typically $3,000 to $12,000 on a standard backyard run. In long-standing cases the dispute can escalate into an adverse possession or quiet title action with attorney fees far exceeding the cost of the survey you skipped.Copy link to this answer
- A boundary survey doesn't expire, and the monuments it sets stay valid until they're physically disturbed. Practically, most permit offices and title companies want a survey from the last five to ten years, and anything older should be re-verified if grading, construction, or road work has happened nearby. Keep the stamped drawing — it's reusable for future fences, decks, sheds, and pools.Copy link to this answer
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