Start with the recorded plat and the title commitment (Schedule B), then add a survey and a county recorder search. Maricopa County Planning and Development says it has no easement records for lots outside a recorded subdivision, and an 811 locate shows pipes, not easement lines.
Where do you look first?
Start with the recorded plat and your title paperwork.
The recorded plat. In a recorded subdivision, Maricopa County Planning and Development says "Recorded subdivisions may have easement information listed as part of the recorded plat." The plat shows easement locations and widths, and its notes can limit what may be built in the strip.
The title commitment, Schedule B. Maricopa County's planning department answers a question about easements this way: "A surveyor, real estate attorney, or a 'schedule B' from a title company may be able to assist you with the location of easements." Schedule B lists recorded easements and other matters affecting the property. If you bought or financed the property, you already have one.
The county recorder. The county says you "may also conduct research with the County Recorder's Office for information on easements." Arizona recording law is why that works. A.R.S. 33-411 says an instrument affecting real property does not give notice of its contents to later purchasers unless it is recorded in the county recorder's office. In practice, recorded easements live there.
The plat index. Maricopa County DOT keeps a plat index of recorded plats and surveys, but warns that the index "may contain some MCDOT, ADOT, SRP, APS or various other agency plans/surveys" and "is NOT a substitute for contacting that agency for information." Use it to find the plat, then confirm elsewhere.
What if the lot is not in a recorded subdivision?
Then there may be no plat to read. Maricopa County Planning and Development says it "has no records of easements on individual lots that are not part of a recorded subdivision." For a parcel created by a lot split or by metes-and-bounds description, rely on the title commitment, the recorded documents behind it, and a survey.
Why order a survey?
A survey puts the paper onto the ground. A boundary survey that plots the title commitment's easements locates the easements listed in the title commitment relative to your building, parking, fences and utilities. It also shows items the paper does not, such as a visible utility line or pole. If you are buying, leasing or building, that is how you learn that a sewer easement runs three feet from the back wall.
Ask the surveyor to show every easement from Schedule B, to label the holder and recording number for each, and to show visible utility evidence.
Does an Arizona 811 locate show easements?
No. A locate marks lines, not legal rights. Under A.R.S. 40-360.22, operators mark their underground facilities in response to a notice, and the marking "is valid for fifteen working days from the date of the marking." An easement can exist without a marked pipe, and a marked pipe can run outside a recorded easement. Use the locate for digging safety and the plat and title work for property rights. See what Arizona 811 requires before a commercial excavation.
Are all easements recorded?
Not always. Cornell's Legal Information Institute notes that "Easements can be created in a variety of ways. They can be created by an express grant, by implication, by necessity, and by adverse possession." Only the express ones normally appear in a recorded document. If a neighbor's line crosses your lot or a long-standing path runs across it, a record search alone may not tell the whole story, and an attorney is the right person to sort it out.
Who do you call after you find one?
Identify the holder of each easement. It can be a city, an electric utility, a gas company or a communications provider, and a single strip often has several. Phoenix Water Services' public utility easement flyer tells people with a PUE on private property to contact Maricopa County Planning and Development "to help with disputes, rights of way, or historical easements." Then ask each holder what its easement allows. For what can go in the strip, see what can go in a public utility easement, and before you build, whether a commercial building can go over a sewer or water easement.
A short checklist
- 1Pull the recorded plat and plat notes.
- 2Get the title commitment and read Schedule B.
- 3Search the county recorder for easements by parcel and by recording number.
- 4Order a survey that plots every easement.
- 5Contact each holder and ask for its standards in writing.
- 6Call Arizona 811 before any digging.
If a sewer line may run through an easement, a camera run can show where it actually goes. HQ Plumbing & Air does that with free estimates and upfront pricing, and the result helps your surveyor and attorney.
This page explains general rules and is not legal advice. Recorded documents, your title commitment and survey, and the holders' written terms control.