Blog · September 30, 2026
What Is an Affidavit of Correction?
An affidavit of correction is a recorded statement that fixes a clerical or drafting error on a plat or deed, such as a wrong distance or a misspelled name. It is not a replat. It should not move lot lines that were intentionally drawn.
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A narrow repair
Surveyors and owners use an affidavit of correction, sometimes called a scrivener’s affidavit, when the recorded sheet says 150.00 feet and the survey and the approved plan were 105.00 feet, or when a bearing’s east was typed west. The affidavit identifies the error and states the correction. It is recorded so the next reader finds it with the plat. It is supposed to be used for mistakes in writing down what was already decided, not for a new design. Changing lot areas because a buyer wants a bigger yard is a replat or a lot-line adjustment, with whatever approvals that county requires. If you are reading and you find an affidavit, print it on top of the plat in your mind: replace the cited number, leave the rest. Do not treat the affidavit as optional fine print.
How to apply one to a sheet
The affidavit should name the plat by book and page or instrument number, the lot, and the wrong call. Apply it only there. An affidavit that corrects the north line of Lot 4 does not correct the north line of Lot 5 unless it says so. If two affidavits exist, read them in date order. If an affidavit and a replat disagree, the replat is a new map and needs its own reading. A tax map may never pick up the correction, so the GIS distance can preserve the error the affidavit fixed. That is another reason the GIS is not the survey. Platbookmapper links to the GIS and will not flag affidavits. Your recorder search has to include documents after the plat, not only the plat itself.
What you should not correct with a pen
Hand-correcting your paper copy without a recorded affidavit creates a private fantasy. Hand-correcting the courthouse scan is not possible and not your job. If you discover what you think is a typo and no affidavit exists, do not stake the repaired version with a laser measure. A tenth that looks wrong may be a curve return you did not see. Write down the inconsistency and ask the surveyor of record or a new surveyor. Do not move a fence to the corrected distance you prefer. Until a recorded correction or a new survey says so, the recorded figure stands, error and all, as the thing the public was given.
What to do next
- Search forward from the plat for affidavits, not only for replats.
- Apply a correction only to the lot and the call it names.
- Keep the original figure in your notes with a strike-through and a cite to the affidavit.
- Do not use an affidavit to justify a redesign.
The mix-up to avoid
Ignoring the affidavit because the plat image looks official and complete. The image is frozen on recording day. The affidavit is a later page of the same story.
Questions people ask
Can an affidavit add an easement the plat forgot?
Sometimes a missing record of an easement that was on the approved plan can be corrected, and sometimes adding an easement is a new interest that needs a grant, not an affidavit. The wording and local practice matter. Read it as a claimed clerical fix, and get advice before you rely on a newly drawn burden.
Who signs it?
Typically the surveyor who certified the plat, sometimes with the owner. A signature without recording does not put the correction in the public record. Check the recorder’s stamp.
Find the county map
The county GIS map is the practical place to start. Find it from the Platbookmapper directory, then treat the recorded plat and deed as the documents behind the picture.
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey.