Utility Easement: What You Can Build and How to Find It

A utility easement is a right that lets a utility or local government use part of someone else's land for lines, pipes and equipment, and enter it to install, maintain, repair and replace them. The owner keeps title and can use the strip in ways that don't interfere. An easement can stay binding after the property changes owners; Dominion describes most easements as perpetual. Check the grant and your state's law for how long it lasts and how it can end.

Pillar, a land research software company, wrote this guide. Each rule, width and court decision below links to the utility, government or court that published it, and we checked all of them on November 12, 2026. Easement law is state law and every easement has its own terms, so treat this as general information and confirm the details with a title company, surveyor or real estate attorney in your state.

What is a utility easement?

An easement is "a legal right to cross or otherwise use someone else's land for a specified purpose," in the words of the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility. A utility easement is one held for utility lines and equipment. The main kinds:

• A public utility easement (PUE) on a plat. Utah defines it as "the area on a recorded plat map or other recorded document that is dedicated to the use and installation of public utility facilities," and makes it usable by more than one utility (Utah Code 54-3-27). Mundelein, Illinois places PUEs along rear, side or front lot lines and grants them to its electric, gas, phone and cable companies and other franchise holders (Mundelein plat language).
• An easement granted to one utility. An owner signs a grant to a named company, and it is recorded. Dominion Energy says its transmission easements "are generally created by agreements or condemnation orders, which are recorded in the chain of title" (Dominion guidelines).
• A blanket easement. The grant states a purpose, such as a power line, but no location or width. Texas courts call it a general easement. The section on buying land below explains why it matters.
• Transmission line and pipeline rights-of-way. Duke Energy describes a transmission easement as "a strip of land (corridor) acquired from property owners" (Duke Energy). Pipeline operators hold similar corridors under their own rules.

A private grant is read by its own terms. In 2002 the Texas Supreme Court held that an easement for "an electric transmission or distribution line or system" did not let a cable company string television wires across the land. It added that a state law giving cable companies access to "utility easements" covers only easements dedicated to public use (Marcus Cable Associates v. Krohn).

What can the utility do, and what does the owner keep?

Utah spells it out by statute. A public utility easement gives the utility "the right to install, maintain, operate, repair, remove, replace, or relocate public utility facilities" and the right to enter for its employees, contractors and agents (Utah Code 54-3-27). The same section sets these rules:

• What the utility repairs. At its own expense, "any fence, grass, soil, shrubbery, bushes, flowers, other low level vegetation, sprinkler system, irrigation system, gravel, flat concrete, or asphalt" its work damages.
• What the owner risks. An owner who "places improvements to land that interfere" with those rights "shall bear the risk of loss or damage to those improvements." A shed or retaining wall is not on the repair list.
• No rights by long use. No one can gain a right in a public utility easement that interferes with the utility's use "by adverse possession, prescription, acquiescence, or otherwise."
• No loss by non-use. A gas, electric or telephone company's failure to use its recorded easement "does not diminish or extinguish any right."

Elsewhere, the document and the utility's rules decide. Dominion says owners "generally can continue to use their property in the right of way if the use is compatible with the purpose of the easement." Florida Power & Light's tariff gives it "perpetual unobstructed access" to its poles, cables, transformers and meters, and the customer pays "all costs in excess of a standard, unobstructed repair" when something is in the way (FPL tariff, Section 6).

Can you build on a utility easement?

Usually not a building. Fences, driveways, lawns and low plantings are often allowed, some only with written consent. Here is what six utilities and towns publish. Each set covers only that holder's easements, and Dominion notes that its guidelines do not modify "the terms and conditions of recorded easement documents."

Dominion Energy Virginia and North Carolina, electric transmission (guidelines revised June 5, 2025):

• Generally denied: buildings or any part of one, including sheds, decks and roof overhangs; pools; wells; septic tanks and drain fields; retaining walls; grade changes; stormwater ponds; solar panels; and "any Encroachment located, or proposed to be located, within fifty (50) feet of any of the Company's Facilities."
• With a written consent agreement: roads and parking lots kept 50 feet from structures, poles, guys and anchors. Approved roads must cross at no less than 45 degrees and as close to 90 degrees as possible, and the corridor allows no intersections, roundabouts or parallel roads. Plantings need written approval and must mature below 10 feet, and some areas have a lower limit.
• Fences are "generally permitted." Where a fence crosses the corridor or blocks access, Dominion says it "should have access gates" at least 16 feet wide.
• A building permit is no substitute. Even after a certificate of occupancy, Dominion says it can require a building in the right of way to be removed.

Duke Energy, electric distribution (rights-of-way page):

• Rights of way are "typically at least 20 feet wide," so vegetation can be kept at least 10 feet from the nearest primary conductor.
• Pad-mounted transformers, the green boxes near many property lines, need 10 feet of clearance in front and 3 feet on both sides and at the rear.

Buckeye Partners, petroleum pipelines (Right-of-Way Use Restrictions Specification, Revision 7, undated):

• Not allowed in the right-of-way: buildings and structures including decks, patios, pools, wells, walls, septic systems and propane tanks, plus trees, shrubs, privacy fences and ponds.
• "Occupied structures shall not be located within 50 feet of the pipeline unless a minimum cover of 48 inches is provided above the top of the pipeline."
• Allowed: "Flowerbeds, vegetable gardens and lawns."
• Case by case, in writing: other fences, with a 14-foot gate or removable sections, posts at least 5 feet from the pipeline and equidistant where the fence crosses it, and a crossing angle of at least 60 degrees; fences that run parallel to the pipeline go outside the right-of-way. Roads, driveways and parking are "strictly prohibited"; Buckeye reviews exceptions only when extenuating circumstances arise, and approved roads must cross perpendicular to the pipe.

Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility, Alaska, water and sewer (easements page):

• "AWWU will not permit permanent structures within an Easement or Right-of-Way. You must remove existing structures at your expense."
• A non-permanent structure may need an encroachment permit or a letter of non-objection, with a typical turnaround of 2 to 3 business days.

Town of Liberty, North Carolina, water, sewer and road easements (Chapter 56, posted June 2026):

• No permit: grass, mulch, movable furniture, and decorative plants under 4 feet tall and at least 3 feet from any utility structure.
• Minor permit, if certified as not obstructing access or damaging infrastructure, and removable if required: fences with removable panels or "a gate with a minimum of 20' width" that don't block access points; driveways and walkways that don't alter a curb or surface drainage; decks and patios that don't cover manholes or water and sewer appurtenances; sheds or carports on skids or raised foundations, subject to approval and removability. Fences also appear in the chapter's major-permit list, so confirm the permit type with the town.
• Generally prohibited: permanent buildings over lines or manholes; in-ground pools, garages or additions within an active easement; retaining walls that block maintenance vehicles.
• Violations carry a fine of $100 per day per violation.

Village of Mundelein, Illinois, platted easements (required plat language, undated):

• Public utility easements: "No improvements or obstructions permitted within the easement."
• Village utility easements, for water and sewer lines the village maintains: "may be used for driveways and parking."
• Fences in either: "only at property owners risk and expense to remove and to reinstall."

What they share, and where they differ. Several of these sources prohibit buildings in the easement or say requests for them will generally be denied, while Duke's page gives widths and equipment clearances rather than a list of what may be built. Check the recorded grant and the holder's rules for what is allowed and who pays to remove what blocks the work. The distances don't line up, so don't average them. Dominion keeps encroachments 50 feet from its facilities, Buckeye keeps occupied buildings 50 feet from the pipe unless it has 48 inches of cover, and gate widths run 14 feet at Buckeye, 16 at Dominion and 20 in Liberty. Ask the holder of the easement on your parcel for its own rules.

How wide is a utility easement?

There is no national standard. The width is whatever the plat or grant says, and a blanket easement may state none. Published examples:

• Mundelein, Illinois plats. Public utility easements at least 10 feet, which may be split 5 feet on each of two adjacent lots. Village utility easements at least 15 feet. Shared village and public utility corridors at least 20 feet.
• Liberty, North Carolina. Easements for utilities the town maintains at least 20 feet (development ordinance, updated June 8, 2026).
• Duke Energy distribution lines. "Typically at least 20 feet wide."
• Duke Energy transmission lines, typical corridors by voltage:
  • Carolinas: 68 to 100 feet for 44,000 to 115,000 volts; 125 to 150 feet for 230,000 volts; 180 to 200 feet for 500,000 to 525,000 volts.
  • Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky: 100 feet for 69,000 to 138,000 volts; 150 feet for 230,000 to 345,000 volts.
  • Florida: 50 to 100 feet for 69,000 volts; 100 feet for 115,000 and 230,000 volts; 170 feet for 500,000 volts.

The recorded document for your parcel is the one that counts.

How do you find utility easements on your property?

Start with the documents that create rights, then the survey that plots them, then the field marks that show lines.

1. The recorded plat. If the lot is in a subdivision, get the plat from the county recorder. Look for strips labeled PUE, UE or with a utility's name, and read the dedication note.
2. The deed and the title commitment. Read the deed's "subject to" language, then Schedule B, Part II of the title commitment. On the 2021 ALTA form, the policy "will include the following Exceptions unless cleared to the satisfaction of the Company" (2021 ALTA commitment). For every recorded easement listed as an exception, order the underlying document. The commitment may not identify every easement that affects the property.
3. The county recorder's index. Older records are often indexed by name, not address. King County, Washington says most of its recorded documents from 1852 to July 31, 1991 are only on microfilm, and most are "indexed by name(s) and date only" (King County Archives). Search past owners as grantors and local utilities as grantees.
4. The survey. An ALTA/NSPS land title survey must show "the location, width, and recording information of all plottable rights of way, easements, and servitudes" in the documents the surveyor receives. For each easement in the title evidence, it must say whether the location "cannot be determined from the record document" or "it is a blanket easement." It must also show utility evidence seen in the field, such as manholes, pipeline markers, transformers and overhead lines (2026 standards, Sections 5.E and 6.C).
5. An 811 locate. A request to 811, the free before-you-dig service, gets the "approximate location of buried utilities" marked with paint or flags. South Carolina's center says utilities "only mark the lines they install and maintain," private lines are not marked, and depth is not marked (SC811). The paint shows a line. It doesn't show whether an easement exists, how wide it is or what it allows.
6. The utility. Ask each provider whether it holds rights on the parcel. Dominion warns that some of its easements date to the early 1900s, before the roughly 60 years a typical title search covers, and "may not appear on your title insurance policy."

Worked example: what a real commitment shows. A Stewart Title commitment on the 2021 ALTA form, posted by the Port of Tacoma in 2025, lists seven electric power line easements to Puget Sound Power & Light Company, recorded between August 11, 1923 and May 1, 1970. Each reads "Affects: Said premises." That tells you an easement touches the property, not where it runs or how wide it is. The same schedule also excepts easements and rights-of-way "not shown by the Public Records." A buyer would pull all seven documents and ask the surveyor to plot each one or explain why it can't be plotted.

Can a utility easement be removed or moved?

Sometimes, and only with the holder's agreement or a government's formal action. Three routes:

• Release or vacation. In Kennewick, Washington, an easement designated on a plat or deed for a specific utility must be vacated "through that designated utility." For a public easement, the city's procedure (revised September 2024) asks for a request letter, a legal description, sign-offs from the listed utilities, a $50 fee plus recording costs, and a city council hearing. It takes about four weeks from a complete application. Each utility signs only after the owner "has made arrangements with us for any necessary relocation work and granting of any new easement we may need" (Kennewick procedure).
• The utility's own review. Anchorage's water utility "vacates easements by request on a case-by-case basis" after it evaluates whether it "still has a need, now or in the future." The vacation then needs Anchorage Assembly action.
• Relocation at the owner's cost. If a customer asks FPL to move its facilities, the company "will move such facilities at the Customer's expense to a location which is acceptable to the Company" (Section 5.3 of the tariff).

Don't count on an easement lapsing from disuse. In Utah, non-use does not end a gas, electric or telephone company's recorded easement, and Dominion warns that an inspection may not reveal an easement that was recorded but never built on.

Utility easements when you are buying or developing land

A land buyer asks how many lots the site holds once every easement is netted out, and whether the plan can cross them. The answers come from the same records: the plat, the deed, Schedule B, Part II of the title commitment, the recorded easements themselves and the survey. Under the 2026 ALTA standards, optional Table A item 20 adds a table of potential encroachments into documented easements.

How easements cut into buildable area and lot yield

A narrow easement along a lot line often falls inside a required setback, where nothing would be built anyway. An easement that crosses the middle of a tract, or reaches past the setback line, takes building area, and a transmission corridor can also decide where streets go.

Illustrative example. These figures show the method, not a real site. Take a square 10-acre tract, about 660 feet on a side, crossed edge to edge by a 230,000-volt line in the Carolinas, where Duke says such a line typically needs a 125- to 150-foot corridor. By our arithmetic, a 150-foot corridor covers 99,000 square feet, about 2.27 acres or 23% of the tract. A 125-foot corridor covers 82,500 square feet, about 1.89 acres or 19%.

If the holder's rules resemble Dominion's, the corridor also shapes the street plan. A street may cross it at no less than 45 degrees and as close to 90 degrees as possible, but there can be no intersection, roundabout or parallel street inside it. Roads, parking lots, excavation, grading and other construction must stay at least 50 feet from any of the holder's structures, foundations, poles, transformers, equipment, guys or anchors. Lots can back onto the corridor, while houses, pools and stormwater ponds go elsewhere. Run the test with the actual holder's rules and the recorded width.

Pipeline rules can reach past the strip. Buckeye's 50-foot limit for occupied buildings is measured from the pipe, not the right-of-way line, so depending on the corridor's width it can extend onto land outside it.

Why a blanket easement is a red flag

You can't net out what you can't map. In a 2020 case over 1949 transmission line easements with no stated width, the Texas Supreme Court held that "the easements have no fixed width, but the petitioner's use of the land under the easements nevertheless must be reasonable and necessary." It refused to fix them at the 30 feet the line had used (SWEPCO v. Lynch). Defined easements can carry undefined rights too: Dominion says most of its easements include access across the owner's other land and the right to cut danger trees outside the corridor.

An ALTA/NSPS survey should identify a blanket easement and show whatever location and utility evidence can be established. An undefined width does not necessarily mean an undefined route. Before an offer, have the grant reviewed for both, and ask whether the holder will record a defined corridor or a partial release. Carry any unresolved footprint into the feasibility review.

What to ask the utility before an offer

1. Which recorded documents give you rights on this parcel, and do you claim any unrecorded rights from long use? Liberty's ordinance says that for existing town water and sewer lines, absent an agreement, "these utilities shall hold prescriptive easements in accordance with common law."
2. What is the width and location of each easement? Is any of them blanket?
3. Which parts of our plan need your written consent: street crossings, driveways, fences, landscaping, grading or stormwater facilities?
4. Will consent pass to a later owner or a homeowners' association? Dominion's consent agreements are generally not transferable and can be revoked.
5. Are new facilities planned in this corridor? Dominion plans for "requirements 50 to 100 years in the future and beyond."
6. Will you release or relocate any easement, at whose cost, and how long will it take?

Whether the utility can serve the project is a separate question; our will-serve letter guide covers how to get that answer in writing. For a lot that reaches the road by a narrow strip, our flag lot guide asks where the utilities run. For access easements and road corridors, see easement vs. right-of-way.

Where Pillar fits

Pillar's map layers put utility and infrastructure layers, such as transmission lines, over parcel boundaries, with coverage varying by dataset. That helps flag sites for an easement check during a desktop site screen. A mapped line is not the easement: the width, holder and terms come from the recorded documents and the survey.

Quick answers

What is a public utility easement? An easement on a recorded plat or other recorded document, dedicated to utility facilities. In Utah, more than one utility may use it.

Can you put a fence on a utility easement? Often, with conditions. Dominion generally permits fences and asks for 16-foot gates where a fence crosses or blocks the corridor, Liberty requires a permit and removable panels or a 20-foot gate, and Mundelein allows them at the owner's risk and expense.

Can a utility easement be removed? Yes, if the holder releases it or the government that holds it vacates it, often after every utility using it signs off. Expect to pay for any relocation.

Do utility easements expire? Check the grant and your state's law. Dominion says most easements do not expire and are perpetual, and in Utah non-use does not end a gas, electric or telephone company's recorded easement.

Who maintains a utility easement? The utility maintains its facilities. Owners may have to keep the surface clear, as Liberty requires.

Is a utility easement public property? No. The owner keeps title. The holder has only the rights the document grants.

Can anyone use a utility easement? No. Only the holder, or the utilities a public utility easement admits, and only for the stated purpose.