Cost
Utility survey cost: what UK surveyors publish in 2026
Updated
A utility survey costs from £450 to £1,200 as a starting price for a small site on the prices UK surveyors publish for a PAS 128 detection survey, with larger and more complex sites quoted higher and trial holes priced on top.
Published utility survey prices
| Surveyor | What is priced | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CADMap | Small residential or single plot, up to 0.25 acre | £450 to £750 | CADMap: GPR survey price |
| Utility Locate | Small residential plot | £650 to £1,200 | Utility Locate: resources and guides |
| Spatial Dimensions | PAS 128 survey, starting price | from £850 | Spatial Dimensions: PAS 128 utility surveys |
| Surveyors Kent | Small to medium site, Quality Level B | £1,200 to £3,500 | Surveyors Kent: PAS 128 surveys |
Source: Utility Survey Price Index: every row, with its source
CADMap prices by area: up to 0.25 acre £450 to £750, 0.25 to 1 acre £750 to £1,400, and 1 to 5 acres £1,400 to £3,000 or more.
Source: CADMap: GPR survey price, read 28 October 2026
Spatial Dimensions starts at £850, puts most PAS 128 surveys between £1,200 and £3,500, and prices QL-A verification separately, per trial hole, from £350.
Source: Spatial Dimensions: PAS 128 utility surveys, read 28 October 2026
A records search is a different product
A desktop utility search collects the asset owners' plans and costs much less, but it detects nothing on site. Groundwise prices its utility searches from £100 plus VAT on a 10 day turnaround, and £150 plus VAT for a quick turnaround.
Source: Groundwise: PAS 128 QL-D utility searches, read 28 October 2026
Cornerstone Projects starts at £58 plus VAT plus disbursements per utility.
Source: Cornerstone Projects: utility searches, read 28 October 2026
What moves the price
- The area and the length of services. Price bands on the published pages are set by site area.
- The PAS 128 quality level. A records search (QL-D) is cheapest; detection with GPR and EML (QL-B) is the common survey; verification by trial hole (QL-A) is priced per hole on top.
- Traffic management and access. Work in a road adds cost.
- The drawings you need back. CAD layers, 3D models and a depth schedule take office time.
4 of the 21 surveyors we read publish a detection survey price. The rest quote per site, so these are published starting prices, not a quote for your site.