Companion Guide to Video August 2012

www.fhwa.dot.gov/federal-aidessentials

Project Development

Preparing the PS&E

Right-of-Way Coordination and 

Certification Requirements

Agencies are required to certify proper right-of-way coordination 

prior to construction on Federal-aid projects

If you have ever developed a Federal-aid highway 

project for construction, you know how important it 

is to have the physical and legal possession of 

property, or right-of-way, needed to build the 

project. Without having the needed right-of-way for 

a project, you may encounter issues that can 

quickly bring construction to a halt, costing you 

time and money. 

As a local public agency and steward of the 

Federal-aid Highway Program, it is important to 

know what it takes to properly deliver a Federalaid project. The Federal Highway Administration, 

or FHWA, requires agencies to certify that right-ofway-related requirements have been fulfilled 

before authorizing a project for construction. We 

are going to talk about these right-of-way-related 

requirements to help you avoid problems with 

authorizing your project for construction. 

First, let’s explain some commonly used 

terminology and background relating to Federal 

right-of-way requirements. In highway 

construction, right-of-way is a term used generally 

to describe physical property, or specific interests 

in property, needed to construct a project. When 

you acquire right-of-way for Federal-aid projects, 

you are obtaining the physical and legal 

possession of property or certain rights to 

property, which may include the relocation of 

affected parties. 

You must comply with 

all right-of-way 

requirements if your 

project will affect 

something FHWA refers 

to as “real property.”

Real property is a term 

used to describe land, 

improvements to land, 

fee interests, 

easements, air or access rights, or the rights to 

control land, such as leases. 

The primary law governing right-of-way acquisition 

and relocation activities on Federal-aid projects is 

referred to as the Uniform Act, short for the 

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property 

Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended. The 

Uniform Act and other Federal right-of-way 

requirements are in place to protect and treat fairly 

those who are affected by a Federal-aid project. 

When you need to acquire property, or certain 

rights or interests to property in order to build your 

project, you must comply with the Uniform Act. 

The Uniform Act requirements apply when 

Federal-aid is used for any phase of a project. For 

example, if you use local funds only for right-ofway acquisition and plan to use Federal-aid only 

for the construction phase, you must still comply 

with the Uniform Act to be eligible to receive these 

Federal funds. The Uniform Act requirements also 

apply when only a temporary easement is 

necessary for constructing a project. 
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

Right-of-way coordination 

should be initiated as soon 

as you determine if it will be 

required. Some projects 

may require many parcels 

or relocations, making the 

right-of-way acquisition 

process complex and 

challenging to resolve. Acquiring right-of-way 

can take considerable time to conduct 

appraisals, negotiations, and ultimately settle an 

agreement with those affected by your project. 

Be prepared for situations by allowing extra time 

during the project design for this coordination to 

take place. 

Your State department of transportation, or 

State DOT, may allow you, the local public 

agency, or LPA, to manage the right-of-way 

acquisition for your project. The agency 

responsible for acquiring right-of-way is normally 

determined by the project agreement between 

you and your State DOT. 

As you are developing your Federal-aid highway 

project, here are some valuable tips that should 

help keep your project on track: 

• During the design phase of a project, 

you should identify the boundaries of the 

work and determine if construction 

activities will affect any property 

adjacent to those you own. 

• Notify the appropriate agency personnel 

that there will be right-of-way acquisition 

needed so the process can begin. 

• Good communication with those 

responsible for acquiring the right-ofway for your project is key for keeping 

your project on schedule. This will help 

you identify issues early on as right-ofway acquisition can 

become complex 

and will allow you 

time to make needed 

adjustments to the project design. 

After completing the design work, every Federalaid project must reach a major milestone before 

construction can be authorized. This milestone 

is the approval of your project’s plans, 

specifications and estimates more commonly 

referred to as a PS&E. A right-of-way 

certification statement is required to be 

submitted with your project’s PS&E, confirming 

the appropriate right-of-way coordination has 

taken place. You are allowed to advertise your 

project for bids only after your project’s PS&E 

has been approved. 

The right-of-way certification statement is a 

standard requirement that applies to all Federalaid projects, even for projects that do not require 

acquisition of any right-of-way. This requirement 

helps convey that all property needed to 

construct the project have been acquired and all 

persons have been relocated in accordance with 

the Uniform Act and other 

applicable requirements. 

You are responsible for 

working with your State 

DOT to establish a right-ofway certification for 

Federal-aid projects. Each 

State DOT has procedures and documentation 

requirements for providing a project right-of-way 

certification; however, the specific 

circumstances of each project must be 

addressed by including one of the following: 

• A statement that “no right-of-way acquisition 

is required for the project” applies when all 

proposed work will occur within existing 

right-of-way. 

• A statement that “all right-of-way has been 

acquired for the project.” This statement 

must also include that the property was 

acquired in accordance with all applicable 

requirements covering the acquisition of real 

property, and the agency has legal and 

physical possession of all right-of-way 

needed for the project. 
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

• A statement that “the necessary right-of-way 

has not been acquired and arrangements 

have been made for remaining right-of-way 

clearance work to be undertaken during 

construction.” Under this circumstance, you 

must include appropriate notification in the 

bid proposal of any right-of-way clearance 

that will occur concurrently with the project 

construction. 

If individuals or families have been displaced by 

your project, you must also include a statement 

that “all individuals and families have been 

relocated to decent, safe and sanitary housing.” 

Under this circumstance, this statement certifies 

agencies have complied with all Federal 

requirements for administering the Highway 

Relocation Assistance Program. 

Right-of-way-related issues can cause delays or 

even bring a project to a halt. In order for you to 

avoid these problems, remember that right-ofway coordination and certification requirements 

apply to all Federal-aid construction projects. In 

some cases, the right-of-way coordination can 

become very complex and take time and effort 

to resolve before construction begins. You can 

help prevent unnecessary project delays or 

costs during the construction of your Federal-aid 

project by early coordination of right-of-way. 
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

The content of this 

document is not a 

substitute for 

information obtained 

from State departments 

of transportation, 

appropriate FHWA 

Division Offices, and 

applicable laws. 

Scenarios have been 

simplified for emphasis 

and do not necessarily 

reflect the actual range of 

requirements applicable 

to the scenario or this 

topic. This document

was created under 

contract number 

DTFH61-11-D-00024 by 

the Federal Highway 

Administration, U.S. 

Department of 

Transportation, and is 

offered to the public to 

heighten and focus 

awareness of Federal-aid 

requirements within the 

local public agencies 

community and 

reinforces the 

importance of these 

necessary policies, 

procedures, and 

practices.

This companion resource 

is the script content for 

the video production of 

the same name. 

Additional Resources

• Federal regulations that apply to Federal-aid highway projects prior to 

authorizing construction

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi/t/text/textidx?c=ecfr&sid=bfca8e76cb20fc9cc274cd227545d698&rgn=div6&view=text&

node=23:1.0.1.7.23.3&idno=23

• Link to Real Estate Acquisition Guide For Local Public Agencies

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/realestate/lpaguide/

• Information on the Uniform Act and related regulations and guidance

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/realestate/ua/index.htm

• Right-of-way regulations that apply to Federal-aid projects

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi/t/text/textidx?c=ecfr&sid=a8f684e5ad28bcffb7aa4537224d5325&rgn=div5&view=text&

node=23:1.0.1.8.39&idno=23