Minimal Standards in Land Surveying

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Minimal Standards in Land Surveying

Land surveyors are accustomed to make accurate measurements of your land. You could have a land survey done before you purchase the property or as you choose to build on it. Clearly, you should have a qualified land surveyor focusing on the survey. A land surveyor's accuracy requires that minimum standards should be met, in order to make sure that the survey is correct. The minimal standards for land surveying vary across states and countries. In the U.S., land surveyors are licensed on a state-by-state basis, meaning that the minimal standards could possibly vary greatly.

Most states' minimal standards for surveying require that the surveyor provides a complete and unequivocal definition of land boundaries with enough information to permit the description to be plotted. Generally, this legal description must follow one of several surveying standards, like the Public Land Survey System, or the metes and bounds system, which describes how such measurements should be taken and described. Between states, there's very little variation with regards to how this information is usually to be presented.

Prior to beginning a survey, it is standard for a land surveyor to analyze background data, such as for example property deeds or old surveys, to determine what's already known concerning the property. The surveyor must use this information when determining the logical process of conducting a survey of the land.


Although these are general rules for conducting a survey, the rules established by many states get into much greater detail. Most state requirements outline the minimal standards for conducting the actual land survey, as well. These can include searching thoroughly for past surveying monuments, cooperating with appropriate public officials, and making sufficient measurements to be able to verify that the task is accurate. In the course of the survey, a surveyor must often set monuments to record the boundaries on the physical property. Other requirements may outline exactly what material should be used for the monuments.

Some states go so far as to stipulate exactly how the maps are to be drawn, in an effort to standardize the procedure.  https://blackacresurveyorslondon.co.uk/best-affordable-housing-valuations-london/  help to make sure that land surveys done by two separate surveyors ought to be as identical as possible.

Most states require land surveyors to record their notes because they work, in a fashion that would be intelligible to another surveyor. When the current surveyor disagrees with a previous survey, the present surveyor should contact the previous surveyor and try to resolve the issue.

Land surveyors should be licensed in the state where they work. The licensing requirements generally add a test, that will require understanding of minimal standards of land surveying as they are set out in the laws for that particular state. These guidelines often include ethical statements, such as for example stipulations that the minimal requirements shouldn't be accepted because the only standard for the practice of land surveying. Other professional conduct standards written for land surveyors may address issues such as conflict of interest or knowingly signing off on a survey that does follow minimum standards.