Legal Principles
18-27%of exam
Survey Practice
22-33%of exam
Records ResearchField ChecksGNSS MethodsComputationsGIS Datums
Standards
8-12%of exam
ALTA/NSPSBLM ManualFEMA WorkAccuracy StandardsElectronic Standards
Business Practice
13-19%of exam
ScopesContractsQA/QCRiskCommunication
Practice Areas
24-36%of exam
ALTA SurveysControl NetworksConstruction LayoutBoundary SurveysTopographic WorkSubdivisions
Quick Facts
- Exam
- PS Surveying
- Owner
- NCEES
- Questions
- 100
- Time
- 7 hours
- Format
- CBT closed book
- References
- Electronic handbook
- Units
- USCS
- Fee
- $375
- Score
- Pass/fail scaled
- Pass Rate
- 56% first-time
- Repeat Rate
- 39% repeat
- Eligibility
- Board rules vary
Call Priority
Intent -> monuments -> course -> distance -> area
IntentMonumentsCourseDistanceArea
Monument vs Measurement
Monument
- Physical evidence
- Original intent
- May control
Measurement
- Record number
- May contain error
- Supports geometry
Evidence beats arithmetic
Evidence Picker
- Found original monument→Honor monument(Verify undisturbed)
- Conflicting distance→Weigh calls(Intent controls)
- Sudden channel change→Avulsion(Boundary may stay)
- Gradual shoreline change→Accretion/reliction(Boundary may move)
- Ambiguous deed→Parol evidence(Clarify, not rewrite)
- PLSS corner found→Existent corner(Recover, don't replace)
- Corner evidence absent→Lost-corner methods(Proportion carefully)
- Sequential overlap→Senior rights(Junior bears shortage)
Evidence Priority
- Original monument
- Best original evidence
- Called monument
- Named deed object
- Natural monument
- Water, tree, ridge
- Artificial monument
- Set human marker
- Course
- Bearing or direction
- Distance
- Measured line length
- Area
- Least reliable call
- Occupation
- Use evidence
Water Change
Gradual moves; sudden stays
Accretion movesReliction movesAvulsion stays
Accretion vs Avulsion
Accretion
- Gradual change
- Often moves line
Avulsion
- Sudden change
- Often line stays
Speed changes law
Rights Doctrines
- Senior deed
- Earlier conveyance
- Junior deed
- Later conveyance
- Parol evidence
- Clarifies ambiguity
- Prescriptive easement
- Long adverse use
- Adverse possession
- May ripen title
- Acquiescence
- Accepted line conduct
- Appurtenant easement
- Runs with land
- Easement in gross
- Benefits holder
- Encumbrance
- Affects title/use
Corner Status
Existent found; obliterated proved; lost proportioned
Existent foundObliterated provedLost proportioned
Easement vs Possession
Easement
- Use right
- Fee remains elsewhere
Possession
- Ownership claim
- Court decides title
Use right vs title
Water + PLSS
- Accretion
- Gradual land gain
- Reliction
- Gradual water retreat
- Avulsion
- Sudden channel change
- Riparian
- River or stream
- Littoral
- Lake or sea
- Navigability
- Sovereign-right trigger
- Existent corner
- Direct evidence supports
- Obliterated corner
- Collateral evidence proves
- Lost corner
- Evidence insufficient
- Proportioning
- Lost-corner restoration
GNSS Heights
GNSS height needs geoid
Ellipsoid inGeoid modelOrtho out
Datum vs Projection
Datum
- Reference frame
- Positions depend
Projection
- Flat grid
- Scale distortion
Frame before grid
Method Picker
- Need high control→Static GNSS(Post-process)
- Need real-time staking→RTK(Independent check)
- Need flood elevation→Orthometric height(Geoid required)
- Need local grid→Site calibration(Distributed control)
- Need network confidence→Least squares(Residual review)
- Need boundary start→Records research(Include adjoiners)
- Need field reliability→Redundant observations(Blunders visible)
- Need GIS delivery→Metadata(Datum projection)
Records + Field
- Deed chain
- Conveyance history
- Adjoiner deeds
- Neighbor context
- Prior surveys
- Past opinions
- Title record
- Recorded interests
- Field notes
- Observed evidence
- Check shots
- Independent verification
- Redundancy
- Extra observations
- Witness ties
- Recover monument position
- Monument log
- Evidence inventory
Precision vs Accuracy
Precision
- Repeatability
- Tight cluster
Accuracy
- Truth closeness
- Control agreement
Repeatable can be wrong
GNSS + Datums
- Datum
- Reference frame
- Epoch
- Frame date
- Projection
- Earth to grid
- Geoid
- Elevation model
- Ellipsoid height
- GNSS height
- Orthometric height
- Elevation above geoid
- Static GNSS
- Long control sessions
- RTK
- Real-time corrections
- PPP
- Precise point positioning
- Site calibration
- GNSS to local
Static vs RTK
Static
- Long occupations
- Control quality
RTK
- Real-time positions
- Check required
Control vs production
Computations + GIS
- Least squares
- Redundant adjustment
- Residual
- Observed minus adjusted
- Misclosure
- Endpoint mismatch
- Compass rule
- Length-based correction
- Coordinate area
- Vertex product area
- Percent grade
- Rise divided run
- Metadata
- Dataset documentation
- Units
- Foot/meter clarity
- Scale factor
- Grid-ground relation
ALTA vs Boundary
ALTA
- Title-insurance standard
- Shows improvements
- Needs commitment
Boundary
- Line opinion
- Evidence reconciliation
- Jurisdiction rules
Scope drives deliverable
Standards Picker
- Title insurance survey→ALTA 2021(Table A optional)
- Federal PLSS retracement→BLM Manual
- Flood certificate→FEMA EC
- Flood study context→FIS
- Geospatial accuracy→GPAS
- Map scale accuracy→USNMAS
- Digital leveling→FGCS 3.5
- Standard question→Listed revision(Other years lose)
Supplied Standards
- PS handbook
- NCEES reference
- ALTA 2021
- Land title standard
- Table A
- Optional negotiated items
- BLM Manual
- PLSS retracement
- FEMA EC
- Elevation certificate
- FIS
- Flood insurance study
- GPAS
- Geospatial accuracy
- USNMAS
- Map accuracy
- FGCS 3.5
- Digital leveling
Project Flow
Scope -> field -> check -> deliver
ScopeFieldCheckDeliver
QA vs QC
QA
- Process assurance
- Prevents defects
QC
- Product checking
- Finds defects
Process vs product
Business Risk
- Scope
- Work boundary
- Deliverables
- Promised outputs
- Budget
- Planned cost
- Contract
- Risk allocation
- Standard care
- Ordinary diligence
- Responsible charge
- Professional control
- Seal
- Professional responsibility
- QA
- Process assurance
- QC
- Product checking
- Safety plan
- Field risk control
- Insurance
- Risk financing
Layout vs As-Built
Layout
- Planned positions
- Before construction
As-built
- Actual positions
- After construction
Stake vs document
Deliverable Picker
- Need legal lots→Subdivision plat
- Need built condition→As-built survey
- Need planned positions→Construction layout
- Need route offsets→Route survey
- Need terrain model→Topographic survey
- Need title closing→ALTA survey
- Need boundary opinion→Boundary survey
- Need development advice→Consultation
Survey Types
- ALTA survey
- Title transaction
- Boundary survey
- Boundary opinion
- Control survey
- Reference network
- Construction layout
- Stake planned work
- Route survey
- Alignment corridor
- Topographic survey
- Surface/features
- Subdivision plat
- Create lots
- As-built survey
- Document built work
- Consultation
- Development advice
- Hydrographic survey
- Water-bottom mapping
ALTA + Boundary
- Title commitment
- Survey-related records
- Schedule B
- Exceptions review
- Access
- Observed legal entry
- Encroachment
- Cross-boundary improvement
- Zoning item
- Authorized scope
- Utilities
- Observed/recorded features
- Reconciliation
- Evidence weighing
- Record intent
- Original meaning
Common Traps
Coordinates vs boundary
Coordinates locate evidence ≠ Evidence resolves boundary
Closure vs title
Closure checks math ≠ Title follows rights
State law
Doctrine is general ≠ Timing is jurisdictional
Fixed water
Accretion may move ≠ Avulsion may not
Fixed RTK
Fixed is solution ≠ Check proves reliability
Table A
Optional means authorized ≠ Not automatic scope
Seal use
Seal means charge ≠ Not decoration
GIS vs survey
GIS displays data ≠ Survey weighs evidence
Last Minute
- 1.100 questions; 7 hours
- 2.Closed book; electronic references
- 3.USCS units only
- 4.Legal: 18-27 questions
- 5.Practice: 22-33 questions
- 6.Standards: 8-12 questions
- 7.Business: 13-19 questions
- 8.Areas: 24-36 questions
- 9.Monuments beat measurements
- 10.Senior rights before junior
- 11.Accretion moves; avulsion stays
- 12.Datum before coordinates
- 13.ALTA Table A optional
- 14.State law varies
Buy on AmazonSame family resources
Explore More Land Surveyor
Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.
More From This Family
Videos and articles for deeper review.