2.1 Code of Professional Conduct & Solicitation of Work (Rule 6.3)
Key Takeaways
Mississippi's Code of Professional Conduct is Title 30, Part 901, Rule 6.3, and it binds all licensees and all firms authorized to offer surveying.
Licensees may not accept compensation from more than one party for the same project unless the circumstances are fully disclosed and agreed to in writing by all interested parties (Rule 6.3).
A licensee who knows or has reason to believe that anyone has violated the surveying Statute or rules shall report it to the Board (Rule 6.3).
A Mississippi surveyor may not submit a price until the client has selected the surveyor primarily on qualifications, unless the Rule 6.3 short-list conditions are met.
Violating the Code of Professional Conduct is a ground for discipline under § 73-13-37 and Part 901 Rule 9.2.
Source and reach
Section 73-13-15(a) empowers the Board to "establish standards of conduct and ethics." The Board did so in Part 901, Rule 6.3 — Code of Professional Conduct. The rules are "binding upon every licensee and on all Firms authorized to offer or perform engineering or surveying services in the State of Mississippi." Older study materials cite a "Chapter 8" ethics code or "Rules 8.1–8.7." In the current rules, Chapter 8 is the Certificate of Authority and the conduct code is Rule 6.3.
Violating the Code is a disciplinary ground in both the statute (§ 73-13-37(1)(a) and (d)) and the rules (Rule 9.2(e) and (j)). Rule 1.2 supplies the vocabulary: gross negligence is practice showing reckless disregard for the rights, health, safety, or welfare of others; incompetency is inability to exercise ordinary care or lack of the needed skill; and misconduct covers fraudulent, deceitful, or misleading acts, omissions, or representations, or any conduct that discredits the profession.
1. Obligation to the public
Licensees must:
- Treat the health, safety, and welfare of the public as their "first and foremost responsibility" when serving clients and employers.
- Sign and seal only surveys and documents that conform to accepted surveying standards and safeguard the public.
- Notify the employer or client, and any other appropriate authority, when their professional judgment is overruled in a way that endangers the public.
- Include all relevant and pertinent information, objectively and truthfully, in professional documents, statements, and testimony.
- Express a public professional opinion only when it rests on adequate knowledge of the facts and a competent evaluation.
- Issue no statements or criticisms inspired or paid for by interested parties unless they identify those parties and disclose their own interest.
- Not partner or practice with anyone they know is engaged in fraudulent or dishonest practices.
- Report to the Board anyone they know or have reason to believe has violated the surveying Statute or rules, and cooperate with the Board. They may also report to legal authorities.
- Not knowingly give false or incomplete information about an applicant for licensure.
- Comply with the licensing laws of every jurisdiction where they practice.
In practice, a surveyor cannot leave a recovered original monument off a plat to please a client. The Standards of Practice separately require every found monument and every discrepancy to be shown (Rule 7.3).
2. Obligation to employers and clients
| Rule | What it means in surveying practice |
|---|---|
| Undertake assignments only when qualified by education or experience | Don't accept geodetic control, hydrographic, or PLSS retracement work you are not competent to do |
| Don't sign or seal documents outside your competence or not prepared under your responsible charge | No "plan stamping" of another's field work |
| Coordinate a whole project only if each technical segment is signed and sealed by the licensee responsible for it | A PS may coordinate, but each discipline seals its own work |
| Don't reveal facts or data obtained professionally without consent, unless the Statute or rules authorize or require it | Client confidentiality, subject to legal requirements |
| Don't solicit or accept gratuities from contractors or other parties connected with the client's work | No gifts from the builder whose foundation you are locating |
| Disclose known or potential conflicts of interest | Tell the client you own the adjoining tract |
| Don't accept compensation from more than one party for the same project unless fully disclosed and agreed to in writing by all interested parties | Two neighbors who split a survey fee must both consent in writing |
| Don't solicit a public contract from a governmental body on which your principal serves; public members can't take part in decisions about their own firms | Public-body conflicts |
| Don't use confidential information for personal profit without consent | No buying land based on a client's confidential plans |
3. Obligation to other licensees
Licensees shall not misrepresent their own or their associates' qualifications, responsibility, or past accomplishments. They shall not offer, give, solicit, or receive commissions, gifts, or other consideration to secure work, or make political contributions intended to influence a public contract award. They shall not maliciously or falsely injure another licensee's reputation or practice, or indiscriminately criticize other licensees' work. They shall make a reasonable effort to inform another licensee whose work they believe contains a material discrepancy, error, or omission that may affect public health, safety, or welfare, unless the law prohibits it.
4. Character, reputation, and competence
The licensee must maintain good character and reputation. Grounds for a disciplinary hearing that may lead to revocation include suspension by another jurisdiction, habitual drunkenness, gross immorality, addiction to narcotics or illegal drugs, being adjudged insane or incompetent by a court, and felony or misdemeanor convictions. A licensee may accept an assignment requiring skills outside their competence only for the phases they are qualified to perform. Qualified associates, consultants, or employees must perform the rest.
5. Solicitation of work: qualifications-based selection for surveyors
Rule 6.3 contains a surveyor-specific qualifications-based selection rule. A Professional Surveyor or surveying firm seeks work "based primarily on the qualifications and competencies required." It may not submit a price until the prospective client has selected that surveyor or firm, based primarily on stated qualifications and competencies, for final contractual negotiations. Competitive price proposals may be submitted or solicited only if all of these are met:
- The client first sought statements of qualifications from interested licensees.
- A short-list of no more than five licensees, chosen on qualifications, received in writing a comprehensive and specific scope of work prepared by the client or its representative that completely describes the factors affecting the services.
- The client gave assurances that factors in addition to price were considered in the selection.
The engineering version of the rule adds a sealed scope of work and bars the engineer who sealed it from bidding. The surveying version requires a client-prepared scope instead.
Applying the Code: common exam patterns
- Two adjoiners, one fee. Permitted only with full disclosure and written agreement by all interested parties. Oral consent is not enough.
- Client wants a monument omitted. Refuse. Rule 6.3 requires truthful, complete documents, and Rule 7.3 requires all monuments found or set to be shown.
- Unlicensed "survey" business. A licensee who learns a person is offering boundary surveys without a license must report it to the Board.
- Request for a lump-sum bid on a boundary survey before any selection. Submitting a price is prohibited unless the short-list conditions were met.
- Outcome-based fees. Rule 6.3 has no clause that uses the words "contingency fee." A fee that pays more if the plat shows more acreage still conflicts with the duties to be objective and truthful, and a surveyor should decline it.
Two adjoining owners in a boundary disagreement ask a Mississippi PS to locate their common line and split the fee. Under Rule 6.3, when may the surveyor accept payment from both?
Only after the chancery court appoints the surveyor as a neutral expert
Only if the circumstances are fully disclosed to, and agreed to in writing by, all interested parties
Whenever the surveyor believes the work is objective, with no disclosure needed
Never, because accepting payment from two parties is an absolute prohibition
A county asks five surveying firms to submit lump-sum fee bids for a boundary survey without first requesting statements of qualifications. What does Rule 6.3 require of a Mississippi PS invited to bid?
Submit the lowest responsible bid, because public entities must award to the low bidder
Submit a bid only if it is at least 10% below the county's estimate
Not submit a price unless the client first sought qualifications, short-listed no more than five firms with a written scope, and assured that factors besides price were considered
Submit a price only after the Board issues a declaratory opinion approving the procedure
While researching a job, a PS learns that a local drafting company is selling signed "boundary surveys" with no licensed surveyor involved. What does the Code of Professional Conduct require?
Report the matter to the Board and cooperate with the Board as requested
Nothing, because the conduct involves a nonlicensee over whom the Board has no authority
Confront the company privately and report only if it refuses to stop within 90 days
Record an affidavit with the chancery clerk describing each affected plat
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.