3.1 From Rule 21 to Chapter 7: Types of Surveys and Attestation
Key Takeaways
Mississippi's Minimum Standards of Land Surveying (Rule 21) governed plats from 1991 to June 30, 2005; revised Standards of Practice took effect July 1, 2005.
The Standards of Practice were recodified as Title 30, Part 901, Chapter 7 effective January 1, 2025, eliminating the former Class D.
Rule 7.1 treats boundary, route, easement, and lease surveys as one category whose primary purpose is determining the perimeter of a parcel.
Easements surveyed with a boundary, route, or lease survey need no monuments if adjacent to and parallel with the boundary lines, or if temporary (Rule 7.1).
Topographic, hydrographic, and control survey products may be sealed by the Professional Surveyor or Professional Engineer in responsible charge (Rule 7.2).
A short history of the Mississippi standards
The Board's "Surveying Standards" page traces four generations of rules. The Board still keeps a separate plat-review checklist for each era, because a plat is judged against the standards in force when it was made.
| Period | Standard | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 – June 30, 2005 | Minimum Standards of Land Surveying (Rule 21) | Original statewide minimums |
| July 1, 2005 | Standards of Practice for Surveying (revised Rule 21) | Checklist revised |
| August 1, 2015 | Third revision of Rule 21 | Required a new checklist; four classes A–D with an accuracy table in Appendix B |
| April 15, 2017 | Fourth revision | Minor changes, same checklist |
| January 1, 2025 | Part 901, Chapter 7 — Standards of Practice for Surveying | Renumbered as Rules 7.1–7.6; Class D removed |
| November 21, 2025 | Current Chapter 7 in the 2026 rules | Restores the "definitive north arrow" requirement that the January 2025 text had dropped (Rule 7.3.3.a); authority cited as § 73-13-15 |
The Board published a side-by-side "2015 vs 2025 Standards of Practice Comparison" when it adopted Chapter 7. Section 3.2 lists the most-tested changes.
Statutory hooks. The Board adopts the standards under its § 73-13-15 rulemaking power. Other statutes rely on them. Section 89-6-13 makes coordinates a legal description only if the connection to the Mississippi Coordinate System follows chapter 89-6 and the Board's standards of practice. Section 73-13-49 requires new class-one railroad right-of-way acquisitions to be platted under the Standards of Practice. A licensee who fails to meet the standards "will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action by the Board" (Rule 7.6).
Rule 7.1: types of surveys
"Whenever a survey is performed, it shall comply with Statute, and the Standards of Practice." The rule defines:
- Boundary, route, easement, and lease surveys as one category: surveys whose primary purpose includes determining the perimeter of a parcel or tract by establishing or re-establishing corners and monuments, to describe, plat, or divide the parcel and prepare a description.
- Topographic survey: a survey of natural and select man-made features by ground measurements or remote sensing to determine their horizontal and vertical spatial relations.
- Hydrographic survey: a survey mainly to determine data about bodies of water, such as depth and bottom configuration, current direction and force, water stages, and the location of fixed objects for survey and navigation.
- Control survey: a survey providing horizontal or vertical position data to support or control subordinate surveying, mapping, or construction layout.
Easement monumentation exceptions. When an easement survey is performed in conjunction with a boundary, route, or lease survey:
- (a) if the easement is adjacent to and parallel with the boundary line(s) created or re-established, the easement need not be monumented; and
- (b) if the easement is temporary, monumentation is not required.
A stand-alone easement survey, such as a pipeline easement across several ownerships, is still a regulated boundary-type survey. Its corners are monumented under Rule 7.3 like any other.
Rule 7.2: attesting to quality and responsibility
The purpose of Rule 7.2 is to assure the client that the work was done under the direct Supervision of a licensee and meets the standards. Documentation must be sealed, signed, and dated by the licensee in responsible charge:
| Survey | Required product and sealer |
|---|---|
| Boundary, route, easement, lease | A plat must be prepared, bearing the seal and signature of the Professional Surveyor in responsible charge and the date the seal was affixed |
| Topographic, hydrographic, or control survey for a client | Any plat, map, or report that is the licensee's final product bears the seal, signature, and date of the PS or PE in responsible charge |
| Topographic, hydrographic, or control survey done by a licensee to obtain data for the licensee's own calculations or product | The final product of the project bears the seal, signature, and date of the PS or PE in responsible charge |
The 2015 text used the phrase "construction layout survey." The 2025 text substitutes control survey and adds the explicit requirement to date the seal.
The rest of Chapter 7 in one view
| Rule | Topic | Where covered |
|---|---|---|
| 7.3 | Nineteen plat requirements for boundary, route, easement, and lease surveys | Chapter 4 and Section 3.4 |
| 7.4 | Classification of surveys (A, B, C) | Section 3.2 |
| 7.5 | Minimum accuracy table plus GNSS/radial quality control | Sections 3.3–3.4 |
| 7.6 | Enforcement | This section |
Item 19 of Rule 7.3 ties the chapter together. Regardless of survey type, a plat bears the licensee's name, address, date of field survey, signature, and seal, and that signature and seal certify that the survey meets the Standards of Practice. The rule adds that "other regulations including the Manual of Instructions for the Survey of U.S. Public Lands and all subdivision laws and regulations of the State of Mississippi Statutes shall be followed." That sentence brings BLM retracement practice (Chapters 6–7) into Mississippi's standards.
Minimums, not maximums
The standards set minimum requirements. A client may ask for more, such as an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey or tighter control, but nothing in the rules lets a client waive them. Rule 7.1 says "whenever a survey is performed, it shall comply." A surveyor who drops monumentation or closure checks because the client signed a waiver still violates Chapter 7 and faces discipline. A client who wants less than a survey can hire a non-survey service, such as a map sketch, but a licensee who performs a boundary survey must meet Chapter 7.
A PS performs a boundary survey and, as part of it, locates a 20-foot access easement running along and parallel to the new north line. Under Rule 7.1, must the easement lines be monumented?
No, because an easement surveyed with the boundary survey that is adjacent to and parallel with the boundary line need not be monumented
Yes, every easement corner must be monumented with 1/2-inch by 18-inch ferrous monuments
Yes, unless the easement is shorter than 330 feet
No, because easements are never within the scope of Chapter 7
Under Chapter 7, which survey type may have its final product sealed by either a Professional Surveyor or a Professional Engineer in responsible charge?
A lease survey of a cell-tower site
A route survey for a new transmission line
A hydrographic survey performed at a client's request
A boundary survey dividing a parent tract
A plat was prepared in 2012. The Board receives a complaint about it in 2026. Which standards will the Board use to review it?
The November 2025 Chapter 7 standards, because they are the current rule
The July 1, 2005 Standards of Practice (revised Rule 21), using the checklist for that era
The 1991 Minimum Standards, because they were never repealed
No standards apply to plats more than ten years old
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.