3.2 Survey Classification: Class A, B & C (and the Retired Class D)
Key Takeaways
Rule 7.4 defines Class A as surveys of extensively developed and expensive properties requiring maximum accuracy, such as urban business district properties.
Class B covers properties subject to costly improvements, including commercial and higher-priced residential properties outside urban business districts (Rule 7.4).
Class C covers all remaining properties that cannot be classified as Class A or B, including rural and farm land after 2025 (Rule 7.4).
Classification depends on the property's use at the time of the survey and on any proposed developments disclosed by the client (Rule 7.3).
The retired 2015 Class D (rural) allowed 1:2,000 unadjusted closure and 60 seconds times the square root of N angular closure.
The rule text
Rule 7.3, item 2: the plat shall show the scale, area, and classification of the survey (A, B, or C). The classifications are "based upon both the purposes for which the property is being used at the time the survey is performed and any proposed developments which are disclosed by the client." The classification must follow Rule 7.4, and the survey must meet the Rule 7.5 minimums for that class. The plat scale must be large enough to show the detail the class requires.
Rule 7.4, Classification of Surveys:
| Class | Rule 7.4 description |
|---|---|
| A | Surveys of extensively developed and expensive properties which require maximum surveying accuracy. Includes, but is not limited to, urban business district properties and highly developed commercial properties. |
| B | Surveys of properties subject to costly improvements that justify a high degree of accuracy. Includes, but is not limited to, commercial properties and higher priced residential properties located outside urban business districts and highly developed commercial areas. |
| C | Surveys of all remaining properties which cannot be classified as Class A or B. |
Notice what the rule does not say. It does not list "industrial plants," "subdivisions," or "timberland" by name, and it has no rule that ambiguity always pushes a survey up a class. The surveyor applies the text: expensive, extensively developed urban or highly developed commercial property is A; commercial and higher-priced residential property elsewhere is B; everything else is C.
How the 2025 revision changed the classes
The 2015 standards (Rule 21, Appendix A) had four classes:
| 2015 class | 2015 description | Where it went in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| A | Urban business district and highly developed commercial | Unchanged |
| B | Costly improvements; commercial and higher-priced residential outside urban business districts | Unchanged |
| C | "Residential and surrounding areas which are apt to increase rapidly in value" | Merged into the new catch-all C |
| D | "All remaining properties…" including farm lands and rural areas | Deleted; now Class C |
The Board's comparison document states that the Rule 7.5 accuracy chart "is unchanged with the exception of removing the column for Class D." Each class's numbers stayed the same. Land that was Class D, such as farms, timber, and hunting tracts, now falls in Class C and must meet the tighter Class C minimums.
The retired Class D numbers (know them to spot outdated answers)
The 2015 Appendix B labeled its columns D Rural, C Suburban, B Urban, and A Urban Business District:
| Parameter | Old Class D | Current Class C | Class B | Class A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unadjusted closure (minimum) | 1:2,000 | 1:5,000 | 1:7,500 | 1:10,000 |
| Angular closure (N = number of angles) | 60″√N | 30″√N | 25″√N | 15″√N |
| Accuracy of bearing (relative to source) | ±5 min | ±3 min | ±2 min | ±1 min |
| Accuracy of distances | 0.10 ft + 200 ppm | 0.07 ft + 150 ppm | 0.05 ft + 100 ppm | 0.03 ft + 50 ppm |
| Elevations for boundaries controlled by tides, contours, rivers | ±0.30 ft | ±0.20 ft | ±0.10 ft | ±0.05 ft |
| Location of improvements (tie measurement) | ±2.0 ft | ±1.0 ft | ±0.2 ft | ±0.1 ft |
If an answer choice gives "1:2,000" or "60″√N" as the current rural standard, it describes the deleted Class D.
Classifying real tracts
Work in three steps.
- Current use. What is on the land now, and where is it (urban business district, highly developed commercial area, or elsewhere)?
- Disclosed proposed development. Has the client told you what will be built? Rule 7.3 makes disclosed proposed developments part of the basis for classification.
- Match the rule text and write the class on the plat. The surveyor, not the client, is accountable for the classification.
| Situation | Reasonable class under Rule 7.4 | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lot in a downtown business district with party-wall buildings | A | Urban business district; extensively developed and expensive |
| Highly developed regional retail center | A | "Highly developed commercial properties" |
| Stand-alone commercial lot on a suburban highway | B | Commercial property outside an urban business district |
| Higher-priced residential lot with a costly house and pool | B | Higher-priced residential subject to costly improvements |
| 200-acre pine plantation with no improvements | C | Remaining property; the old Class D category now folds into C |
| Pasture the client says is under contract for a new commercial center | At least B | The disclosed proposed commercial development counts; A if the development will be a highly developed commercial property |
A surveyor may always survey to a higher standard than the class requires. The class printed on the plat is a representation that the Rule 7.5 minimums for that class were met (see the closure and tolerance tables in Sections 3.3–3.4).
Common traps
- "Rural land is Class D." Not since January 1, 2025.
- "Class is chosen by the fee." The rule bases class on use and disclosed plans, never on budget.
- "The plat need not state the class if the survey exceeds Class A." Rule 7.3 requires the class on the plat.
- "Class C is 1:5,000 only for residential land." Class C now covers all remaining property, rural or residential.
In 2026 a surveyor retraces a 500-acre pine timber tract with no improvements. What are the minimum unadjusted closure and angular closure standards?
1:2,000 and 60″√N, under Class D for rural land
1:7,500 and 25″√N, under Class B
1:10,000 and 15″√N, because all boundary surveys are Class A
1:5,000 and 30″√N, because rural land is now Class C
A client hires a surveyor for a commercial lot on a suburban highway outside any urban business district. Under Rule 7.4, which classification fits the rule text?
Class C, because the lot is outside city limits
Class B, because Class B includes commercial properties located outside urban business districts
Class A, because all commercial property is Class A
Class D, because the lot is not in a business district
A surveyor is retained to survey vacant farmland. The client discloses in writing that the tract is under contract for a highly developed regional shopping center. What must the classification consider?
Both the current agricultural use and the disclosed proposed development, which can raise the classification
Only the current agricultural use on the date of the field survey
Only the purchase price stated in the sales contract
Nothing; classification is optional when the land is vacant
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.