4.1 Plat Media, Scale, Classification, Basis of Bearings & Certification

The Rule 7.3 checklist for the drawing

Rule 7.3 opens: "The boundary, route, easement, and lease survey plat shall conform to the following requirements and shall include the following information." The table groups the nineteen items by topic, with the section of this guide that covers each.

Item 1: media and size

The plat must be on "any reasonably stable and durable drawing paper, vellum, linen, or film of reproducible quality," and "no plat or map shall have dimensions of less than 8-1/2 × 11 inches." That is the whole of the Chapter 7 media rule. It sets no margin widths, lettering heights, or paper weights; recording offices may have their own formatting requirements. A 5 × 8-inch sketch violates the rule. An 8-1/2 × 11 plat meets it if the scale shows the detail the classification needs.

Item 2: scale, area, and classification

The plat must show its scale, the area, and the classification (A, B, or C) under Rule 7.4, and the scale must be sufficient to show the detail the class requires. The rule does not require both a graphic bar scale and a stated scale, but a bar scale is good practice because plats are copied and resized.

Item 3: basis of bearings and north arrow

Under Rule 7.3.3, the survey must be referenced to one of three things:

1. true north;
2. grid north; or
3. the record bearing of a well-defined and monumented line found in (a) existing subdivisions, (b) city or town plats, or (c) a previous survey, when the current survey divides that earlier survey and enough monumentation remains to re-establish the original orientation.

The rule adds:

• (a) a definitive north arrow shall be shown on the plat;
• (b) the reference meridian must be clearly stated on the plat along with the method used to obtain it; and
• (c) if a reference line is used, the monuments defining it must be shown and described, the line noted as the reference line, and the recording information of the source cited.

Magnetic north is not on the list. The 2015 rule allowed a compass meridian if it was properly declinated and adjusted to a true meridian. The 2025 rule allows only true north, grid north, or a monumented record line. A plat stating "bearings based on magnetic north observed in 2026" does not meet Rule 7.3.3. A plat labeled only "North," with no stated meridian or method, also fails.

Item 11: record and measured lines

The plat must show the horizontal length (distance) and direction (bearing or azimuth) of each line as specified in the legal description and as determined in the actual survey. When record and measured values differ, both appear, for example "S 89°12′ E 418.50′ (M) / S 89°30′ E 400.00′ (R)". This supports the discrepancy disclosure in item 9 (Section 4.3).

Item 12: curves

"Four (4) elements of all circular curves shall be shown (radius, arc length, chord bearing and chord length)." Delta angle and tangent length are useful but not required. A curve labeled only with its radius and arc length does not meet item 12.

Item 14: lot and block

If the survey is within a recorded subdivision, the plat must show the lot, block, or tract numbers or other designations, including those of adjoining lots and tracts.

Item 19: identification and certification

"Regardless of the type of survey, a plat or survey shall bear the name, address, date of field survey, signature, and seal of the licensee in responsible charge. This signature and seal are certification that the survey meets the requirements of the Standards of Practice for Surveying in Mississippi." The item also requires following the Manual of Instructions for the Survey of U.S. Public Lands and Mississippi's subdivision laws.

Three points follow from the text:

• The rule prescribes no standard certificate wording. The seal and signature are the certification. Firms add a written certificate, often addressed to the client, lender, and title insurer, but the obligation comes from the rule, not the wording.
• The date of field survey is required and is separate from the date the seal was affixed, which Rule 7.2 also requires.
• Chapter 7 does not require the firm's COA number on the plat. Monuments set must bear the PS license number, the firm's COA number, or the agency name (Section 4.2), and Rule 6.2 requires each sheet to be signed, sealed, and dated.

Plats of towns and subdivisions: the older statute

Mississippi also has a nineteenth-century platting statute for cities, towns, villages, and additions (§§ 19-27-21 to -31):

• The proprietor must have a true map or plat made by a civil engineer, surveyor, or other competent person (§ 19-27-21). Surveying for new subdivision lines is now reserved to licensed surveyors under § 73-13-3(7)(b).
• The plat must be drawn at a scale not less than 200 feet to an inch on 18 × 24-inch sheets. It must describe the land (township, range, sections, and parts of sections), name the proprietor and surveyor, show the cardinal points and a correct scale, and be signed and acknowledged like a deed (§ 19-27-23).
• It must describe the government-survey portion platted, using metes and bounds if legal subdivisions will not describe it, and show public grounds, streets, alleys, lots, blocks, and all gores and irregular lots with their dimensions (§ 19-27-25).
• It is recorded in the chancery clerk's office. Selling lots before recording exposes the seller to a $200 action for the county's use (§ 19-27-29). Vacation or alteration requires a chancery court petition (§ 19-27-31).

Local subdivision ordinances usually add requirements. A subdivision plat must satisfy the statute, the local ordinance, and Chapter 7.