2.1 Rules of Professional Conduct (21 NCAC 56 .0701) & Advertising (.0702)

2.1 Rules of Professional Conduct (21 NCAC 56 .0701) & Advertising (.0702)

The Rules of Professional Conduct sit inside the 24 percent "Board Rules" slice of the state-specific blueprint. The exam is open book, so raw memorization matters less than knowing which paragraph holds which duty — you need to find the answer in two hours across a stack of bound references. Rule .0701 was most recently amended effective December 1, 2025, following an amendment effective May 1, 2024; work from a current copy.

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1. The Paragraph Map

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2. Responsible Charge in Operation — ¶ (d)

Paragraph (d) is the rule that turns "responsible charge" from a slogan into a checklist. It applies when delegating tasks to others, when a licensee in responsible charge is unavailable to complete the work, or when the work is a design plan signed and sealed by an out-of-jurisdiction licensee (excluding a site adaptation of a standard design plan under 21 NCAC 56 .1106). The licensee must possess full professional knowledge of and control over the work and shall:

1. Have and exercise the authority to review and to change, reject, or approve both the work in progress and the final work product, through examination, evaluation, communication, and direction throughout the development of the work;
2. Be personally aware of the scope of the work, its needs, parameters, limitations, and special requirements;
3. Be capable of answering questions relevant to the surveying decisions made, in sufficient detail to demonstrate knowledge of and proficiency in the work; and
4. Accept full responsibility for the work — and the rule adds that "the burden for demonstrating responsible charge lies with the licensee, including maintaining records, calculations, drawings, surveys, specifications, and other documents associated with the work."

A licensee may seal drawings depicting the work of two or more professionals provided a note under the seal states the specific subject matter for which each is responsible.

[!CAUTION] Plan stamping — sealing another person's work without direct control and personal supervision — violates ¶ (d) and is separately declared misconduct by 21 NCAC 56 .1101: "It is misconduct for a Professional Engineer or Professional Land Surveyor to seal work done by another individual unless the work is performed under the 'responsible charge' of the Professional Engineer or Professional Land Surveyor."

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3. Conflicts of Interest — ¶ (f), All Seven

(f)(1)  Inform the employer or client, AND ANY REVIEWING AGENCY, of any
        business association, interest, or circumstance that could influence
        judgment or the quality of services.
(f)(2)  Do NOT accept compensation, financial or otherwise, from more than one
        party for services on the same project (or pertaining to the same
        project) unless the circumstances are disclosed to, and agreed to,
        IN WRITING, by all interested parties.
(f)(3)  Do NOT solicit or accept financial or other valuable consideration from
        material or equipment suppliers for specifying their products.
(f)(4)  Do NOT solicit or accept gratuities, directly or indirectly, from
        contractors, their agents, or other parties dealing with the client or
        employer in connection with work for which the licensee is responsible.
(f)(5)  When in public service as a member, advisor, or employee of a
        governmental body, do NOT participate in considerations or actions on
        services provided by the licensee or that licensee firm in private
        practice.
(f)(6)  Do NOT solicit or accept a surveying contract from a governmental body
        on which a principal or officer of that surveying firm serves as a
        member.
(f)(7)  Do NOT attempt to supplant another licensee in a particular employment
        after becoming aware that the other has been selected for it.

[!IMPORTANT] There is no contingency-fee rule in 21 NCAC 56 .0701. Some prep material asserts an "absolute prohibition on contingency fees" and cites a paragraph (d)(3) that does not exist. What the rule actually restricts on the money side is narrower and specific: dual compensation without written disclosure and agreement under (f)(2), supplier considerations under (f)(3), gratuities under (f)(4), consideration paid to secure work under (g)(1), and public fee bidding under (g)(3).

That said, a fee arrangement that makes the surveyor's pay depend on where the boundary lands is still exposed — not through an invented contingency rule but through (b) (public protection), (e)(1)-(2) (objectivity in reports and testimony), and (c) (competence). The surveyor is a finder of fact bound by the priority of calls, and an arrangement that gives the surveyor a stake in one outcome undermines the objectivity the rule does require.

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4. Soliciting Work — ¶ (g), and Public Fee Bidding

Paragraph (g)(3) is the hinge between the conduct rules and the Mini-Brooks Act covered in Section 2.3:

"Shall, with regard to fee bidding on public projects, comply with the provisions of G.S. 143-64.31 et seq., (or for federal projects, the Brooks Act, 40 U.S. Code 1101 et seq.) and shall not knowingly cooperate in a violation of any provision of G.S. 143-64.31 et seq."

Two things follow. First, the violation is a Board matter as well as a procurement matter — a surveyor who submits a fee proposal in a QBS solicitation answers to NCBELS. Second, knowingly cooperating in someone else's violation is itself a violation, so a surveyor who serves as a subconsultant on a non-compliant public solicitation is not insulated.

Paragraph (g)(4) adds a credential-honesty rule that is easy to trip over: report educational qualifications only when a degree or certificate was awarded, unless it is stated that none was awarded, and do not misrepresent the degree of responsibility held on prior assignments.

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5. The Duty to Report — ¶ (i)

"If a licensee has knowledge of or reason to believe that any person or firm may be in violation of Board Rules or G.S. 89C, the licensee shall report such information to the Board as a complaint and shall cooperate with the Board by providing any additional information or assistance requested."

Three operational details:

• The trigger is "reason to believe," not proof. The licensee reports; the Board investigates.
• It reaches any person or firm, so unlicensed practice by a non-licensee is reportable, not just peer misconduct.
• A licensee under investigation must respond timely to all Board inquiries and correspondence and must timely claim mail sent by the Postal Service or other delivery service. "Timely" means within the time specified in the correspondence or, if none is specified, within 30 days of receipt. Certified mail is timely claimed if claimed before the Postal Service returns it.

Paragraph (e)(4) points to the same place from the other direction: if a licensee believes another licensee is guilty of misconduct or illegal practice, that belief must be presented to the Board as a complaint rather than aired as public criticism.

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6. Advertising — 21 NCAC 56 .0702

Advertising has its own short rule, and the exam sometimes tests it as a distinct citation:

• (a) No exaggerated, misleading, deceptive, or false statements or claims about professional qualifications, experience, or performance in brochures, correspondence, listings, or other public communications.
• (b) That prohibition includes statements containing a material misrepresentation of fact, statements omitting a material fact necessary to keep the statement from being misleading, statements intended or likely to create an unjustified expectation, and statements containing a prediction of future success.
• (c) A licensee may advertise for recruitment of personnel.
• (d) A licensee may prepare articles for the lay or technical press, but such articles shall not imply credit to the author for work performed by others.

Read .0702 alongside 21 NCAC 56 .0902 (misleading business titles) and .0901(d), which bars advertising, signs, letterheads, business cards, or directory listings that reference a service the office cannot provide under a properly qualified resident professional.