CA Surveying

It is a California-specific examination in engineering surveying administered under the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. It covers the surveying practice that licensed civil engineers may perform under Business and Professions Code section 6731.1. It is separate from the national NCEES civil examinations and from the land surveyor licensing examinations.

Civil engineers pursuing California licensure who need to demonstrate engineering surveying competence. The Board has publicly noted difficulty finding enough licensed civil engineers with engineering surveying experience to write questions, which reflects that the exam tests applied field-and-office surveying judgment within civil engineering practice rather than full land surveying licensure scope.

The Board's public home page does not state the item count, duration, or delivery format. Refer to the Board's Exams page and the current candidate bulletin for authoritative details, since formats and reference lists are revised periodically. Do not rely on secondhand summaries or older study guides for structural details.

The passing standard is not published in the source material reviewed here. The Board does not list a passing score, percentage, or scoring method on its home page. Treat any specific cut score you encounter online as unverified and confirm scoring policy with the Board or your candidate bulletin before you plan a target.

The Board's home page does not state retake limits or dollar amounts. It does note that a fees regulation amending Title 16, California Code of Regulations sections 407 and 3005 - covering initial license, examination, renewal, delinquency, and retired license fees - took effect July 1, 2026, without listing amounts. Check the fee schedules posted for applicants and licensees.

No. The Board announced that the Civil Seismic Principles Exam continues to test the 2022 California Building Code and ASCE 7–16 through the remainder of 2026, with the 2025 California Building Code and ASCE 7–22 arriving on the 2027 seismic exam. That schedule concerns the seismic examination only, not surveying content or references.

Start with the area you know least, because surveying questions reward familiarity with conventions. A workable sequence: coordinate geometry and traverse adjustment first, then horizontal and vertical curves, then construction staking and earthwork, then boundary and title principles, then geodetic and mapping topics. Finish with mixed timed sets so you practice switching between topics under pressure.

Common causes are computation speed, unit and sign errors, and treating boundary questions as formula problems when they require reasoning about evidence and intent. Others lose points by memorizing procedures without understanding underlying geometry, or by practicing only one topic area and arriving unprepared for the breadth of the four content areas.

Enough to handle the engineering surveying that falls within a civil engineer's statutory authority - not the full scope of a licensed land surveyor. Expect practical field-and-office knowledge: setting and checking control, staking alignments, computing earthwork, and interpreting boundary information accurately enough to recognize when a land surveyor is required.