Professional Practice and Ethics
This domain tests your legal and ethical duties, the scope of licensed practice, and the standards that govern deliverables. Expect scenario questions about client pressure, sealing of work, conflicts of interest, expert testimony, and error disclosure.
Duty, competence, and the seal
- Practice only within your competence and licensure. Seal and sign only work you prepared or directly supervised; responsible charge cannot be delegated to unlicensed staff.
- The standard of care is what a reasonably prudent surveyor would do under similar circumstances. It is not perfection, but it is not the cheapest plausible effort either.
- A boundary determination is a professional opinion supported by evidence, not a title opinion. Questions of ownership, easements, and marketability belong to the attorney and title company.
- Disclose conflicts of interest and avoid them where possible. Do not accept compensation contingent on a particular boundary outcome.
- Keep client information confidential except where law, subpoena, or board rule requires disclosure.
Deliverables and discipline
- Standards for surveys, including land title survey standards and state minimum standards, govern content. Optional items are chosen in writing by the client before fieldwork, not added or dropped at delivery to please someone.
- If you discover an error, notify the client and affected parties, correct the deliverable, and report to the board where rules require it. Concealment converts a technical error into an ethical violation.
- Testimony: an expert witness owes the duty of candor to the trier of fact, not loyalty to the party paying the fee. Advertising and public statements must not overstate abilities or imply official endorsement.
- Maintain records for the statutory retention period and file records of survey or corner records as required.
Worked example
A developer asks you to leave a 3-ft fence encroachment off a plat because closing is Friday and the buyer will be told later. Reasoning: the plat must show the results of the survey accurately; the encroachment may be a title exception that the title company and attorneys must resolve. Omitting it is misrepresentation that harms the buyer, creates liability, and invites board discipline. Correct action: show the encroachment, notify the client in writing of the consequence, and let the client obtain an easement or relocate the fence. If the client insists, you may decline to certify the plat.
Traps that cost marks
Believing the paying client controls the content of a professional deliverable; sealing drawings prepared by others you did not supervise; giving legal advice about title; accepting work outside your competence without a qualified subconsultant; treating a client instruction as overriding board rule.