CO Land Surveyor common mistakes
CO Land Surveyor · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating record bearing and distance calls as the boundary itself, then 'correcting' them to the measured values when the retracement closes imperfectly, instead of holding the record monument as controlling and using measurement only to identify and confirm the monument.
Candidates trained on computational problems default to least-squares closure as the goal, and the exam's short-answer format rewards a clean number; the hierarchy of evidence (monument, then course, then area, then position) is learned as a slogan rather than applied as a decision rule.
What to do instead
Before computing anything, write out the evidence hierarchy and classify every call in the deed as monument, course, distance, bearing, area, or coordinate. Practice with deeds where the record closes by 0.4 ft and the correct answer is to accept the monument and report the misclose, not to prorate it away.
Failing to distinguish an original survey corner from a subsequent resurvey corner, and setting a new monument at a computed position when an original monument (or its acceptable remains, such as a mound of stone, pit, or bearing tree) is present nearby.
Field habits emphasize finding a physical mark; candidates do not rehearse the evidence classes for lost versus obliterated versus undisturbed corners, so they collapse all 'not found exactly where expected' situations into 'set a new one'.
What to do instead
Memorize the four-condition framework (undisturbed, disturbed, obliterated, lost) and the evidentiary weight of each type of remains. Drill scenarios where the original stone is 1.2 ft from the computed position and the correct action is to hold the stone and file a record of the discrepancy.
Applying single-proportion proration to a section line or township line without first checking whether the original corners at both ends exist, and without recognizing when the rule requires double-proportion or a grant boundary adjustment instead.
Proration is the most rehearsed PLSS computation, so it becomes the reflex answer; the conditional logic that determines which rule applies (which corners are lost, whether the line is an exterior or subdivisional line) is under-practiced.
What to do instead
Build a decision table: exterior township line with both corners lost, one corner lost, subdivisional line of a regular section, and lines affected by grant boundaries or meander lines. Work each case from the corner-status evidence first, then select the rule, then compute.
Confusing the PLSS terminology and hierarchy, for example treating a quarter-quarter corner as a controlling original corner when it was set by a later surveyor, or misstating the numbering and nomenclature of sections, aliquots, and township/range designations.
Candidates learn the grid visually and never write out the legal descriptions and hierarchy in words, so small errors in section numbering direction, aliquot notation, and the distinction between corners established by the General Land Office and those set later go undetected.
What to do instead
Write 20 legal descriptions from a plat and back again from description to plat, including irregular sections and lots. State for each corner who established it and under what authority. Verify section numbering and the special rules for fractional lots along north and west tiers.
Mixing horizontal and ellipsoid and grid quantities, for example reporting a state plane grid distance as the ground distance, or applying a combined factor in the wrong direction when reducing a measured distance to the projection.
The formulas are simple enough to be applied mechanically, and candidates do not build the habit of tracking which surface each number lives on; scale factor and elevation factor are memorized as a single combined multiplier without directionality.
What to do instead
For every problem, label each quantity with its surface (ground, ellipsoid, grid) and write the transformation chain before substituting numbers. Practice converting in both directions and sanity-check that grid distance is shorter than ground distance at high elevation and longer at low elevation in most Colorado zones.
Using an inappropriate epoch or datum transformation, or reporting coordinates to excessive precision without stating the reference frame, epoch, and adjustment (for example NAD83(2011) versus a later realization, or a passive control network).
Software outputs coordinates with many digits and a default datum, so candidates accept them without questioning metadata; the exam's Colorado context includes active tectonic motion and mixed legacy control that punishes unstated assumptions.
What to do instead
Adopt a reporting template that requires datum, realization, epoch, projection, zone, units, and adjustment for every coordinate answer. Practice identifying when a transformation is required and estimating the magnitude of the error from ignoring epoch differences.
Reporting a computed quantity with more significant figures than the input measurements support, or failing to propagate uncertainty through a traverse or area computation and instead quoting the raw calculator output.
Calculators and software do not signal precision, and candidates equate more decimals with more rigor; the concept of significant figures tied to instrument resolution and field procedure is often learned only superficially.
What to do instead
Set rules in advance: distances to 0.01 ft, angles to the least count of the instrument, areas consistent with the linear precision. Practice error propagation through a closed traverse and through a coordinate-based area computation, and state the uncertainty alongside every final answer.
Misapplying angular units and reductions, such as treating a geodetic azimuth as a grid azimuth without convergence correction, or confusing magnetic, true, and grid bearings in a boundary description.
The conversions are individually simple, so candidates skip the step of identifying which north the record or instrument refers to; deed calls with magnetic bearings and no stated declination are especially prone to this error.
What to do instead
For each problem, write the north reference for every bearing or azimuth before converting. Practice computing meridian convergence for Colorado latitudes and longitudes and applying the sign correctly, and rehearse declination changes over time for magnetic calls in old deeds.
Ignoring the Colorado-specific statutory and licensing requirements, for example the standards for a record of survey or land survey plat, monumentation and filing deadlines, and the correct treatment of subdivision plats and boundary line adjustments.
Candidates study national boundary theory and assume state law is a formality; the statutes and board rules are detailed, and the exam tests specific obligations such as what must be shown, when a plat must be filed, and who may practice.
What to do instead
Build a one-page statutory checklist covering record of survey and land survey plat content, monumentation requirements, filing timelines and recipients, boundary line adjustment criteria, and the definition of land surveying. Verify each item against the current statute and board rules, and answer practice questions by citing the provision.
Answering ethics and professional practice items by general good intentions rather than by the specific duty owed, such as failing to disclose a conflict of interest, accepting an assignment outside competence without consultation, or certifying work performed by others without review.
Candidates treat ethics as common sense and do not rehearse the concrete obligations in the board rules, so they miss the distinction between what is merely advisable and what is required, and between the duty to the client and the duty to the public.
What to do instead
Study the board rules and the professional codes as a list of specific duties with triggers and required actions. For each scenario, identify the duty, the trigger, and the required response, and practice distinguishing disclosure, withdrawal, and consultation as different remedies.