DC Land Surveyor Exam study guide
DC Land Surveyor Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The District of Columbia Land Surveyor credential is the license that lets a surveyor take legal responsibility for boundary determinations, plat preparation, and control work performed for the public in the District. It is issued by the DC Board of Professional Engineering and Land Surveying through the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. The DC Land Surveyor Exam study guide has 9 sections and about 3,555 words.
01Boundary Surveys and Legal Principles
This domain tests whether you can retrace an existing boundary in the District of Columbia and defend the result. Expect questions on monument hierarchy, deed construction, senior rights, adverse possession, and the DC record system of squares, lots, parcels, and reservations.
454 words, about 2 min02Geodesy and Coordinate Systems
Geodesy questions test whether you can move between the ellipsoid, the grid, and the ground without losing a tenth of a foot. DC work typically involves NAD83, NAVD88, Maryland State Plane coordinates, and GNSS-derived ellipsoid heights.
413 words, about 2 min03Control Surveys and Adjustments
This domain tests traverse design, misclosure analysis, and adjustment. You must be able to judge whether a network meets a specification and then distribute error defensibly, whether by compass rule or least squares.
410 words, about 2 min04Measurement Technology and Data Collection
This domain covers instruments, corrections, and field data quality. Questions often hinge on a small correction: prism constant, atmospheric scale error, curvature and refraction, or a GNSS fix that was never truly fixed.
372 words, about 2 min05Cadastral and Subdivision Practice
Cadastral questions test how DC land is divided, platted, and recorded, and how zoning constrains the result. You need to know the difference between a record lot and a GIS polygon, and how a plat becomes the controlling document.
404 words, about 2 min06Land Development and Construction Surveying
Construction surveying questions test whether you can transfer design intent to the ground and verify it afterward. Expect cut and fill, slope stakes, control, as-builts, and DC regulatory overlays such as stormwater, erosion control, and right-of-way permits.
396 words, about 2 min07Professional Practice, Ethics, and Business
This domain tests licensure, responsible charge, ethics, and business conduct. The recurring theme is that the surveyor's seal is a personal certification, not a product the firm owns.
389 words, about 2 min08Mapping, GIS, and Spatial Data
This domain tests spatial data accuracy, datums, and the limits of GIS as boundary evidence. The exam expects you to read an accuracy statement critically and to choose a projection appropriate to the measurement.
363 words, about 2 min09Hydrographic and Topographic Surveying
This domain combines water-surface and bottom surveying with topographic surface modeling. DC questions lean on tidal datums, sounding reduction, and volume or contour accuracy.
354 words, about 2 min