FL Land Surveyor

NCEES states that engineers and surveyors must typically pass two exams to become professionally licensed, and that it develops and scores the FS and PS exams for surveying licensure. The FS exam is described as generally your first step toward becoming a licensed professional surveyor. Confirm Florida's specific sequencing and any additional requirements with FDACS and the Board.

NCEES describes the PS exam as testing your ability to practice surveying competently and states that it is for surveyors with at least four years of professional experience. Treat that as the national baseline and verify Florida's own qualification and experience requirements with the Board before you apply.

Expect the statutory definition of the practice of surveying and mapping to frame the content: measurement and reestablishment of lines, angles, and elevations; monumentation and remonumentation of boundaries and subdivisions; photogrammetric control; descriptions for conveyances; subdivision planning maps and record plats under Chapter 177; and alignments tied to maps, plats, field notes, and reports.

FDACS lists Florida Statutes Chapters 120, 177, and 472 and Florida Administrative Code Chapter 5J-17 as the laws and regulations governing the profession. Chapter 120 covers administrative procedure, Chapter 177 covers plats and subdivision mapping, and Chapter 472 is the surveying and mapping practice act. Read the primary text rather than summaries.

The highest-yield approach is to master the statutory definitions and plat requirements first, then drill boundary and measurement problems. Florida-specific law is memorization-heavy but predictable; boundary and description work rewards practice with real instrument reading. Many candidates lose points on Florida law because they study only national review material.

NCEES limits calculators to protect exam integrity and reviews the approved list annually. Acceptable for use on exams through 2027 are all Casio fx-115 and fx-991 models, the HP 33s and HP 35s only, and all Texas Instruments TI-30X and TI-36X models. The model name must contain the listed designation.

Applications go through FDACS and the Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers. FDACS lists an upcoming meeting on February 8-9, 2027 in Gainesville at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center, with a deadline for complete applications of December 18, 2026. Dates are subject to change, so verify on the FDACS page.

FDACS states the board consists of nine members appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and subject to Florida Senate confirmation: seven registered surveyors and mappers primarily engaged in practice, and two laypersons who are not and have never been surveyors and mappers or members of a closely related profession. Members serve four-year staggered terms.

Underestimating Florida-specific material. National review courses cover measurement and boundary principles well but skim Chapter 177 plat content, Chapter 472 practice definitions, and Chapter 5J-17 rules. Candidates who never read the statutes, and who practice no description-writing or plat-review problems, tend to drop the easiest points on the exam.