FL Land Surveyor cheat sheet

Chapter 472, F.S. governs surveyors and mappers; Chapter 5J-17, F.A.C. contains the Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers' rules, including minimum technical standards in Rule 5J-17.050–5J-17.052.

A surveyor must be licensed by the Florida Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers; licensure requires a four-year degree in surveying or a related field, passage of the FS and PS exams, and compliance with Chapter 472, F.S.

Chapter 177, F.S. regulates platting and recording; a plat must be approved by the local governing body and recorded in the public records of the county where the land lies before lots can be conveyed.

Chapter 120, F.S. is the Administrative Procedure Act; it governs rulemaking, adjudication, and judicial review of agency actions affecting surveyors and mappers.

Minimum technical standards require a survey to be tied to the Florida State Plane Coordinate System or to a recognized horizontal and vertical datum when required by the client or local ordinance.

A surveyor must retain field notes, calculations, and other records for at least 5 years after the survey is completed, per Rule 5J-17.052, F.A.C.

A boundary survey must show the location of all visible improvements, easements, and rights-of-way, and must include a statement of the surveyor's opinion of the boundary unless the client contracts for a different scope.

Unlicensed practice of surveying is a misdemeanor under Chapter 472, F.S.; a licensed surveyor must seal and sign all final survey documents and is responsible for the work of subordinates.

Boundary determination follows the hierarchy of evidence: natural monuments, artificial monuments, courses and distances, then area; this order is established by common law and adopted in Florida case law.

Original government survey corners are protected by law; Florida Statutes Chapter 177 and case law require that original corners be preserved or reestablished using the best available evidence, including the original field notes and plats.

When an original monument is lost, a surveyor may reestablish it by reference to collateral evidence such as bearing trees, fence lines, or the original survey records; the reestablished corner must be marked with a durable monument and documented.

A monument must be set at every corner and at points of curvature, points of tangency, and points of intersection of lines, unless a natural monument exists; the monument must be identified by size, material, and cap marking.

Remonumentation of a subdivision requires filing a new plat or an affidavit of correction, depending on the nature of the change; Chapter 177, F.S. specifies the procedures for plat amendments and corrections.

Unwritten rights and boundary agreements may establish a boundary by estoppel or practical location, but these are fact-specific and must be supported by evidence of acquiescence and intent.

A surveyor must not disturb or remove an existing monument without legal authority; tampering with a survey monument is a crime under Florida law.

The description of a monument in a survey must include the material, dimensions, and any identifying marks, and the monument must be set at the exact location determined by the survey.

Horizontal angles are measured with a theodolite or total station; the sum of interior angles of a closed polygon must equal (n-2)×180°, where n is the number of sides, within the allowable angular closure.

Elevations are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) or a local datum; the Florida State Plane Coordinate System uses the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) for horizontal control.

Traverse closure computations: linear error of closure is the vector sum of all courses; relative precision is the ratio of linear error to total traverse length, often expressed as 1:part.

For reestablishing a line, use the original bearing and distance if monuments are lost, but verify with ties to adjacent corners and record evidence; do not assume the original survey is error-free.

GPS/GNSS surveys must be tied to the Florida Permanent Reference Network (FPRN) or other approved CORS; accuracy standards for boundary surveys are typically 0.07 feet plus 50 ppm for horizontal and 0.1 feet for vertical.

Natural features such as water bodies, shorelines, and trees may be used as evidence of boundary location; the ordinary high water line is the boundary for sovereign submerged lands.

When reestablishing a lost corner, proportion the distance along the original line between existing corners; this is known as single-proportion or double-proportion method, depending on the evidence available.

Field notes must record all measurements, monument descriptions, and sketches; they serve as the legal record of the survey and must be retained for at least 5 years.

A property description must be sufficient to locate the parcel without reference to external information; it typically includes the subdivision name, lot and block, and plat book and page, or a metes and bounds description with a commencing point.

Metes and bounds descriptions must close mathematically; the error of closure should be stated, and the description must include the basis of bearings (e.g., assumed, true, or Florida State Plane).

A subdivision plat must show all lots, blocks, streets, easements, and dedications, and must be approved by the local governing body before recording; Chapter 177, F.S. sets the minimum requirements.

Record plats must be filed in the public records of the county and must include the surveyor's seal, signature, and date; the plat becomes the official record of the subdivision.

Field notes must be legible, permanent, and include the date, weather, equipment used, names of crew members, and all measurements and observations; they are the primary evidence of the survey.

Plat amendments or corrections require an affidavit of correction or a new plat, depending on whether the change affects lot lines or just scrivener's errors; Chapter 177, F.S. provides the procedure.

A description by aliquot parts (e.g., the NW 1/4 of the SE 1/4) is acceptable if the government survey is intact; if the government corners are lost, the description must be supplemented by a metes and bounds survey.

When writing a legal description, avoid ambiguity by using definite terms such as "commencing at" and "thence"; include the basis of bearings and the area, and reference the monument at the point of beginning.