Professional Practice, Ethics, and Business
What this domain tests
Professional responsibility, contracts, liability, confidentiality, conflicts, and business conduct. The exam expects an evidence-based opinion, not advocacy for a client's preferred line.
Core rules
- Define the scope in writing: services, deliverables, limitations, schedule, and fee.
- Be competent and truthful. Do not accept work outside your expertise without qualified assistance.
- Avoid conflicts of interest and disclose them; do not let a contingent fee determine a boundary opinion.
- Keep client information confidential, but recognize that survey evidence may be discoverable.
- Document decisions, field evidence, and communications; good records are the best defense.
- Carry appropriate insurance and use quality-control review.
Worked example
A client asks you to 'move the line two feet' to improve a sale. You should decline to alter evidence and explain that the boundary is determined by monuments, deeds, and law, not by preference. Offer to retrace the line and provide a written opinion; if the client wants a different result, they need legal advice, not a falsified survey.
Traps
Promising a legal outcome; accepting a fee contingent on a boundary location; sealing work you did not supervise; and failing to put scope and limitations in writing.