Missouri Minimum Standards and State Statutes
This domain tests your working knowledge of Missouri's regulatory framework: the licensing statutes in RSMo Chapter 327, the county surveyor and corner-record provisions of Chapter 60, the plat act in Chapter 445, and the Board's minimum standards for property boundary surveys at 20 CSR 2030-16.
What the standards require
A property boundary survey requires research of record documents, adequate field work, monumentation at the parcel's corners, and a report or plat that states the basis of the survey, the record description relied on, the monuments found and set, and any discrepancies or ambiguities. Monuments you set must be identifiable - capped or marked so the corner can later be traced to the licensee. Partial surveys (corner staking, one-line locations) must be plainly labeled as partial and must never be presented as a boundary survey of the whole parcel.
Statutes to know
RSMo 327.272 defines the practice of land surveying, including determining and establishing boundary positions. RSMo 327.312 sets licensure requirements; RSMo 327.331 makes unlicensed practice unlawful; RSMo 327.441 lists grounds for discipline - fraud, incompetence, untruthful certification. Chapter 60 governs elected or appointed county surveyors and corner perpetuation records.
Worked example
A technician on staff is asked to "shoot the corners and stake the lot lines" for a client, and the firm plans to bill it as a survey. Even without a seal, determining where the boundary lies is land surveying under RSMo 327.272 and requires a licensee in responsible charge. The correct answer: assign a licensed surveyor, do the record research, monument and report, and seal the deliverable.
Traps
Assuming that filing a plat cures a defective boundary; certifying to matters beyond your personal knowledge; omitting the basis-of-survey statement; and treating a "mortgage location survey" as equivalent to a boundary survey.