Professional Practice, Ethics and New Hampshire Regulations
Professional Practice, Ethics and New Hampshire Regulations tests the conduct and legal framework of licensed practice: licensure, seals, competence, conflicts, records, and the Board's standards.
Core rules
- New Hampshire regulates land surveyors under RSA 310-A through the Board of Licensure for Land Surveyors. Practice or offer to practice without a license is prohibited.
- A licensee seals, signs, and dates final plats, reports, and survey documents prepared by the licensee or under the licensee's direct control. Do not seal work you did not supervise or cannot defend.
- Practice only within your competence; disclose conflicts of interest; do not accept compensation contingent on a boundary opinion; and preserve field notes and records as required.
- The Board's rules address licensure, continuing education, and minimum standards for surveys. Verify current requirements with the Board rather than relying on memory.
Worked example
A client asks you to sign and seal a boundary plat prepared by an unlicensed technician who did the field work without your supervision and to omit a recorded easement because it 'complicates the sale.' You must refuse both requests. Sealing the plat would misrepresent your control of the work, and omitting a known easement would mislead the client and the public. You may offer to review the work, perform the necessary research and field checks, and prepare a corrected plat that discloses the easement.
Traps
Sealing another surveyor's work without review; altering a sealed plan without a clear revision note; accepting a contingent fee for a boundary location; and treating ethics as separate from technical accuracy. Also watch unlicensed business entities and unrecorded agreements that affect the survey.