NY Land Surveyor common mistakes
NY Land Surveyor · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Using the bearing printed on an old deed as if it were referenced to true north and rotating the entire parcel to match current north without checking the deed's basis of bearing.
Deeds often record magnetic bearings at the date of the original survey, and magnetic declination changes over time; some deeds use an assumed bearing or a line from an adjoiner's deed. A blind rotation can make the deed close mathematically while violating the monument evidence that controls the retracement.
What to do instead
Identify the basis of bearing from the deed language and monument calls, compute magnetic declination for the record date and location, and hold that bearing base fixed while testing the deed against monuments. State the basis used on the map and in the boundary report.
Resolving a boundary retracement by giving controlling weight to courses and distances over called monuments because the deed's math closes better.
Candidates treat boundary retracement as a math-closure exercise and forget the rules of construction that prioritize natural monuments, then artificial monuments, then courses and distances, then area.
What to do instead
Apply the hierarchy explicitly: identify monument evidence in the record and in the field, use distances and bearings chiefly to locate monuments or as subordinate evidence, and explain in writing why any record-measured discrepancy was resolved in favor of the monument.
Recording only measured angles and distances in field notes and omitting occupation evidence, adjoiner improvements, and monument condition.
Training and habit emphasize instrument work, so crews treat occupation evidence as irrelevant even though it is often the best evidence of boundary location and can control or explain the record.
What to do instead
Use a field-note template with tie sketches to fences, buildings, drives, utility boxes, andadjoiner improvements; describe and photograph each found monument, note its condition, and record adjoiner names and addresses.
Mixing New York State Plane zones or datum epochs without documenting the transformation, or accepting software defaults that silently use a different zone or epoch.
New York has multiple State Plane zones, including Long Island, New York City, East, Central, and West, and projects may involve NAD27, NAD83, or NAD83(2011). Coordinates can look plausible while being referenced to the wrong zone or epoch.
What to do instead
Record the zone, datum, epoch, units, and projection on every coordinate list. Transform coordinates with the National Geodetic Survey NCAT tool or approved software, verify a known point pair, and show grid-to-ground computations.
Reporting a traverse or network adjustment without checking residuals or using a realistic weighting scheme for the observations.
Candidates run a compass rule or least-squares routine and accept the output, without testing for blunders or noticing that all observations were given equal weight despite different instrument accuracies.
What to do instead
Compute and review residuals, compare them with instrument accuracy and project standards, apply appropriate weights, run a chi-square test where appropriate, and reobserve or reject outliers before reporting final coordinates.
Sealing a boundary map without completing a title and deed-chain investigation of the subject parcel and its adjoiners.
Time pressure and a focus on field measurements lead candidates to believe record research is optional when monuments are found, but monuments alone cannot establish the record boundary or the rights of adjoiners.
What to do instead
Complete the deed chain and adjoiner research before making a boundary determination, list the documents relied on, and qualify the map or decline certification when the record cannot be resolved.
Treating a photogrammetric orthophoto or LiDAR surface as a boundary or topographic survey without ground control and an accuracy statement.
High-resolution imagery looks precise, so candidates forget scale limitations, relief displacement, and vertical accuracy, and they may use imagery alone to locate fences or improvements.
What to do instead
Use ground control and independent checkpoints, state horizontal and vertical accuracy, including RMSEz where applicable, and never use imagery alone to set boundaries; supplement with field survey evidence.
Ignoring prism constant, atmospheric correction, or instrument calibration in electronic distance measurements.
Modern total stations apply some corrections automatically, but a mismatched prism type, an unrecorded temperature and pressure, or a missed baseline check introduces systematic error that can go unnoticed in a closed traverse.
What to do instead
Match the prism constant to the instrument, record temperature and pressure, apply the correct atmospheric correction, and check the instrument against a known baseline at the start and end of the project.
Applying a combined scale factor incorrectly by reporting grid distances as ground distances or ground distances as grid distances.
State Plane coordinates require both a scale factor and an elevation factor, and candidates often multiply when they should divide or omit one factor entirely, producing coordinates that close internally but do not match the project datum.
What to do instead
Compute the combined factor as the grid factor times the elevation factor, apply it consistently in the correct direction, and show a sample calculation with units on the map and in the coordinate report.
Submitting a survey map without the licensee's seal, signature, date, and required certification, or allowing an unlicensed technician to seal a map the licensee has not reviewed.
Delegation confusion and deadline pressure lead candidates to treat sealing as a clerical step rather than a professional act that requires personal review of field data, computations, and boundary decisions.
What to do instead
Personally review the field evidence, computations, and map before sealing; include the seal, signature, date, and certification statement; and retain the supporting records required for the project.