Professional Practice, Ethics, and Statutory Responsibilities
Licensed practice
Surveying is practiced under a licensure act that defines the practice, responsible charge, and the seal. Only a licensee may sign and seal work, and only work the licensee personally supervised or reviewed in responsible charge. Unlicensed practice, aiding it, and sealing another's unsupervised work are grounds for discipline.
Conduct and duties
Enter contracts in writing with a defined scope. Be competent for the assignment or associate with someone who is. Disclose errors to the client and affected parties rather than concealing them. Protect client confidences, avoid undisclosed conflicts of interest, and do not alter another surveyor's map or monument without authority. Respect monument preservation statutes, entry and notification rules, and local standards.
Records and testimony
Retain field notes, computations, and correspondence for the required period. Produce defensible documentation and be prepared to testify as a fact or expert witness. Standards such as ALTA/NSPS surveys impose additional table and certification requirements that must be met precisely or the certification is false.
Traps in questions
"Rubber-stamping" plans prepared by unlicensed staff; accepting an assignment outside your competence; bending a boundary to please a client; concealing a discovered discrepancy; promising a result before the evidence is examined.
Rule of thumb
If you did not supervise it, you do not sign it. Write down what you did, why you did it, and what you found, because the record will outlive your memory.