Oklahoma Land Surveyor (OLS) Exam case studies
Oklahoma Land Surveyor (OLS) Exam · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Oklahoma Professional Surveyor licensure pathway runs through the Oklahoma State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors (OKPES), which regulates surveying in the public interest. The board frames its mission plainly: "In order to safeguard life, health and property, and to promote the public welfare, the practice of engineering and surveying are declared to be subject to regulation in the public interest." Surveying licensure in Oklahoma follows a defined sequence: Surveyor Intern certification, then the Initial Professional Surveyor License, with separate comity and re-licensure applications for those who already hold credentials or are returning to practice. The Oklahoma Land Surveyor (OLS) Exam case studies are 5 cases and about 3,113 words.
1Spring Creek Avulsion and the Deed Line
An owner holds Lot 8 in an unplatted 1978 subdivision by deed that calls for 'Lot 8, containing 38.5 acres, more or less, bounded on the south by the north bank of Spring Creek.' The 1978 surveyor's map shows the creek bank as the south line. In May 2019 a flood cut a new channel about 40 ft south of the old bank, leaving the former bank as a steep terrace.
702 words, about 4 min2RTK Control for a 14-Mile Waterline
Your firm is establishing control for a 14.2-mile rural waterline in Oklahoma. The design is in Oklahoma State Plane North Zone, NAD83(2011), U.S.
582 words, about 3 min3Lost North Quarter Corner and the Fence-Line Claim
Retracing Section 22, T18N, R4W, Indian Meridian, you find original GLO stones at the northwest and northeast corners of the section; the north quarter corner is lost. The original plat records the north boundary as 80.20 chains, with the quarter corner at 40.10 chains from the northwest corner.
613 words, about 3 min4Prairie Crossing Plat With Easement and Zoning Conflicts
Reviewing a preliminary plat for 'Prairie Crossing,' an 18-lot residential subdivision on 22.4 acres in an Oklahoma city, you notice: the plat shows a 50-ft right-of-way for the internal street, but the city's subdivision regulations require 60 ft; Lots 7 through 11 back onto a 20-ft drainage easement, and the proposed house pad on Lot 7 extends 6 ft into that easement; Lot 10 is 48 ft wide at the front building setback because it is at the cul-de-sac bulb, while the zoning requires 60 ft; and the surveyor's certificate states that 'all easements and rights-of-way are correctly shown' although the drainage easement was described in a 2017 instrument as 'the rear 15 feet of Lots 7-11.' The developer asks you to sign the plat as surveyor and 'let the city catch the rest.'. Identify the plat deficiencies and decide whether you can certify the plat as drawn.
600 words, about 3 min5Sealing a Technician's GIS-Based Survey Under Pressure
A developer asks you to sign and seal a boundary survey of a 120-acre tract that was prepared by an unlicensed technician. The technician used the county GIS parcel map and a 1970s tax map, did not search for monuments, and computed the area as 123.4 acres.
616 words, about 3 min