What is a Boundary Survey?

While to the general public a boundary survey might seem like a relatively straightforward request, ask a few Land Surveyors, and their answer might vary significantly. This is because in CA, the PLS Act gives surveyors a legal mandate to either file a Corner Record or record a Record of Survey with the county in which the field survey occurred if the survey discloses “[t]he location, relocation, establishment, reestablishment, or retracement of one or more points or lines not shown on any subdivision map, official map, or record of survey, the positions of which are not ascertainable from an inspection of the subdivision map, official map, or record of survey.” (8762 (b)(4)) If it is shown on a map, you need to file a Corner Record. So when a client asks for a boundary survey, the product should almost always be a Corner Record or Record of Survey. Filing and recording these maps can have fees, and is more expensive than not doing it, which is one of the reasons some surveyors won’t bother.

While this may seem harmless, it is in fact harmful to the public and a detriment to other surveyors who find markers with no record. To get around their legal obligation to work with the county, many surveyors set no markers, or set non-permanent markers. To the client, the boundary has been established and they have saved money by finding a surveyor willing to skirt the law. The surveyor has been able to get some work done with a bid significantly less than competitors, and are unlikely to see severe repercussions because their is little record of their work that exists outside of their relationship with their client. This creates an industry of sub-standard practice being done by “professionals” who are able to take on work for cheap, doing the bare minimum, and frequently creating boundary problems for future surveyors who are more rigorous.

I wish I could say that surveyors breaking the law, and practicing unprofessionally, are few and far between. Unfortunately, these surveyors are everywhere. To compete with them and still operate following the law, I need to explain the recording laws to each potential client. It is exhausting, and I still frequently hear of competing estimates which offer the option to record a map for more money. Because of this, being a boundary surveyor is very difficult and many abandon the area of practice, especially small residential boundaries.

I plan to keep diving into this, and other issues in future posts. For now, I plan to go enjoy what’s left of this Labor Day.