A Professional Land Surveyor renders a highly technical service in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, codes, and court decisions established by city, county, state, and federal authorities.

“Minimum Standards for Boundary Surveys and Mortgagee Title Inspections” have been established to protect the public from inferior land surveying. These standards mandate requirements and procedures for conduct of a survey and information to be provided to the client.

Professional Land Surveyors are listed in the yellow pages of the telephone book. Check with a local abstractor, attorney, realtor, or other individual with knowledge of Professional Land Surveyors that practice in your area.

Base your decision on retaining the services of a Professional Land Surveyor on their reputation, experience, and availability, not on the fee or costs associated with their service.

Many Professional Land Surveyors charge by the hour. The cost is dependent on many factors such as the type of survey and equipment required, weather conditions, the availability of existing records and controlling survey monuments, type of terrain, access to the property, and the surveyor’s familiarity and knowledge of the area.

In addition to salary costs, hourly fees include allowance for business overhead, such as taxes, rent, telephone, postage, utilities, and other costs related to the conduct of a Professional Land Surveying business. The costs for monuments, vehicle mileage, copying, recording fees, copies of recorded documents from government entities, permits, additional requests by customer, and other related cost may be charged in addition to the hourly fee.

Due to these variables, it is often difficult to determine a flat rate fee for a land survey. Most often a land surveyor can provide an estimate of final cost based on their general experience.

To reduce the possibility of a misunderstanding or disagreement, the land surveyor may request or require that you sign an agreement or contract that includes description of the services to be performed, an approximate completion date, and lump sum fee or hourly rate, and payment schedule.

• Before you sell your home or land
• Before you buy a home or land
• Before you develop or subdivide your land
• Before you construct a building, fence, etc.
• Before a boundary line dispute arises

The Professional Land Surveyor will conduct all work in accordance with city, state, county, or federal laws and regulations, and do so with the highest standards of ethics and practice.

• Study your property description and show or indicate in their professional opinion, what the records and facts indicate the boundaries of your land to be.
• Advise you of any defects, which can have adverse effects on the ownership of the land with which you hold title to or have consideration of, with respect to the recorded description or encroachments onto or from adjoining properties.
• Set monuments at your property corners and mark monuments to be easily found.
• Set additional monuments upon the boundaries as specified by the client for construction or other uses.
• Provide a “Plat of Survey” (drawing), depicting the elements of the survey and indicating the findings for the service provided. This document shall include a “Certificate of Survey” which is signed and sealed by the Professional Land Surveyor.
• File a copy of the “Plat of Survey” with the appropriate office or agency at your request or if required by resolution, regulation, standard, or law.
• Provide additional copies to other parties as specified.
• Conduct all or portions of the service in cooperation with your attorney, banker, realtor, engineer, or architect.
• Prepare a written description of land for conveyance of title, interest, easement, or rights of way.
• Help plan and layout a subdivision of land into lots, blocks, and streets for resale or development

• The purpose and type of survey
• The deed of your property or a copy of the deed
• Any survey documents or information related to the property
• History of ownership if known or available
• Name and address of adjacent property owners
• Information about disagreements over the location of boundaries or the land
• The land surveyor should be shown all monuments marking the corners or lines of your land and any knowledge of their origin.
• Abstract and title opinion if available or if required by the Professional Land Surveyor

The Professional Land Surveyor locates the property in which you enjoy your livelihood and for which future improvements could be planned and constructed. Their professional service will cost less in time, worry, and expense than relocating a building, fence, or other improvement or defending a lawsuit in court due to a land boundary controversy. Retain a Professional Land Surveyor before planning your development and investing funds, as a protection of your interest.

The Professional Land Surveyor renders a highly technical and complex service. In cases of controversy they can appear as your expert witness, if necessary. The surveyor assumes responsibility for their professional opinion and accuracy of their work.

• Contact the surveyor well before the survey is needed
• DO NOT replace the survey monument with a post. Set a post beside the monument.
• DO NOT move, remove, or replace a survey monument.
• Removing or disturbing a survey monument is punishable under Kansas Statute Law.

Mortgagee Title Inspection

is service provided by a licensed land surveyor or that the inspection was made under his or her direct supervision for the sole use of a lending agency to evaluate potential title problems relating to possession. The plat indicates the location of improvements in relation to the approximate property line. A diligent search shall be performed to find the property corners or controlling evidence of boundary, and the highest order of that which is found shall be used to perform the MTI. The surveyor must obtain sufficient evidence relating to the property boundary to demonstrate general knowledge of the given area.

Preliminary Survey

is the collection of survey data on which to base the studies on a proposed project or a proposed final survey.

Boundary Survey

is a survey made to establish or re-establish a boundary line on the ground or to obtain data to prepare a plat for construction or proposed development.

Lot Split Survey

is a survey to create a new parcel of land for transfer of title or interest.

ALTS/ACSM Land Title Survey

is a survey of property including the “Plat of Survey”, acceptable to a title insurance company for purposes of insuring title to said property, free and clear of survey questions, except those disclosed by the survey and indicated on the plat.

Topographic Survey

is a survey of an area of land which has its major purpose of determining the configuration of the surface of the ground and the location of natural and artificial objects including utilities, drainage ways and structures and other related items. This survey is normally conducted for engineering or architectural project planning.

Site Plan Survey

is a survey normally combining a boundary survey with a topographic survey with planned design changes for use in preparing plans or submittal to governing agencies for permits of construction.

Subdivision Plat Survey

is a survey conducted to subdivide land into multiple parcels of land including lots, blocks, streets, alleys, easements, etc. This “Subdivision Plat” is normally reviewed by planning and/or governing commissions for approval and then filed with the Register of Deeds Office in the county courthouse.

Construction Survey

is a survey provided for a construction project to locate improvements to be made with information to control vertical and horizontal alignment and dimensions of the proposed improvements.

• 1 Rod or Pole   =   16.5 Feet
• 1 Chain   =   66 Feet
• 1 Link   =   0.66 Feet
• 1 Acre   =   43,560 Square Feet
• 1 Square Acre   =   208.71 Feet Square
• 1 Square Mile   =   640 Acres