Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Land Surveying?
A: According to the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCBEES), the practice of land surveying is defined as: providing professional services such as consultation, investigation, testimony, evaluation, planning, mapping, assembling, and interpreting reliable scientific measurements and information relative to the location, size, shape, or physical features of the earth, improvements on the earth, the space above the earth, or any part of the earth, whether the gathering of information for the providing of these services is accomplished by conventional ground measurements, by aerial photography, by global positioning via satellites, or by a combination of any of these methods, and the utilization and development of these facts and interpretations into an orderly survey map, plan, report, description, or project.
As defined by the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), land surveying is the the detailed study or inspection, as by gathering information through observations, measurements, and data analysis in support of planning, designing, and establishing property boundaries. Involves re-establishment of cadastral surveys and land boundaries based on documents of record and historical evidence, as well as certifying surveys (as required by statute or local ordinance) of subdivision plats, registered land surveys, judicial surveys, and space delineation. Land surveying can include associated services such as mapping and related data accumulation; construction layout surveys; precision measurements of length, angle, elevation, area; and volume; horizontal and vertical control systems; and the analysis and utilization of survey data.
Q: What is a boundary survey?
A: A survey made to establish or to re-establish a boundary line on the ground or to obtain data for constructing a map or plat showing a boundary line.
Q: What is a land surveyor and what services do licensed land surveyors offer?
A: A land surveyor is a person qualified and duly licensed to undertake surveys. The following services may only be provided by a licensed land surveyor: 1) Locating, relocating, establishing, laying out, or retracing any property line, easement, or boundary of any tract of land; 2) Locating, relocating, establishing, or laying out the alignment or elevation of any of the fixed works embraced within the practice of professional engineering; 3) Making any survey for the subdivision of any tract of land, including the topography, alignment and grades of streets and incidental drainage within the subdivision, and the preparation and perpetuation of maps, record plats, field note records, and property descriptions that represent these surveys; 4) Determining, by the use of the principles of land surveying, the position for any survey monument or reference point, or setting, resetting, or replacing any survey monument or reference point; 5) Determining the configuration or contour of the earth’s surface or the position of fixed objects on the earth’s surface by measuring lines and angles and applying the principles of mathematics or photogrammetry; 6) Providing geodetic surveying which includes surveying for determination of the size and shape of the earth both horizontally and vertically and the precise positioning of points on the earth utilizing angular and linear measurements through spatially oriented spherical geometry; and 7) Creating, preparing, or modifying electronic or computerized data, including land information systems and geographic information systems relative to the performance of the practice of land surveying.
Go to our Services page to see what services we provide here at APLSC.
Q: How much will it cost to survey my land?
A: There are many factors involved when estimating the cost of a survey. These factors include but are not limited to: size and shape of property, slope of land and vegetation, age of survey on record, and scope of work.
To request an estimate for surveying services, click here and provide to us the following information in an email: County of property, Parcel ID Number, current owner of parcel, scope of project, and property address. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Q: Is land surveying more difficult and/or more expensive in the mountains?
A: Due to the terrain, vegetation, and weather, land surveying is typically more expensive in mountainous areas.
Q: How long will it take to perform a boundary survey?
A: This varies greatly on the size of the property.
Q: When must I employ a licensed land surveyor?
A: Typically when land is conveyed in part or its entirety, a land surveyor is hired to perform a field survey and then describe the piece of land by a plat or legal description. When a land owner would like to hire an architect for an addition to an existing structure or to build a new structure, the architect will design from a topographic survey performed by a licensed surveyor. If a dispute arises between adjoining property owners over the location of a property line, a licensed land surveyor may be hired to perform the required deed research and then field survey, to make an opinion as to where the disputed line runs.
Q: Can I find my own property lines?
A: Only a licensed land surveyor can certify the location of property lines.
Q: How long is a pole?
A: One pole is equal to 16.5 feet.
Q: How long is a chain?
A: One chain is equal to 66 feet.
Q: Where can I obtain a plan that shows the boundaries, lot number, and area of my property?
A: If your property is in a recorded subdivision, then the recorded survey can be found at the Register of Deeds in the County of which your property lies. Not all properties have survey plats recorded in the Register of Deeds.
Q: If my property is not within a recorded subdivision, where can I find a description of my property?
A: Most all properties are conveyed by a deed from one individual to another and that deed typically describes the property being conveyed.
Q: What should I do if my neighbor’s boundary survey shows that their property line appears to be on my property?
A: You should consult with a boundary surveyor and possibly an attorney. To contact us, click here.
Q: What records does my land surveyor maintain?
A: Surveyors keep a record of all surveys that are performed. That data includes: deed research of subject property and contiguous properties at time of survey; all measurements and associated field data collected; analysis and adjustment of measurements made; electronic CAD files of final survey; and final product, whether it be a survey plat, legal description, and/or report of survey.
Q: Can anyone else have access to my records?
A: If the final survey has not been recorded at the courthouse, which is public, then the surveyor should adhere to the clients preference on release of survey information.
1480 US Highway 421 South - Boone, NC 28607 - 828.264.0290
PO Box 1578
