Standards Of Practice

Front 1

Are encroachments required to be shown?

Back 1

Visible encroachments onto or from adjoining property or abutting streets shall be indicated with the extent of such encroachments shown or noted upon the drawing. No sub-surface features are required to be located unless information of
their existence and location is furnished to the surveyor by the client.

Front 2

Can drawings for information purposes only be released without a seal and signature?

Back 2

Copies of a survey drawing provided for informational purposes only may be issued without the signature and seal of the licensed surveyor when it is clearly shown that the drawing is invalid without said signature and seal. It shall be a violation of this rule to use this section to circumvent the intent and purpose of
these standards.

Front 3

What tie points should be used in a metes and bounds survey description?

Back 3

Descriptions defining land boundaries by metes and bounds, written by a land surveyor for conveyance or other purposes, shall be complete and shall provide definitive identification of boundary lines. The initial point in the
description shall be tied to either a U.S. Public Land Survey corner, a recorded corner, or some other well established survey point.

Front 4

What needs to be shown on a plat with regards to a scale and a north arrow?

Back 4

A graphic scale and a north arrow should be shown. A reference as to the origin of north; e.g. assumed or true, etc.

Front 5

Are cemetary's to be shown on a plat?

Back 5

Cemeteries and burial grounds located within the boundaries of the property surveyed shall be located and shown upon the drawing if observed or if knowledge of their existence and location is furnished to the surveyor. However, a detailed
survey of the limits of the cemetery is not required according to this rule.

Front 6

Should the survey plat reference the source of information used for the survey?

Back 6

The survey shall be referenced to the source of information used in making that survey such as the recorded deed description, a recorded plat, an unrecorded plat with the deed references shown on the lots referenced, or any other instrument that describes the property surveyed. Any discrepancies between the survey map and such sources of information shall be shown.

Front 7

What is required of GPS geodetic surveys that require gps leveling?

Back 7

Should the GPS geodetic survey require GPS leveling to establish precise elevations (orthometric), the standards and practices used to develop such elevations shall be placed on the survey map. To verify accuracy, the surveyor
shall check a representative sample of these elevations using conventional leveling techniques.
b. The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) was not developed for use with GPS and should not be used for GPS leveling. The North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) and the latest models of the geoid are related in
such a way as to facilitate GPS leveling. These later datums should be used.

Front 8

What is required on surveys of a subdivision lot or part of a subdivision lot?

Back 8

Surveys of a part of a lot (s) in a recorded subdivision shall be re-subdivided with proper certificate. Surveys of a subdivision lot (s) or a part thereof shall showthe following upon the drawing:

a. The lot (s) and block number (s) or other recorded subdivision designations,
including those of adjoining lots;
b. A comparison between recorded directions and distances with field measured
directions and distances; and
c. All dimensions called for in the property description of the parcel surveyed and the excluded part of the lot (s) shall be shown upon the drawing and the parcels numbered (e.g. Lot 1 and 1A).

Front 9

Should walls, fences, buildings, etc. be shown on a plat?

Back 9

If they are evidence of a boundary line. Open and notorious evidence of boundary lines, such as fences, walls, buildings, or monuments shall be shown upon the drawing together with
dimensions sufficient to show their relationship to the boundary line (s).

Front 10

When a new parcel is created, what necessary reference shall be made with respect to the public land system?

Back 10

When a new parcel is being created, reference shall be made on the survey drawing and in the property description to the U.S. Public Land Survey corner(s)or other corner(s) shown on a recorded plat. An unrecorded plat is acceptable if
deed references are shown on the lots in reference.

Front 11

To what standards should the Re-establishment of U.S. Public Land Survey corners and subdivision of sections be surveyed to?

Back 11

Re-establishment of U.S. Public Land Survey corners and subdivision of sections should be accomplished in accordance with "Restoration of Lost or Obliterated Corners and Subdivision of Sections, 1974" prepared by the U.S. Department of Interior.

Front 12

What certification is required on every plat?

Back 12

A certification saying the survey and drawing have been completed in accordance with the Standards of Practice for the State of Alabama. Signed and license number given.

Front 13

Should property corners be set for an interum as-built survey (e.g. foundation)?

Back 13

If, during a construction project, an interim record or as-built survey is made for the purpose of locating partially completed new improvements by a surveyor or survey firm who performed a boundary survey at the beginning of the project, corner monuments need not be immediately reset if disturbed by the ongoing
construction; however, at the end of the construction project, when the final record or as-built survey is being performed to locate the completed improvements, all corner monuments must be reset if disturbed during the construction project. In all other cases, when a record or as-built survey is performed for the purpose of locating either existing, partially completed, and/or completed improvements, the boundary shall also be surveyed. All corner
monuments shall be set if not already existing.

Front 14

What information about the surveyor is required on every drawing?

Back 14

Name, address, phone number, license number, firm name. Date of the survey and a seal, whether embossed or stamped, are included also.

Front 15

Are fixed improvements to be shown on the plat?

Back 15

Location of fixed improvements within the boundary, if required, shall be shown upon the map, and their position shall be dimensioned and referenced to the boundaries, either directly or by offset lines.

Front 16

What is the smallest size a drawing may be completed on?

Back 16

8.5 x 11. All shall be of reproduceable quality.

Front 17

To what standards should static GPS geodetic control surveys conform to?

Back 17

Static GPS Geodetic Control Surveys shall conform to the Geometric Geodetic Accuracy Standards and Specifications for using GPS Relative Positioning Techniques (August 1989) found at http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/FGCS and published by the Federal Geodetic Control Committee. The classification of horizontal control points shall follow the order and class warranted by the precision of processed vectors, and the positional tolerance of the geodetic control used to constrain the vectors.

Front 18

What information is necessary when changes in direction and curves are shown on a plat?

Back 18

All changes in direction, including curves, shall be shown on the survey drawing by angles, bearings, or azimuths, and will be in the same form as the description or other recorded document referenced on the drawing. Curved lines
shall show the radii, arc distances, and central angles, or radii, chord distances,and chord bearings. If a non-tangent line is not definable as a simple circular curve,compound circular curve, or spiral, that fact shall be noted upon the drawing with sufficient measurements shown upon the drawing to position the line. When
intersecting lines are non-radial to a curve, sufficient angular data shall be shown
to relate the line to the curve.

Front 19

Are all existing easments to be shown on the plat?

Back 19

Visible evidence of easements or right-of-ways on/or across the lands surveyed shall be located or noted and shown upon the drawing. For other
easements or right-of-ways to be shown, the surveyor must be furnished a copy of the instrument that describes the easement or right-of-way. If streets or street rightofways abutting the land surveyed are not physically open, a note to this effect shall be shown upon the drawing.

Front 20

What is required on surveys desribed by metes and bounds?

Back 20

Surveys of parcels described by metes and bounds shall show the following upon the survey drawing:

a. The location of the boundary that depicts the most definitive and defensible relationship (as interpreted by the surveyor) between the record evidence (e.g.,deed, plat, etc.) and the physical evidence (e.g., monumentation and other evidence that is indicative of occupation and/or possession discovered during the
survey);
b. All information called for in the property descriptions, such as point of commencement, course bearings and distances, and point of beginning;
c. A comparison between recorded directions and distances and field measured directions and distances on the boundary when they vary.

Front 21

If state plane coordinates are to be used on a survey, to what standards should the survey conform to, and what information should be supplied?

Back 21

State plane coordinates shall be clearly referenced to the appropriate horizontal
datum on the survey map. The NAD 27 datum is obsolete for use in contemporary geodetic surveys, and the use of 1927 State Plane Coordinates is not recommended when conducting GPS-based geodetic surveys. Use of the North American Datum of 1983 is recommended with GPS since this datum is earth-centered. State plane
coordinates calculated using NAD 83 should be clearly referenced as 1983 State Plane Coordinates. Guidelines for the computation and use of 1983 State Plane Coordinates are published in NOAA Manual NOS NGS 5, State Plane Coordinate System of 1983. When state plane coordinates are use, the following information
http://www.aspls.org/resources/Standards_of_Practice.html (18 of 24) [11/4/2002 10:50:36 AM]
Minimum Technical Standards shall be depicted on the map of survey:
(1) The horizontal and/or vertical datum (s) used.
(2) The method used to derive information such as GPS or conventional survey.
(3) A combined or correctional factor.
(4) Coordinates
e. If state plane coordinates have been translated by use of a combined factor or
elevation factor for use on the earth's surface topography, such fact shall be stated on
the survey map.

Front 22

Are abbreviations and symbols allowed on a plat?

Back 22

Yes, but not ones that are not related to survey matters. Any ones not spelled out in the standards must be in a legend.

Front 23

What necesary information shall be included on a vertical or topographic survey?

Back 23

All surveys in this class shall show the datum, including a description, location, and elevation of the benchmark(s) upon which the survey is based.

Front 24

What are the surveying accuracy standards in alabama?

Back 24

Commercial/High Risk:
Linear--1 foot in 10,000 feet
Angular--15 seconds times the square root of the number of angles;
Suburban:
Linear--1 foot in 7,500 feet
Angular--20 seconds times the square root of the number of angles;
Rural:
Linear--1 foot in 5,000 feet
Angular--30 seconds times the square root of the number of angles.

Front 25

What is the accuracy standard for topographic surveys?

Back 25

Topographic Surveys: The horizontal position of physical features shall be plotted to 1/20th inch of the final map scale. If a test profile is run over the mapped area in the field, the profile shall be correct within one-half of the contour interval 80% of the time, and the remainder shall not be in error more than the contour interval. A surveyor shall be required to run test profiles if he/she is to certify to
the information shown on a topography survey obtained by aerial mapping.

Front 26

To what standards should conventional geodetic surveys be performed?

Back 26

Conventional Geodetic Control Surveys shall conform to the Standards and Specifications for Geodetic Control Networks (1984) published by the Federal Geodetic Control Committee. The classification of horizontal control points shall
follow the particular order and class warranted by the computed distance accuracy.

Front 27

What is the accuracy standard for vertical control surveys?

Back 27

Vertical Control Surveys: The level loop closure in feet should not exceed .05 times the square root of distance in miles.