Who is a Professional Land Surveyor?
A Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) is uniquely qualified by education and experience. He or she has become registered by passing a series of Massachusetts Land Surveyors examinations. Only a Professional Land Surveyor duly registered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (see 250 CMR) is legally permitted to perform land surveys in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Be sure to look for a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) who is licensed in the state where your property is located.
While MALSCE cannot specifically recommend a firm to someone requesting a particular service, the people listed below are members of the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers (MALSCE) and have chosen to join the Proprietors’ Council. MALSCE Members have agreed to uphold the Bylaws, abide by the Code of Ethics, and meet the State requirements for practicing land surveying or engineering.
To search for other registered land surveyors in your area, please visit the Massachusetts Board of Registration.
A Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) is uniquely qualified by education and experience. He or she has become registered by passing a series of Massachusetts Land Surveyors examinations. Only a Professional Land Surveyor duly registered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (see 250 CMR) is legally permitted to perform land surveys in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
To protect your investment, retain a Professional Land Surveyor prior to planning your development and investing funds. The Professional Land Surveyor can locate the boundaries of a property upon which improvements are planned or being constructed, and can layout any proposed improvements. These professional services assure that your improvements are positioned correctly possibly preventing costly complications.
A Land Surveyor can provide you with some or all of the following products, depending on the needs of your project and the type of survey:
A land surveyor’s fee depends on many factors including:
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, 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, and other related costs associated directly to the service provided to you 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 should require that you sign an agreement or contract that includes a description of the services to be performed, an approximate completion date, a lump sum fee or hourly rate and payment schedule.
A Professional Land Surveyor can provide several different types of land surveys for you:
The Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers (MALSCE) is dedicated to promoting the highest possible standards of professional practices in the public’s interest. For more than fifty years, the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers (MALSCE) has protected the interests of property owners statewide and enhanced the overall status of the land surveying and civil engineering professions. MALSCE is a nonprofit professional society of land surveyors and civil engineers. Learn more about MALSCE.
A complete range of design, landscape architecture, engineering, and survey services and have the management skills necessary to coordinate diverse projects and collaborative professional teams.