When should I hire a land surveyor in Maine?

Hire a licensed Maine land surveyor when you are buying a property, dividing land, making improvements, adjusting or locating a boundary line, resolving a boundary dispute with a neighbor, preparing a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) for a flood-prone property, or preparing a site plan for a planning board permit. These are the situations the Maine Society of Land Surveyors (MSLS) identifies as warranting a professional survey. If your situation matches any of them, the next step is to find a licensed surveyor through MSLS's services directory.

Situations that call for a survey

The MSLS website lists the following triggers for hiring a surveyor:

• Buying a new property — confirm what you are actually purchasing before closing.
• Dividing your existing property — establish new lot lines for a subdivision or split.
• Making improvements on your property — place structures, fences, or driveways with confidence about where the lines fall.
• Adjusting a boundary line — formally move a line between adjoining owners.
• Determining the location of your boundary lines — find out where your property actually begins and ends.
• Solving boundary disputes with a neighbor — get a professional determination instead of arguing over markers.
• Preparing a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) for flood-prone properties — support a request to change flood zone designation.
• Preparing a site plan for a planning board permit — supply the plan your local board requires.

MSLS frames the underlying principle simply: good boundaries make good neighbors.

How to find a surveyor in Maine

MSLS maintains a services directory to connect the public with its licensed professional members. Use it to search for a surveyor rather than relying on general search results, since directory listings come from the professional society itself.

What MSLS is

The Maine Society of Land Surveyors describes its mission as educating, advocating, and serving as a public resource for the land surveying profession in Maine. Relevant to anyone hiring a surveyor:

• It monitors legislation and advocates for rules affecting professional practice in Maine.
• It is represented by liaisons with other professional organizations and government entities.
• It attends all meetings of the Board of Licensure for Professional Land Surveyors.
• It provides scholarships and supports surveying education programs at the University of Maine and Central Maine Community College.

This matters to a property owner because it means the society is positioned as a central reference point for the profession in the state, including its directory of licensed members.

What to expect from membership versus public resources

MSLS separates public-facing resources from members-only content. The site has a "Members' Only Resources" area that requires a username and password, so some materials are not open to the general public. If you are a property owner rather than a surveyor, plan on using the public pages — the directory and general information — and contact a listed surveyor directly for your specific project.

Quick reference

If you are unsure whether your project falls into one of these categories, the safest approach is to describe your plans to a licensed surveyor found through the MSLS directory and let them advise on whether a survey is needed.