iplsa.org

Land surveyors measure and map property boundaries, elevations, and improvements so you know exactly where a property line, building, or easement sits. You need one when buying or selling land, building near a line, dividing a parcel, or resolving a boundary dispute. In Illinois, the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association (IPLSA) provides a Find a Surveyor tool and a Get It Surveyed resource to help you locate licensed professionals and understand when a survey is warranted.

What a Land Surveyor Does

A land surveyor establishes and re-establishes property boundaries, prepares plats and legal descriptions, and documents physical features on the land. The work typically includes:

• Boundary surveys — locating corners and lines based on deeds, plats, and recorded documents
• Topographic surveys — mapping elevation and terrain for design and drainage
• ALTA/NSPS surveys — detailed surveys often required for commercial real estate transactions
• Subdivision plats — dividing land into lots and dedicating rights-of-way
• Elevation and construction layout — setting grades and staking improvements

Surveyors also research the public record, including General Land Office (GLO) plats, which IPLSA makes available as a reference resource.

When You Need a Property Survey

A survey is commonly needed when:

• You are buying or selling property and the deed description is unclear or the parcel has not been surveyed recently
• You plan to build, add a fence, or place a structure near a boundary
• You want to divide or combine parcels
• A neighbor dispute arises over an encroachment or easement
• A lender or title company requires one for a transaction

If you are unsure whether your situation requires a full boundary survey, IPLSA's Get It Surveyed page is designed to explain the process and help you decide.

How to Find a Licensed Land Surveyor

1. Use IPLSA's Find a Surveyor tool — the association maintains a directory to connect property owners with surveyors.
2. Confirm licensure — Illinois surveyors are licensed through the state; IPLSA's Licensure section covers the path to licensure and regulation and enforcement, which explains how the profession is governed.
3. Ask about scope and deliverables — confirm whether you will receive a plat, a written report, or both, and whether monumentation is included.
4. Check for relevant experience — for boundary or ALTA work, ask whether the surveyor regularly handles that type of survey in your county.

What to Prepare Before Contacting a Surveyor

Having the right documents ready speeds up the process and often reduces cost:

• Deed and legal description for the property
• Plat of survey from a prior survey, if one exists
• Title commitment or property record card, if available
• A clear statement of purpose — purchase, construction, subdivision, or dispute
• Any known concerns — fences that may not match the deed line, easements, or neighbor issues

Typical Steps in a Boundary Survey

1. Research — the surveyor reviews deeds, plats, and recorded documents affecting the parcel.
2. Field work — the surveyor locates existing monuments and measures the property, setting or re-setting corners as needed.
3. Analysis — field measurements are compared against the record documents to resolve discrepancies.
4. Deliverables — you receive a plat of survey and, where required, a written description or report.

Expect the surveyor to explain any discrepancies between the deed and physical conditions, since those findings often matter most in a transaction or dispute.

Verifying Licensure and Reading the Survey Report

Before hiring, confirm the surveyor's license is active through the state licensing authority; IPLSA's Licensure pages describe the regulatory structure and enforcement process. When you receive the survey:

• Check that the plat matches your deed description and shows all improvements, easements, and setbacks
• Confirm monuments are shown and described (what was found versus set)
• Review the surveyor's certification, date, and seal
• Ask the surveyor to walk you through any encroachments or discrepancies noted

Building a Career or Staying Current

IPLSA also supports the profession itself. The Career Center, Young Surveyors Network, and Future Surveyors scholarships and instructional videos serve students and teachers exploring surveying. For licensed professionals, the association offers continuing education, including a 2026 Virtual Conference with eight courses totaling 21 Professional Development Hours (covering sexual harassment prevention, ethics, and statutes and standards), a 2026 Professional Development Seminar webinar with Gary Kent offering 8 PDHs on statutes and standards, professional ethics, and risk management on November 4–5, and an Illinois Jurisdictional Exam Review Course available standalone or bundled with the Illinois Compiled Statutes for exam preparation. A 2024 Statute Book is also available. These resources are listed on the IPLSA site with purchase and registration links; check the site for current availability and pricing.

Land surveying is the professional practice of measuring and mapping land boundaries, elevations, and features to establish legal property lines and support design and construction. You need a licensed land surveyor when buying or dividing property, building near setbacks, resolving boundary disputes, or preparing a site plan. To find one, use a professional association directory such as the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association's "Find a Surveyor" tool, then verify the license with your state's licensing board before hiring.

What Land Surveying Is

A land surveyor measures the physical world and translates it into legally defensible records. The work combines field measurement (using instruments such as total stations and GPS) with research into deeds, plats, and prior surveys, and produces a signed, sealed document—often a plat or boundary survey—that describes where lines and features actually lie.

The Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association (IPLSA) describes surveying as a career and profession with its own licensure path, regulation, and enforcement, and it maintains resources on "About Surveying," "Path to Licensure," and "Maintaining Your License." That structure matters to you as a consumer: a surveyor's authority to certify boundaries comes from a state license, not just from experience.

Main Types of Surveys and When You Need One

Use this as a starting point, not a menu: the scope you actually need depends on your project and on what your lender, title company, or local permitting authority requires. Ask the surveyor to state in writing which type they will perform and what it will and will not show.

What a Land Surveyor Does

In practice, a surveyor will:

• Research public records—deeds, plats, and prior surveys—to understand the legal description of the property.
• Measure in the field to locate corners, lines, and physical features.
• Analyze evidence and reconcile it with the record description.
• Prepare and certify a plat or report, and often file or record it as required.
• Advise on encroachments, easements, and setback questions within the scope of the survey.

IPLSA's site also points to GLO (General Land Office) plats, which are historical federal survey records used in boundary research—an example of the record work that precedes field measurement.

How to Find and Verify a Licensed Surveyor

1. Start with a directory. IPLSA offers a "Find a Surveyor" search and a "Get It Surveyed" resource for the public. Similar directories exist through other state associations and the National Society of Professional Engineers' affiliated surveying bodies.
2. Confirm the license. Licensing is handled at the state level. IPLSA's "Licensure" and "Regulation & Enforcement" sections describe Illinois' path to licensure and how the state regulates the profession; check your own state board's license lookup for the individual's name and status.
3. Ask about scope and credentials. Request the surveyor's license number, the type of survey they propose, and whether they carry professional liability insurance.
4. Get a written proposal. It should list the survey type, deliverables, timeline, and any exclusions (for example, whether utility locating or wetland delineation is included).

What to Prepare Before You Call

Gather these items to get an accurate quote and avoid delays:

• The property's legal description, deed, and any prior survey or plat you have.
• The address, parcel number, and approximate acreage.
• A sketch or photos of known corners, fences, and structures near the lines.
• The purpose of the survey (sale, permit, dispute, construction) and any deadline.
• Any requirements from your lender, title company, or local building department.

Expect the surveyor to need access to the property and possibly neighbors' land to locate corners; discuss access and any locked gates up front.

Common Pitfalls and How to Check Credentials

• Hiring on price alone. A cheap "mortgage inspection" or spot survey is not a boundary survey and may not protect you in a dispute. Confirm the deliverable in writing.
• Skipping license verification. A license lookup takes minutes and is the single best check. IPLSA's licensure and enforcement pages show that the state, not the association, holds disciplinary authority.
• Assuming a survey settles ownership. A survey locates lines based on record and evidence; it does not by itself resolve title or legal ownership questions. For those, involve a title company or attorney.
• Ignoring continuing education. IPLSA promotes professional development hours (PDH) and courses such as its virtual conference and jurisdictional exam review—signs of a profession that expects ongoing training. Ask whether your surveyor stays current.

For a property purchase or a boundary question, the practical sequence is: identify the survey type you need, find a licensed surveyor through a directory like IPLSA's, verify the license with the state board, and get a written scope before work begins.

Surveying is the measurement and mapping of land and features on the earth's surface, and a professional surveyor is the licensed person who performs those measurements and certifies the results. You need a surveyor when you want to know where a property boundary legally sits, how land should be divided, or how a construction project should be laid out. In Missouri, the profession is represented by the Missouri Society of Professional Surveyors (MSPS), which describes itself as representing the interests of surveying and improving public and professional recognition of the field.

What Surveying Actually Involves

Surveying combines fieldwork and analysis. A surveyor measures angles, distances, elevations, and positions, then turns those measurements into maps, plats, descriptions, and reports that other people can rely on.

The work typically includes:

• Measuring — using instruments to record distances, angles, and elevations on the ground.
• Researching records — reviewing deeds, plats, and recorded land records to understand what has already been established.
• Interpreting boundaries — determining where a boundary line legally lies, not just where a fence or marker happens to be.
• Documenting results — producing plats, legal descriptions, and reports that can be recorded or used for permits and construction.

The distinction that matters most: a surveyor doesn't just measure where things are. A licensed surveyor applies law and record evidence to say where a boundary legally is.

Common Types of Surveys and When You Need One

Different tasks call for different surveys. The list below covers the situations most people encounter.

If your question is "where is my line," you want a boundary survey. If your question is "can I build here and how," you likely need topographic or construction layout work on top of boundary information.

How Surveying Is Regulated and Licensed

Surveying is a regulated profession. Licensing exists so that boundary determinations and certified documents carry legal weight and accountability.

Using Missouri as an example, the pattern looks like this:

• State licensure — surveyors must be licensed by the state to practice and to certify surveys.
• Professional standards — licensed surveyors are held to standards of practice and ethics.
• Record keeping — surveys and plats are recorded so that boundary information stays available to the public and to future surveyors.
• Professional representation — organizations such as MSPS advocate for the profession and its standards.

Because requirements vary by state, always confirm the current licensing rules with the state board or a professional organization rather than assuming another state's rules apply.

Where to Find Surveyor Jobs and Land Records in Missouri

Two practical needs come up often: finding work in the field, and finding the records that surveying depends on.

For jobs, MSPS lists "surveyor jobs in Missouri" and "surveyor jobs" among its site keywords, and it also references a Survey Technician Council, which points to career paths that start below the licensed level. Job seekers can use the organization as a starting point for industry and career information.

For land records, MSPS lists "land records" among its topics. Land records are the deeds, plats, and recorded documents that surveyors research when establishing boundaries. If you're trying to understand your own property, the county recorder's office is the usual place to start, and a licensed surveyor is the person who can interpret what those records mean for your specific boundary.

Why Professional Organizations Like MSPS Matter

The Missouri Society of Professional Surveyors exists to represent the surveying profession in Missouri and to improve how the public and related professions recognize it. For someone outside the field, that translates into a few useful things:

• A central source for industry information and legislation affecting surveying.
• A connection point for jobs and career development, including technician-level roles.
• A voice for professional standards in a field where accuracy has legal consequences.

If you're a landowner, you probably don't need to join anything — you need a licensed surveyor. If you're considering the profession, or you're a surveyor looking for work and industry news in Missouri, MSPS is a reasonable place to look.

Quick Answers

What is surveying? Measuring and mapping land and features, then interpreting that data against legal records.

What does a surveyor do? Measures, researches records, determines legal boundaries, and produces certified maps and descriptions.

When do I need one? Buying or dividing land, building near a boundary, resolving a dispute, or preparing a site for construction.

How is it regulated? Through state licensure and professional standards; Missouri is one example, and MSPS represents the profession there.

Where do I find jobs or records? Jobs and industry information through MSPS; land records through county records and the surveyors who interpret them.