La. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS § LXI-2907 - Property Boundary Survey

A. Definition

Property Boundary Survey-a survey which, after careful study, investigation, and evaluation of major factors influencing the location of boundaries, results in the deliberate location or relocation on the ground of, and the recovery or installation of monuments that define the location and extent of, one or more boundaries. Surveying and mapping activities which meet the definition of a property boundary survey are listed in Subparagraph a of §105 A, Practice of Land Surveying. Any plat or map prepared from surveying and mapping activities listed in Subparagraph b of §105 A, Practice of Land Surveying, which does not meet the definition of a property boundary survey, shall have a note stating that it that does not represent a property boundary survey.

B. Purpose. The primary purpose of the property boundary survey is to locate or relocate the physical position and extent of the boundaries of real property, and the discovery of visible evidence of prescriptive rights relating thereto. A property boundary survey may also include the location or relocation of the physical position and extent of political boundaries which define the perimeters of public or private ownership. In addition, the property boundary survey is a means of marking boundaries for sufficient definition and identification to uniquely locate each lot, parcel, or tract in relation to other well recognized and established points of reference, adjoining properties and rights-of-way.

C. Product. A property boundary survey shall result in the recovery, establishment or reestablishment of monumented corners and points of curvature and tangency. Reference monuments shall be established or reestablished when required by these standards of practice (see Subsection E, "monuments"). In the event that no plat or map is required, the professional land surveyor shall maintain adequate records to substantiate his/her professional opinion in reestablishing boundary lines and corners on a survey. If requested by the client, a property boundary survey may also include the following:

1. a signed, sealed and dated metes and bounds written description depicting the surveyed boundary (see Subsection H, "Descriptions");

2. a certified plat or map depicting the survey as made on the ground; and

3. a signed, sealed and dated written report of the professional land surveyor's findings and determinations.

D. Research and Investigation. Where the purpose of a property boundary survey neither requires nor includes research and investigation of servitudes, a note to that effect shall be placed upon the plat or map. However, when such research or investigation is required, the professional land surveyor shall request from the client or their agent the most recent legal description, plats or maps describing the property to be surveyed. The professional land surveyor shall then evaluate the necessity to obtain the following data based on the specific purpose of the survey:

1. additional recorded legal descriptions and plats or maps of the tract to be surveyed and tracts adjoining or in proximity to the property to be surveyed;

2. the recorded legal descriptions of adjoining, severing, or otherwise encumbering servitudes or rights-of-way, including but not limited to, highways, roadways, pipelines, utility corridors, and waterways used for drainage, navigation or flood control; and

3. grants, patents, subdivision plats or maps or other recorded data that will reference or influence the position of boundary lines.

E. Monuments. The professional land surveyor shall set monuments at all boundary or lot corners, including points of curvature and points of tangency, unless monuments already exist or cannot be set due to physical obstructions. The following guidelines apply to artificial monuments to be set.

1. All monuments set shall be composed of a durable material and shall incorporate a ferrous material to aid in locating them by magnetic locators and, if composed of a ferrous material, shall be a minimum of 1/2 inch outside diameter and a minimum of 18 inches in length unless it is physically impossible to set such a monument. If rebar rods are used as survey monuments, the minimum size shall be a #4 bar.

2. Concrete monuments shall be at least 3 inches in width or diameter by 24 inches in length, reinforced with an iron rod at least 1/4 inch in diameter, and may contain a precise mark on top indicating the exact location of the corner.

3. Marks on existing concrete, stone, or steel surface shall consist of drill holes, chisel marks or punch marks and shall be of sufficient size, diameter or depth to be definitive, stable and readily identifiable as a survey monument. Marks on asphalt roads may consist of railroad spikes, large nails, or other permanent ferrous spikes or nail-like objects.

4. It is unacceptable to set wooden stakes as permanent boundary monuments.

5. Monuments shall be set vertically whenever possible and the top shall be reasonably flush with the ground when practical. Monuments subject to damage from earthwork, construction or traffic should be buried at a sufficient depth to offer protection.

6. When physically impossible to set a monument at the corner, witness or reference monuments shall be set, preferably on each converging line at measured distances from the corner and identified as such in the description and on the plat or map of the property.

F. Field Procedures. All field work shall be performed in accordance with accepted modern surveying theory, practice and procedures. Any person in charge of a survey field party shall be well-trained in the technical aspects of property boundary surveying. Every professional land surveyor under whose responsible charge a property boundary survey is conducted is also required to adhere to the following.

1. All field measurement procedures shall be consistent with these standards of practice and modern surveying theory, procedures and techniques.

2. In performing resurveys of tracts having boundaries defined by lines established in public lands surveys, the professional land surveyor shall, as nearly as possible, reestablish the original lines of any prior survey made under United States or state authority. In all townships or portions of townships where no property boundary survey has been made, the professional land surveyor, in surveying or platting the township or portion thereof, shall make it conform as nearly as practicable to the lots and section indicated upon the plats or maps according to which the lands were granted by the state or by the United States (R.S. 50:125).

3. Where applicable, property boundary surveys necessitating the division of a section shall be performed in accordance with the appropriate instructions for the subdivisions of sections as published by the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, in its book entitled Manual of Instruction for Survey of the Public Lands of the United States, and all applicable federal laws.

4. Special consideration shall be afforded by the rules of evidence and "hierarchy of calls" before any decision is made regarding property boundaries. "The legal guides for determining a question of boundary or the location of a land line in order of their importance and value are: 1-natural monuments, 2-artificial monuments, 3-distances, 4-courses, 5-quantity. But the controlling consideration is the intention of the parties" (see citation in Myer vs. Comegys, 147 La. 851, 86 So. 307, 309 (1920)).

5. A careful search shall be made for corner monuments affecting the location of the boundaries of land to be surveyed. Any evidence discovered shall be evaluated for its agreement in description and location with the call in the relevant deeds and/or plats or maps.

6. All boundary discrepancies, visible evidence of possible encroachments, and visible indications of rights which may be acquired through prescription or adverse possession shall be physically located. All evidence of servitudes that is visible without meticulous searching shall be physically located during the survey. Furthermore, nonvisible servitudes shall be located only upon the client's specific request and the client's delivery of any necessary documentation.

7. All field data gathered shall satisfy the requirements of the following Subsection on plats and maps.

G. Plats and Maps. Every original plat or map of a property boundary survey should be a reproducible drawing at a suitable scale which clearly shows the results of the field work, computations, research and record information as compiled and checked. The plat or map shall be prepared in conformity with the following guidelines.

1. Any reasonably stable and durable drawing paper, linen or film of reproducible quality will be considered suitable material for property boundary survey plats and maps.

2. The minimum dimensions for plats and maps shall be 8 inches by 10-1/2 inches.

3. All dimensions, bearings or angles, including sufficient data to define the curve, shall be neatly and legibly shown with respect to each property or boundary line. To define a circular curve, the following four elements shall be shown: chord bearing, chord distance, arc and radius. When possible, all bearings shall read in a clockwise direction around the property. All lines and curves shall show sufficient data on the plat or map to calculate a plat or map closure.

4. Monuments shall be labeled as "found" or "set" with a sufficient description of the monument. The description shall include but not be limited to the size and type of material, and relevant reference markers, if any, along with their position in relation to the corner.

5. When the purpose of the property boundary survey dictates, the area of the tract and all pertinent natural or man-made features located during the course of the field survey (water courses, streets, visible utilities, etc.) shall be labeled or represented by an appropriate symbol on the plat or map in its proper location. When appropriate, the feature shall be dimensioned and referenced to the nearest property line.

6. A statement indicating the origin of azimuths or bearings shall be shown on each plat or map. If bearings are used, the basis of the bearing shall include one or more of the following:

a. reference to true north as computed by astronomic observation within one mile of the surveyed site;

b. reference to the Louisiana state plane coordinate system with the appropriate zone and a controlling station(s) with coordinates and datum noted;

c. reference to the record bearing of a well-established line found monumented on the ground as called for in a relevant deed or survey plat or map; or

d. when none of the above alternatives are practical, a magnetic bearing (corrected for declination) may be used.

7. If a coordinate system other than the Louisiana State Plane Coordinate System is used on a plat or map, that system shall be identified. If that system is the Louisiana State Plane Coordinate System, the appropriate zone shall be shown on the plat or map.

8. Where the new survey results differ significantly from the prior deed information in regard to course, distance, location or quantity, the plat or map shall indicate such differences or discrepancies.

9. Where separate intricate details, blowups or inserts are required for clarity, they shall be properly referenced to the portion of the plat or map where they apply. This applies particularly to areas where lines of occupation do not conform to deed lines and to areas where a comparison of adjoining deeds indicates the existence of a gap or an overlap.

10. Cemeteries and burial grounds known by the professional land surveyor to be located within the premises being surveyed shall be indicated on the plat or map. However, a detailed survey of the limits of the cemetery or burial ground shall not be required unless directed by the client.

11. When the purpose of the property boundary survey dictates, properties, water courses and rights-of-way surrounding, adjoining, or severing the surveyed site shall be identified. Private lands or servitudes should be labeled with the name of the owner or with a reference to the deed under which ownership is held, provided that such information is furnished by the client.

12. Original section, grant, subdivision or survey lines, when an integral part of the deed, shall be shown in proper location with pertinent labeling. A measurement of course and distance shall be shown to a parent tract corner, block corner, section corner, subdivision or grant corner, and existing monuments shall be indicated.

13. Differing line weights or delineating letters or numbers (A, B, C, etc. or 1, 2, 3, etc.) shall be used to clearly show the limits of what is being surveyed.

14. Each plat or map shall show the following:

a. caption or title;

b. client and/or purpose;

c. section, township, range, land district, incorporated area or community, parish and state (as applicable);

d. vicinity map. A vicinity map will not be required if there are sufficient features and landmarks (officially named streets and street intersections, lots and blocks within a subdivision, adjoining subdivisions, Township-Range-Section lines, etc.) on the plat or map that would sufficiently enable a person to identify the location of the survey site;

e. date of the survey;

f. name, telephone number, mailing address and license number of the professional land surveyor and, if applicable, the firm who employs the professional land surveyor;

g. signature and seal of the professional land surveyor under whose responsible charge the survey was done;

h. scale, written and/or graphic;

i. north arrow, and it is recommended that the drawings be oriented so that north is toward the top of the sheet; and

j. legend for symbols and abbreviations used on the plat or map.

15. Final plats or maps issued to the client shall contain a certification statement by the professional land surveyor certifying its authenticity (that it represents his/her survey) and stating that the property boundary survey is in accordance with the applicable standards of practice as stipulated in this Chapter, based on the current survey "classification" (see §2905, Classification of Boundary Surveys).

H. Descriptions. A written legal description of the surveyed tract of land shall provide information to properly locate the property on the ground and distinctly set it apart from all other lands. The following guidelines apply.

1. When the surveyed property's dimensions, boundaries and area are in agreement with the existing recorded deed or platted calls, the existing recorded description may be used if it approximates the standards contained herein.

2. When the property is an aliquot part of a rectangular section or a lot in a platted subdivision, the aliquot method or the lot, block and subdivision method (including recordation data) of describing the property may be used. Metes and bounds descriptions of this type of property are optional.

3. Every aliquot description shall contain the following basic information: aliquot part of section, township, range, land district, parish and state.

4. Every subdivision lot description shall also contain the following basic information: lot, block, unit (if applicable), name of subdivision, incorporated area or community (if applicable), parish and state.

5. Every metes and bounds description may be written in at least two parts. The first part, called the "general description," shall indicate the general location of the property by naming the particular lot or block within which it is located if in a subdivision or by naming the grant or aliquot part of a rectangular section within which it is located, along with the section, township, range, land district, incorporated area or community (if applicable), parish and state. The second part, called the "particular description," shall logically compile and incorporate calls for the following:

a. courses and distances of the new survey, preferably in a clockwise direction;

b. adjoining apparent rights-of-way or servitudes;

c. monuments (when controlling), including descriptions of type, size, material, reference monuments (if applicable), and whether found, set or replaced; and

d. the area, if stated, shall be in square feet, acres or hectares within the tolerances specified in this Chapter.

6. The "point of beginning" should ideally be the property corner that is most accessible and most easily identifiable by interested parties. This point shall be carefully chosen and described in a manner which will distinguish it indisputably from any other point. The "commencing point" shall be any identifiable point used to locate the "point of beginning."

7. The courses in the written description shall be as brief and yet as explanatory as the professional land surveyor can construct. Brevity should not cause important locative information to be omitted, and explanatory phrases should not enlarge the description to the extent of confusion.

8. Curved boundaries shall be identified, and sufficient data to define the curve shall be presented. To define a circular curve, the following four elements shall be listed:

a. chord bearing;

b. chord distance;

c. arc; and

d. radius.

9. Each metes and bounds description shall return to the "point of beginning" and close mathematically within the tolerances stated in this Chapter.

10. A statement at the end of the description shall connect the description to the specific survey on which it is based and to the plat or map which depicts the survey. Such a statement may be phrased:

"This description is based on the property boundary survey and plat or map made by _______(name)______, Professional Land Surveyor, dated __________."

or

"This description is based on plat or map recorded _____________(give recordation data) _____________."

11. The metes and bounds description shall then be signed, sealed and dated by the professional land surveyor.

Notes

La. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS § LXI-2907

Promulgated by the Department of Transportation and Development, Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, LR 16:1065 (December 1990), amended LR 19:58 (January 1993), LR 22:714 (August 1996), amended by the Department of Transportation and Development, Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board, LR 27:1043 (July 2001), LR 30:1726 (August 2004), LR 33:2790 (December 2007), LR 37:2415 (August 2011), Amended LR 44627 (3/1/2018), Amended LR 491568 (9/1/2023), Amended LR 51554 (4/1/2025).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:688.