N.J. Stat. tit. 51, ch. 3

in effect

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-1 Pillars showing true meridian; verification of meridian line

51:3-1. The board of chosen freeholders of each county shall erect, and properly inclose and protect at public spots, adjacent to the courthouse of the county, two substantial pillars on the same meridian line and not less than one hundred feet apart. The board shall cause to be determined the accurate latitude and longitude of the first of said pillars, reckoning the longitude from the meridian at Washington, and shall have said latitude and longitude distinctly and legibly marked on said pillar in degrees, minutes, seconds and parts of a second. Upon the summit of the first pillar there shall be immovably placed a brass plate, indented with a line indicating the true meridian. There shall also be placed on said first pillar a hair sight, in such a manner that a straight line passing through the center thereof, extended to a distinctly visible needle point, which shall be maintained on the summit of the second pillar, will be in the line of the true meridian running north and south. The board shall cause the said meridian line to be verified at any time, when required by order of any judge of the Superior Court. Amended 1953,c.48,s.14; 1991,c.91,s.479.

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-2 § 51:3-2

The said pillars and inclosure shall be subject to the custody of the county clerk. Any surveyor of lands, or civil engineer, residing in said county, or engaged in surveying therein, shall have free access thereto for the purpose of testing the variation of the compass.

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-3 § 51:3-3

Any person who shall willfully erase, alter, deface, displace, destroy, carry away or otherwise injure any such pillar or inclosure, or any part thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Upon conviction thereof, he shall for each offense be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than one nor more than three years, or both, at the discretion of the court.

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-4 Variation of compass; testing; certificate; filing; fees

Every surveyor engaged in surveying land within this state, shall test and note the actual variation of his compass from the true meridian line at least once in each year. He shall deposit a copy of his notes with the date and time of such test and a certificate embodying the variation with an affidavit verifying its correctness with the clerk of the county, in which he resides or has his office, to be recorded in a book provided for that purpose. For recording each certificate and affidavit, for copies or abstracts thereof, and for drawing the certificate and seal therefor, said clerk shall be allowed the legal fees allowed for similar services. The said fees shall be paid by the person who desires the service performed.

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-5 § 51:3-5

Every surveyor, who shall neglect or refuse to comply with the provisions of section 51:3-4 of this title, shall for each offense, be liable to a penalty of fifty dollars to be recovered with costs, by the board of chosen freeholders or by any person for its use and benefit in an action at law.

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-6 Salem and Cumberland counties

L.1869, c. 228, p. 566, entitled "Supplement to the act to establish a meridian line standard in the several counties of this state," approved March twenty-fourth, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, saved from repeal. [This act requires surveyors in Salem and Cumberland counties twice each year to test compasses and note variations and to file verified certificates in a prescribed form, and thereafter to make and return surveys according to the true bearings instead of the magnetic bearings, and fixes the fees of the county clerk as follows: 25 cents for recording each certificate and affidavit appended, and 15 cents for taking the affidavit.]

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-7 Official survey base established; plane co-ordinates

51:3-7. The official survey base for New Jersey shall be a system of plane co-ordinates to be known as the New Jersey system of plane co-ordinates, said system being defined as a transverse Mercator projection of the Geodetic Reference System of 1980, having a central meridian 74` 30' west from Greenwich on which meridian the scale is set at one part in 10,000 too small. All co-ordinates of the system are expressed in meters, the x co-ordinate being measured easterly along the grid and the y co-ordinate being measured northerly along the grid, the origin of the co-ordinates being on the meridian 74` 30' west from Greenwich at the intersection of the parallel 38` 50' north latitude, such origin being given the co-ordinates x=150,000 meters; y=0 meters. The precise position of said system shall be as marked on the ground by triangulation or traverse stations established in conformity with the standards adopted by the National Geodetic Survey, formerly the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for first and second-order work, whose geodetic positions have been rigidly adjusted on the North American Datum of 1983 or the most recently published adjustment by the National Geodetic Survey, and whose plane co-ordinates have been computed on the system defined. The New Jersey co-ordinate system defined by the North American Datum of 1927 may be used concurrently with or in lieu of the system defined by the North American Datum of 1983 for a period of 36 months after the effective date of this amendatory act, P.L.1989, c.218. Standard conversions from meters to feet shall be the adopted standards of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Amended 1989,c.218,s.1.

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-8 Connecting property surveys with system of co-ordinates

51:3-8. Any triangulation or traverse station established as described in section 51:3-7 of this title shall be used in establishing a connection between a property survey and the above-mentioned system of rectangular co-ordinates. Amended 1989, c.218, s.2.

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-9 § 51:3-9

No survey of lands hereinafter made shall have indorsed thereon any legend or other statement indicating that it is based upon the New Jersey system of plane co-ordinates unless the co-ordinates have been established on that system as herein defined.

N.J. Stat. § 51:3-10 § 51:3-10

Nothing in this article contained shall be interpreted as requiring any purchaser or mortgagee to rely on a description based wholly upon the aforesaid system.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-activity/statutesFetched: 10/17/2026