ARTICLE 5. Surveying Practice [8759. - 8774.5.]

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC 5.
in effect

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8759. Section 8759.

(a) A licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer authorized to practice land surveying shall use a written contract when contracting to provide professional services to a client pursuant to this chapter. The written contract shall be executed by the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer and the client or the client’s representative prior to the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer commencing work, unless the client knowingly states in writing that work may be commenced before the contract is executed. The written contract shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) A description of the services to be provided to the client by the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer. (2) A description of any basis of compensation applicable to the contract, and the method of payment agreed upon by the parties. (3) The name, address, and license or certificate number of the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer, and the name and address of the client. (4) A description of the procedure that the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer and the client will use to accommodate additional services. (5) A description of the procedure to be used by both parties to terminate the contract. (6) Disclosure of any existence of a current professional liability insurance policy covering the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer in responsible charge of the services. (b) This section shall not apply to any of the following: (1) Professional land surveying services rendered by a licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer for which the client will not pay compensation. (2) A licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer who has a current or prior contractual relationship with the client to provide professional services pursuant to this chapter, and that client has paid the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer all of the fees that are due under the contract. (3) If the client knowingly states in writing after full disclosure of this section that a contract which complies with the requirements of this section is not required. (4) Professional services rendered by a licensed land surveyor or a licensed civil engineer to any of the following: (A) A professional engineer licensed under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700). (B) A land surveyor licensed under this chapter. (C) An architect licensed under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5500). (D) A contractor licensed under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000). (E) A geologist or a geophysicist licensed under Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 7800). (F) A manufacturing, mining, public utility, research and development, or other industrial corporation, if the services are provided in connection with or incidental to the products, systems, or services of that corporation or its affiliates. (G) A public agency. (c) “Written contract” as used in this section includes a contract that is in electronic form.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8760. Section 8760.

Every licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer may administer and certify oaths: (a) When it becomes necessary to take testimony for the identification or establishment of old, lost or obliterated corners. (b) When a corner or monument is found in a perishable condition, and it appears desirable that evidence concerning it be perpetuated. (c) When the importance of the survey makes it desirable, to administer an oath to his assistants for the faithful performance of their duty. A record of oaths shall be preserved as part of the field notes of the survey and a memorandum of them shall be made on the record of survey filed under this article.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8761. Section 8761.

(a) Any licensed land surveyor or civil engineer authorized to practice land surveying may practice land surveying and prepare maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other documentary evidence in connection with that practice. (b) All maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other land surveying documents shall be prepared by, or under the responsible charge of, a licensed land surveyor or civil engineer authorized to practice land surveying and shall include his or her name and license number. (c) Interim maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other land surveying documents shall include a notation as to the intended purpose of the map, plat, report, description, or other document, such as “preliminary” or “for examination only.” (d) All final maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other land surveying documents issued by a licensed land surveyor or civil engineer authorized to practice land surveying shall bear the signature and seal or stamp of the licensee and the date of signing and sealing or stamping. If the land surveying document has multiple pages or sheets, the signature, seal or stamp, and date of signing and sealing or stamping shall appear, at a minimum, on the title sheet, cover sheet or page, or signature sheet, unless otherwise required by law. (e) It is unlawful for any person to sign, stamp, seal, or approve any map, plat, report, description, or other land surveying document unless the person is authorized to practice land surveying. (f) It is unlawful for any person to stamp or seal any map, plat, report, description, or other land surveying document with the seal or stamp after the certificate of the licensee that is named on the seal or stamp has expired or has been suspended or revoked, unless the certificate has been renewed or reissued.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8761.1. Section 8761.1.

The authority of a licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer to prepare, sign, issue, stamp, seal, or approve any map, plat, report, description, or other document shall be consistent with that person’s authority to practice land surveying.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8761.2. Section 8761.2.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8761, a registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor who signs land surveying maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other surveying documents shall not be responsible for damage caused by subsequent changes to or uses of those maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other surveying documents, where the subsequent changes or uses, including changes or uses made by state or local governmental agencies, are not authorized or approved by the registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor who originally signed the maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other surveying documents, provided that the engineering or surveying service rendered by the civil engineer or land surveyor who signed the maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other surveying documents was not also a proximate cause of the damage.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8762. Section 8762.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), after making a field survey in conformity with the practice of land surveying, the licensed surveyor or licensed civil engineer may file with the county surveyor in the county in which the field survey was made, a record of the survey. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), after making a field survey in conformity with the practice of land surveying, the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer shall file with the county surveyor in the county in which the field survey was made a record of the survey relating to land boundaries or property lines, if the field survey discloses any of the following: (1) Material evidence or physical change, which in whole or in part does not appear on any subdivision map, official map, or record of survey previously recorded or properly filed in the office of the county recorder or county surveying department, or map or survey record maintained by the Bureau of Land Management of the United States. (2) A material discrepancy with the information contained in any subdivision map, official map, or record of survey previously recorded or filed in the office of the county recorder or the county surveying department, or any map or survey record maintained by the Bureau of Land Management of the United States. For purposes of this subdivision, a “material discrepancy” is limited to a material discrepancy in the position of points or lines, or in dimensions. (3) Evidence that, by reasonable analysis, might result in materially alternate positions of lines or points, shown on any subdivision map, official map, or record of survey previously recorded or filed in the office of the county recorder or the county surveying department, or any map or survey record maintained by the Bureau of Land Management of the United States. (4) The location, relocation, establishment, reestablishment, or retracement of one or more points or lines not shown on any subdivision map, official map, or record of survey, the positions of which are not ascertainable from an inspection of the subdivision map, official map, or record of survey. (5) The points or lines set during the performance of a field survey of any parcel described in any deed or other instrument of title recorded in the county recorder’s office are not shown on any subdivision map, official map, or record of survey. (c) The record of survey required to be filed pursuant to this section shall be filed within 90 days after the setting of boundary monuments during the performance of a field survey or within 90 days after completion of a field survey, whichever occurs first. (d) (1) If the 90-day time limit contained in subdivision (c) cannot be complied with for reasons beyond the control of the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer, the 90-day time period shall be extended until the time at which the reasons for delay are eliminated. If the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer cannot comply with the 90-day time limit, he or she shall, prior to the expiration of the 90-day time limit, provide the county surveyor with a letter stating that he or she is unable to comply. The letter shall provide an estimate of the date for completion of the record of survey, the reasons for the delay, and a general statement as to the location of the survey, including the assessor’s parcel number or numbers. (2) The licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer shall not initially be required to provide specific details of the survey. However, if other surveys at the same location are performed by others which may affect or be affected by the survey, the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer shall then provide information requested by the county surveyor without unreasonable delay. (e) Any record of survey filed with the county surveyor shall, after being examined by him or her, be filed with the county recorder. (f) If the preparer of the record of survey provides a postage-paid, self-addressed envelope or postcard with the filing of the record of survey, the county recorder shall return the postage-paid, self-addressed envelope or postcard to the preparer of the record of survey with the filing data within 10 days of final filing. For the purposes of this subdivision, “filing data” includes the date, the book or volume, and the page at which the record of survey is filed with the county recorder.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8762.5. Section 8762.5.

No record of survey of land shown on the latest adopted county assessment roll as a unit or as contiguous units, which shows a division of such land into additional parcels, shall be filed with the county surveyor or with the county recorder, unless there is attached thereto a certificate by the county surveyor if the land lies within an unincorporated area, or a certificate by the city engineer if the land lies within a city, of compliance with the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act, Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410) of Title 7 of the Government Code, and any applicable local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8763. Section 8763.

The record of survey shall be a map, legibly drawn, printed, or reproduced by a process guaranteeing a permanent record in black on tracing cloth, or polyester base film, 18 by 26 inches or 460 by 660 millimeters. If ink is used on polyester base film, the ink surface shall be coated with a suitable substance to assure permanent legibility. A marginal line shall be drawn completely around each sheet leaving an entirely blank margin of one inch or 25 millimeters.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8764. Section 8764.

(a) The record of survey shall show the applicable provisions of the following consistent with the purpose of the survey: (1) All monuments found, set, reset, replaced, or removed, describing their kind, size, and location, and giving other data relating thereto. (2) Bearing or witness monuments, basis of bearings, bearing and length of lines, scale of map, and north arrow. (3) Name and legal designation of the property in which the survey is located, and the date or time period of the survey. (4) The relationship to those portions of adjacent tracts, streets, or senior conveyances that have common lines with the survey. (5) Memorandum of oaths. (6) Statements required by Section 8764.5. (7) Any other data, in graphic or narrative form, necessary for the intelligent interpretation of the various items and locations of the points, lines, and areas shown, or convenient for the identification of the survey or surveyor, as may be determined by the civil engineer or land surveyor preparing the record of survey. (b) The record of survey shall also show, either graphically or by note, the reason or reasons, if any, why the mandatory filing provisions of paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 8762 apply. (c) The record of survey need not consist of a survey of an entire property.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8764.5. Section 8764.5.

Statements shall appear on the map as follows: Surveyor’s Statement This map correctly represents a survey made by me or under my direction in conformance with the requirements of the Professional Land Surveyors’ Act at the request of Name of Person Authorizing Survey in _______, 20__. (Signed and sealed) (Date) L.S. (or R.C.E.) No. County Surveyor’s Statement This map has been examined in accordance with Section 8766 of the Professional Land Surveyors’ Act this ____ day of ____, 20__. (Signed and sealed) County Surveyor L.S. (or R.C.E.) No. Recorder’s Statement Filed this ____ day of ____, 20__, at ____.m. in Book ____ of ____ at page ____, at the request of ____. (Signed) County Recorder No other statements may appear on the face of the map except those required or authorized by this article.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8765. Section 8765.

A record of survey is not required of any survey: (a) When it has been made by a public officer in his or her official capacity and a reproducible copy thereof, showing all data required by Section 8764, except the recorder’s statement, has been filed with the county surveyor of the county in which the land is located. Any map so filed shall be indexed and kept available for public inspection. (b) Made by the United States Bureau of Land Management. (c) When a map is in preparation for recording or shall have been recorded under the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act. (d) When the survey is a retracement of lines shown on a subdivision map, official map, or a record of survey, where no material discrepancies with those records are found and sufficient monumentation is found to establish the precise location of property corners thereon, provided that a corner record is filed for any property corners which are set or reset or found to be of a different character than indicated by prior records. For purposes of this subdivision, a “material discrepancy” is limited to a material discrepancy in the position of points or lines, or in dimensions. (e) When the survey is a survey of a mobilehome park interior lot as defined in Section 18210 of the Health and Safety Code, provided that no subdivision map, official map, or record of survey has been previously filed for the interior lot or no conversion to residential ownership has occurred pursuant to Section 66428.1 of the Government Code.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8766. Section 8766.

(a) Within 20 working days after receiving the record of survey, or within the additional time as may be mutually agreed upon by the land surveyor or civil engineer and the county surveyor, the county surveyor shall examine it with respect to all of the following: (1) Its accuracy of mathematical data and substantial compliance with the information required by Section 8764. (2) Its compliance with Sections 8762.5, 8763, 8764.5, 8771.5, and 8772. (b) The examination pursuant to this section shall not require the licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer submitting the record of survey to change the methods or procedures utilized or employed in the performance of the survey, nor shall the examination require a field survey to verify the data shown on the record of survey. (c) Nothing in this section shall limit the county surveyor from including notes expressing opinions regarding the record of survey, or the methods or procedures utilized or employed in the performance of the survey. (d) The examination pursuant to this section shall be performed by, or under the direct supervision of, a licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8766.5. Section 8766.5.

The county surveyor may charge a reasonable fee for examining a record of survey pursuant to Section 8766 which shall not exceed the cost of the service or one hundred dollars ($100), whichever is the lesser. However, this one hundred dollars ($100) maximum fee may be increased by the board of supervisors if such an increase is authorized by a duly adopted ordinance and the ordinance was adopted pursuant to a staff report demonstrating that the cost of providing the examination service actually exceeds one hundred dollars ($100) per record of survey.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8767. Section 8767.

If the county surveyor finds that the record of survey complies with the examination in Section 8766, the county surveyor shall endorse a statement on it of his or her examination, and shall present it to the county recorder for filing. Otherwise the county surveyor shall return it to the person who presented it, together with a written statement of the changes necessary to make it conform to the requirements of Section 8766. The licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer submitting the record of survey may then make the agreed changes and note those matters which cannot be agreed upon in accordance with the provisions of Section 8768 and shall resubmit the record of survey within 60 days, or within the time as may be mutually agreed upon by the licensed surveyor or registered engineer and the county surveyor, to the county surveyor for filing pursuant to Section 8768.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8768. Section 8768.

If the matters appearing on the record of survey cannot be agreed upon by the licensed land surveyor or the registered civil engineer and the county surveyor within 10 working days after the licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer resubmits and requests the record of survey be filed without further change, an explanation of the differences shall be noted on the map and it shall be presented by the county surveyor to the county recorder for filing, and the county recorder shall file the record of survey. The licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer filing the record of survey shall attempt to reach agreement with the county surveyor regarding the language for the explanation of the differences. If they cannot agree on the language explaining the differences, then both shall add a notation on the record of survey explaining the differences. The explanation of the differences shall be sufficiently specific to identify the factual basis for the difference.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8768.5. Section 8768.5.

If the county surveyor fails to timely file the record of survey with the county recorder in accordance with Section 8768, the licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer submitting the map may bring an action pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure to compel the filing of the record of survey. After the licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer resubmits and requests the record of survey be filed without further change, the filing of the record of survey shall be deemed to be a ministerial act. In any action brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure between a licensed land surveyor or a registered civil engineer and the county surveyor of any county, the court may award to the prevailing party costs and other expenses of litigation, including the payment of experts and other witnesses, and reasonable attorney’s fees.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8770. Section 8770.

The record of survey filed with the county recorder of any county shall be stored in any manner that will ensure that the maps will be kept together, safe, and reproducible. The county recorder shall keep proper indexes of such record of survey by the name of grant, tract, subdivision, or United States subdivision. The original map shall be stored for safekeeping in a reproducible condition. It shall be proper procedure for the recorder to maintain for public reference a set of counter maps that are prints of the original maps, and the original maps to be produced for comparison upon demand.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8770.5. Section 8770.5.

Any record of survey filed under the provisions of this chapter may be amended to show any course or distance that was omitted therefrom, or to correct any error in: course or distance shown thereon, the description of the land which the record of survey comprised, lot numbers, street names, acreages, identification of adjacent record maps, or the character of monuments being set, or to correct any other minor errors approved for correction by the county surveyor in the same manner that subdivision maps may be amended under the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act, Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410) of Title 7 of the Government Code.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8770.6. Section 8770.6.

The use of the word “certify” or “certification” by a licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer in the practice of professional engineering or land surveying or the preparation of maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other surveying documents only constitutes an expression of professional opinion regarding those facts or findings which are the subject of the certification, and does not constitute a warranty or guarantee, either expressed or implied.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8771. Section 8771.

(a) Monuments set shall be sufficient in number and durability and efficiently placed so as not to be readily disturbed, to ensure, together with monuments already existing, the perpetuation or facile reestablishment of any point or line of the survey. (b) When monuments exist that control the location of subdivisions, tracts, boundaries, roads, streets, or highways, or provide horizontal or vertical survey control, the monuments shall be located and referenced by or under the direction of a licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer legally authorized to practice land surveying, prior to the time when any streets, highways, other rights-of-way, or easements are improved, constructed, reconstructed, maintained, resurfaced, or relocated, and a corner record or record of survey of the references shall be filed with the county surveyor. (c) A permanent monument shall be reset in the surface of the new construction or a witness monument or monuments set to perpetuate the location if any monument could be destroyed, damaged, covered, disturbed, or otherwise obliterated, and a corner record or record of survey shall be filed with the county surveyor prior to the recording of a certificate of completion for the project. Sufficient controlling monuments shall be retained or replaced in their original positions to enable property, right-of-way and easement lines, property corners, and subdivision and tract boundaries to be reestablished without devious surveys necessarily originating on monuments differing from those that currently control the area. (d) The governmental agency performing or permitting construction or maintenance work is responsible for ensuring that either the governmental agency or landowner performing the construction or maintenance work provides for monument perpetuation required by this section. (e) It shall be the duty of every licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer legally authorized to practice land surveying to assist the governmental agency in matters of maps, field notes, and other pertinent records. Monuments set to mark the limiting lines of highways, roads, streets or right-of-way or easement lines shall not be deemed adequate for this purpose, unless specifically noted on the corner record or record of survey of the improvement works with direct ties in bearing or azimuth and distance between these and other monuments of record. (f) The decision to file either a corner record or a record of survey as required by subdivision (b) or (c) shall be at the election of the licensed land surveyor or the licensed civil engineer legally authorized to practice land surveying submitting the document.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8771.5. Section 8771.5.

When coordinates in the California Coordinate System are shown for points on a record of survey map the map may not be recorded unless it also shows, or is accompanied by a map showing, the control scheme through which the coordinates were determined from points of known coordinates.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8771.6. Section 8771.6.

(a) In every case where any monument is found with a physical condition that is less than permanent and durable, the licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer using that monument as control in any survey shall reconstruct or rehabilitate the monument so that the same shall be left by them in such physical condition that it remains as permanent a monument as is reasonably possible and so that the same may be reasonably expected to be located with facility at all times in the future. (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8772. Section 8772.

Any monument set by a licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer to mark or reference a point on a property or land line shall be permanently and visibly marked or tagged with the certificate number of the surveyor or civil engineer setting it, each number to be preceeded by the letters “L.S.” or “R.C.E.,” respectively, as the case may be or, if the monument is set by a public agency, it shall be marked with the name of the agency and the political subdivision it serves. Nothing in this section shall prevent the inclusion of other information on the tag which will assist in the tracing or location of the survey records which relate to the tagged monument.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8773. Section 8773.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 8773.4, a person authorized to practice land surveying in this state shall complete, sign, stamp with his or her seal, and file with the county surveyor or engineer of the county where the corners are situated, a written record of corner establishment or restoration to be known as a “corner record” for every corner established by the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States, except “lost corners,” as defined by the Manual of Surveying Instructions (2009), published by the federal Bureau of Land Management and every accessory to such corner which is found, set, reset, or used as control in any survey by such authorized person. (b) After the establishment of a lost corner, as defined by the Manual of Surveying Instructions (2009), published by the federal Bureau of Land Management a record of survey shall be filed as set forth in Section 8764. (c) Any person authorized to practice land surveying in this state may file such corner record for any property corners, property controlling corners, reference monuments, or accessories to a property corner.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8773.1. Section 8773.1.

The board shall by regulation provide and prescribe the information which shall be necessary to be included in the corner record and the board shall prescribe the form in which the corner record shall be submitted and filed, and the time limits within which the form shall be filed. A corner record shall be a single 8.5 by 11 inch sheet which may consist of a front and back page.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8773.2. Section 8773.2.

(a) A “corner record” submitted to the county surveyor or engineer shall be examined by him or her for compliance with subdivision (d) of Section 8765 and Sections 8773, 8773.1, and 8773.4, endorsed with a statement of his or her examination, and filed with the county surveyor or returned to the submitting party within 20 working days after receipt. (b) In the event the submitted “corner record” fails to comply with the examination criteria of subdivision (a), the county surveyor or engineer shall return it to the person who submitted it together with a written statement of the changes necessary to make it conform to the requirements of subdivision (a). The licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer submitting the corner record may then make the agreed changes in compliance with subdivision (a) and note those matters that cannot be agreed upon in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (c), and shall resubmit the corner record within 60 days, or within the time as may be mutually agreed upon by the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer and the county surveyor, to the county surveyor for filing pursuant to subdivision (c). The county surveyor or engineer shall file the corner record within 10 working days after receipt of the resubmission. (c) If the matters appearing on the corner record cannot be agreed upon by the licensed land surveyor or the licensed civil engineer and the county surveyor within 10 working days after the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer resubmits and requests the corner record be filed without further change, an explanation of the differences shall be noted on the corner record and it shall be submitted to and filed by the county surveyor. The licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer filing the corner record shall attempt to reach agreement with the county surveyor regarding the language for the explanation of the differences. If they cannot agree on the language explaining the differences, then both shall add a notation on the corner record explaining the differences. The explanation of the differences shall be sufficiently specific to identify the factual basis for the differences. (d) The corner record filed with the county surveyor of any county shall be securely fastened by him or her into a suitable book provided for that purpose. (e) A charge for examining, indexing, and filing the corner record may be collected by the county surveyor, not to exceed the amount required for the recording of a deed. (f) If the preparer of the corner record provides a postage-paid, self-addressed envelope or postcard with the filing of the corner record, the county surveyor shall return the postage-paid, self-addressed envelope or postcard to the preparer of the corner record with the filing data within 20 days of final filing. For the purposes of this subdivision, “filing data” includes the date, book or volume, and the page at which the corner record is filed by the county surveyor. This subdivision shall not apply to a county surveyor’s office that maintains an electronic database of filed corner records that is accessible to the public by reference to the preparer’s license number.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8773.3. Section 8773.3.

In every case where a corner record is filed pursuant to Section 8773, the licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer shall reconstruct or rehabilitate the monument of such corner, and accessories to such corner, so that the same shall be left by them in such physical condition that it remains as permanent a monument as is reasonably possible and so that the same may be reasonably expected to be located with facility at all times in the future.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8773.4. Section 8773.4.

(a) A corner record shall be signed by a licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer and stamped with his or her seal, or in the case of an agency of the United States government or the State of California, the certificate may be signed by the chief of the survey party making the survey, setting forth his or her official title, prior to filing. (b) A corner record need not be filed when: (1) A corner record is on file and the corner is found as described in the existing corner record. (2) All conditions of Section 8773 are complied with by proper notations on a record of survey map filed in compliance with the Professional Land Surveyors’ Act or a parcel or subdivision map, in compliance with the Subdivision Map Act. (3) When the survey is a survey of a mobilehome park interior lot as defined in Section 18210 of the Health and Safety Code, provided that no subdivision map, official map, or record of survey has been previously filed for the interior lot or no conversion to residential ownership has occurred pursuant to Section 66428.1 of the Government Code. (c) This section shall not apply to maps filed prior to January 1, 1974.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8774. Section 8774.

(a) The right of entry upon or to real property to investigate and utilize boundary evidence, and to perform surveys, is a right of persons legally authorized to practice land surveying, and it is the responsibility of the owner or tenant who owns or controls property to provide reasonable access without undue delay. The right of entry is not contingent upon the provision of prior notice to the owner or tenant. However, the owner or tenant shall be notified of the proposed time of entry where practicable. (b) The requirements of subdivision (a) do not apply to monuments within access-controlled portions of freeways. (c) When required for a property survey, monuments within a freeway right-of-way shall be referenced to usable points outside the access control line by the agency having jurisdiction over the freeway when requested in writing by the registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor who is to perform the property survey. The work shall be done within a reasonable time period by the agency in direct cooperation with the engineer or surveyor and at no charge to him or her.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 8774.5. Section 8774.5.

(a) Upon the filing of a record of survey, amended record of survey, or certificate of correction for recordation pursuant to this chapter, the surveyor or engineer who prepared the document shall transmit a copy of the document, including all recording information, to the county surveyor, who shall maintain an index, by geographic location, of the documents. (b) The county surveyor may charge a fee equal to the fee charged for recording the documents specified in subdivision (a), for purposes of financing the costs of maintaining the index of those documents. (c) The requirements of this section shall not apply to any county which requires the documents specified in subdivision (a) to be transmitted to the county surveyor and requires that official to maintain an index of those documents.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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