State water right surveyors: Certain projects required to be performed by surveyor; qualifications; appointment; regulations; compensation; State Engineers Water License Account.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 533.080
in effect1. All maps, surveys and measurements of water required pursuant to this chapter must be made by a state water right surveyor. No survey, map or measurement of flow of water may be approved by the State Engineer unless the survey is made by a state water right surveyor.
2. Any licensed professional engineer or land surveyor who has a practical knowledge of surveying or engineering and who is familiar with land surveying and mapping and the measurement of water, and who is of good moral standing, must be considered for appointment as a state water right surveyor upon application to the State Engineer. The application must be in the form prescribed by the State Engineer and accompanied by a fee of $50.
3. The State Engineer may require any applicant for appointment to the position of state water right surveyor to pass such reasonable examination as to the applicants qualifications as is provided by the State Engineer.
4. Whenever the State Engineer approves the qualifications of an applicant, the State Engineer shall issue a certificate to the applicant designating the applicant as a state water right surveyor.
5. Every water right surveyors certificate expires on June 30 of each year unless renewed by application in the form prescribed by the State Engineer. A fee of $20 must be paid each year for renewal. All application and renewal fees must be accounted for in the State Engineers Water License Account, which is hereby created in the State General Fund, and must be used to pay costs pertaining to the certificate and renewal and other costs associated with carrying out the provisions of this section.
6. An appointment may be revoked by the State Engineer at any time for good cause shown.
7. The State Engineer may provide such additional regulations governing the qualifications and official acts of state water right surveyors as are reasonable and not inconsistent with this chapter.
8. The State of Nevada is not liable for the compensation of any state water right surveyor, but a state water right surveyor is entitled to be paid by the person employing the state water right surveyor.
9. Officers and employees of the Federal Government or a tribal government are entitled to apply for the position of state water right surveyor and are exempt from the requirement that a state water right surveyor must be a professional engineer or professional land surveyor set forth in subsection 2. Any certificate issued to those officers and employees must include a restriction limiting those officers and employees to work for the Federal Government or tribal government, as applicable.
10. As used in this section, tribal government has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 532.005 .
Source: NV Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-533.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026