California Code of Regulations
Title 16 - Professional and Vocational Regulations
Division 5 - Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Article 1 - General Provisions
Section 404.2 - Responsible Charge - Professional Land Surveying
Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 12, March 22, 2024
(a) The term "responsible charge" directly relates to the extent of control a licensed land surveyor or civil engineer legally authorized to practice land surveying (hereinafter referred to as "legally authorized civil engineer") is required to maintain while exercising independent control and direction of land surveying work or services and the land surveying decisions which can be made only by a licensed land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer.
Land surveying decisions which must be made by and are the responsibility of the land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer in responsible charge are those decisions concerning permanent or temporary work which could create a hazard to life, health, property, or public welfare, and may include, but are not limited to:
(b) Responsible Charge Criteria. In order to evaluate whether a person authorized to practice land surveying is in responsible charge, the following must be considered: The land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer who signs surveying documents must be capable of answering questions asked by licensees of the Board who are fully competent and proficient by education and experience in the field or fields of professional land surveying relevant to the project. These questions would be relevant to the decisions made during the individual's participation in the project, and in sufficient detail to leave little question as to the land surveyor's or legally authorized civil engineer's technical knowledge of the work performed. It is not necessary to defend decisions as in an adversarial situation, but only to demonstrate that the individual in responsible charge made, or reviewed and approved, them and possessed sufficient knowledge of the project to make, or review and approve, them.
Examples of questions to be answered by the land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer could relate to criteria for measurement, surveying methods, analysis, and conclusions made including, but not limited to, the retracement of government surveys, interpretation and construction of deed descriptions, conflicts between construction drawings and actual conditions, determination of the proper control datum and epoch, application of proportion methods, and analysis of evidence related to written and unwritten property rights. The individual shall be able to clearly express the extent of control and how it is exercised and to demonstrate that the land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer is answerable within said extent of control.
(c) Successor Licensee. In situations when the professional land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer in responsible charge of a land surveying project is unavailable to complete the project, a professional land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer (hereinafter referred to as the "successor licensee") may assume responsible charge of the project as long as the successor licensee exercises the extent of control and assumes responsibility for the surveying decisions as required by subdivision (a) and meets the criteria described in subdivision (b), as well as meeting the requirements of the Professional Land Surveyors' Act and Sections 411 and 415. Except as provided in Section 8761.2 of the Code, the original licensee is not relieved of any responsibility arising from the land surveying services of which he or she was in responsible charge.
(d) Portions of Projects. Nothing in this section prohibits a professional land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer from providing services for portions of or to add to or to modify a land surveying project performed under the responsible charge of another licensee as long as the professional land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer exercises the requisite extent of control and assumes responsibility for the land surveying decisions as required by subdivision (a) and meets the criteria described in subdivision (b), as well as meeting the requirements of the Professional Land Surveyors' Act and Sections 411 and 415. The professional land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer need only be in responsible charge of the portions, additions, or modifications or the portion of the project affected by the addition or modification and not of the entire project. Except as provided in Section 8761.2 of the Code, the original licensee is not relieved of any responsibility arising from the land surveying services of which he or she was in responsible charge.
(e) The term "responsible charge" does not refer to any of the following:
1. New section
filed 8-10-83; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 83, No.
33).
2. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (b)
filed 4-19-99 pursuant to section
100, title 1, California Code of
Regulations (Register 99, No. 17).
3. Amendment of section heading,
section and NOTE filed 8-29-2005; operative 9-28-2005 (Register 2005, No.
35).
Note: Authority cited: Section 8710, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 8703, 8704, 8705, 8726, 8729, 8741, 8759, 8761, 8761.2, 8775.1 and 8780, Business and Professions Code.
