Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 0820 - Land Surveyor Examiners
Chapter 0820-03 - Standards of Practice
Section 0820-03-.07 - SURVEY TYPES AND REQUIREMENTS

Universal Citation: TN Comp Rules and Regs 0820-03-.07

Current through September 24, 2024

A Land Surveyor shall comply with the minimum requirements provided below for all surveys and Survey Plats or Survey Maps prepared therefrom.

(1) General Property Surveys.

(a) A Survey Map or Survey Plat shall be a copy, print or tracing, and shall be dated and stamped or sealed and signed by a registered Land Surveyor, in compliance with applicable law.

(b) A Survey Map or Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the following information:
1. A descriptive location of the property, or vicinity map, and a corner of the property must be tied by bearing and distance either: to a corner of a subdivision, or to a tract from which property is carved, or to a permanent identifiable corner, or to a nearby permanent identifiable reference point.

A corner of the property may be tied to the nearest road intersection by distance only.

In the case of a formation of a new tract, a tie must be made by bearing and distance to an identifiable corner of the parent tract.

2. The city or district, county, and the state where the property is located;

3. The name of the grantor or grantee of the property, or the name of the person who requested or required the Survey Map or Survey Plat;

4. The date of the Survey Map or Survey Plat;

5. A graphic scale and numeral scale;

6. The name, registration number, address and telephone number of the Land Surveyor; and

7. A certification on the face of the final Survey Map or Survey Plat as to the category of the survey and the ratio or precision of the unadjusted survey, which shall have the following minimum content: Certification as to Category I, II, III, or IV; Ratio of Precision of the unadjusted survey; Statement that the survey was done in compliance with current Tennessee Minimum Standards of Practice; Signature; and Registration number.

(c) The north arrow shall be shown, and shall be correlated with, the courses or bearings, with the source of reference clearly indicated.

(d) All property lines shall be defined by horizontal distances and bearings, and shall be plotted to the scale shown in the title block.

(e) Where a boundary is formed by a curved line, the curve shall be defined with the length and radius of each curve, together with elements necessary to mathematically define each curve in the description. When intersecting boundary lines are non-radial or non-tangential, the chord bearing and distance shall be shown.

(f) The Land Surveyor shall show the widths or center-lines of easements and rights-of-way which are obvious and apparent to him and also the survey shall be completed using the relevant recorded deeds to the property, but shall show pertinent information, such as easements, joint driveways, etc. as described in Rule 0820-03-.06(7).

(g) Boundaries formed by water course shall be located and plotted to the scale shown in the Survey Map or Survey Plat title block. Traverse lines and/or offset lines used to close water course boundaries shall be shown plotted to scale and defined by bearing and distance.

(h) Monumentation requirements:
1. New property monuments shall be composed of material(s) suitable to perpetuate the position and location of the monument. A notation on the Survey Map or Survey Plat shall state whether the monuments were found or set, and in addition, the statement shall indicate the material and size of the monument found or set.

2. Metal monuments shall be no less than one-half (%) inch in diameter; concrete monuments shall be no less than four (4) inches in diameter and shall contain ferrous or magnetic material; and both shall be no less than eighteen (18) inches in length unless some impregnable material is encountered.

3. The type of monument (old or new) shall be indicated on the Survey Map or Survey Plat along with the size and type of material. No monument should be placed if, in the opinion of the Land Surveyor, the existing monument, whether original or not, is found undisturbed and adequate to perpetuate the position and can be reasonably made to conform to the angle point in the boundary. Large or indefinite monuments which cannot be measured to within the positional accuracy requirements contained herein, such as trees, rock piles or fence corners, will be marked with witness monuments as deemed necessary by the Land Surveyor.

4. When conditions warrant setting a reference for a monument on an offset, the location shall be selected so that the monument reference lies on a line of the survey, or a prolongation of such line.

5. New metal or concrete monuments placed shall have a cap with the Land Surveyor's registration number or company name stamped upon it. In the case of placement of a concrete marker, the marker shall have a permanent mark for the survey point and shall have the Land Surveyor's registration number or company name attached or stamped upon it.

6. Survey points that do not divide land ownership, such as point of intersection (P.I.), centerline of water course, etc. may be established with or without monumentation at the Land Surveyor's discretion.

(i) In the compilation of a composite Survey Map or Survey Plat, the Land Surveyor shall indicate and cite the source of all lines copied from a previous survey on the Survey Map or Survey Plat, and qualify the Survey Map or Survey Plat as prepared from other sources and does not represent a current survey.

(j) The names of adjoining land owners and deed references, if available at the property assessor's office, and/or lots and/or block numbers, and highways, streets, and named waterways shall be shown.

(k) The point of beginning in the metes and bounds description prepared by the Land Surveyor shall be shown on the Survey Map or Survey Plat of the survey (except in the case of a subdivision plat).

(2) Topographic Surveys.

(a) A Survey Map or Survey Plat shall be a copy print or tracing, and shall be dated and stamped or sealed and signed by the registered Land Surveyor, in compliance with applicable law.

(b) A Survey Map or Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the following information:
1. A descriptive location of the property or a vicinity map;

2. The city or district, county, and the state where the property is located;

3. The name of the grantor or grantee of the property, or the name of the person who requested the Survey Map or Survey Plat;

4. The date of the survey or Survey Map or Survey Plat;

5. A graphic scale and a numerical scale; and

6. The name, registration number, and address of the Land Surveyor.

(c) A north arrow shall be shown with the source indicated.

(d) Property lines, if shown on the topographic map, shall be shown as needed and/or as deemed necessary by the Land Surveyor and shall be plotted to the scale shown in the title.

(e) The Land Surveyor shall show the widths of easements and rights-of-way which are obvious and apparent to him.

(f) If limits of the topographic survey are formed by water course, then the water course shall be located and plotted to the scale shown in the title.

(g) The Land Surveyor shall indicate and cite the source of any lines copied from previous sources.

(h) The names of adjacent land owners, deed references, block numbers, highways, streets and named waterways shall be shown if applicable.

(i) Topography Surveys shall be referenced to a boundary line or to a point and/or line of reference only as deemed appropriate by the Land Surveyor.

(j) Visible, obvious, and apparent surface indications of physical features such as utilities, buildings, water bodies, etc. shall be shown and plotted to the scale shown in the title.

(k) Elevations shall be shown as spot elevations and/or contours. The contour interval shall be noted and shall meet national mapping accuracies.

(l) An on-site project bench mark shall be established with reference to datum, assumed or otherwise, and plotted to the scale shown in the title block.

(m) The registered Land Surveyor in responsible charge of the ground control shall sign, stamp or seal the Survey Map or Survey Plat for the ground control portion of the survey.

(3) Oil and Gas Well Location Surveys.

(a) Oil and gas well location surveys must be made in compliance with the provisions of T.C.A., Title 60, Chapter 1, and the rules of the Tennessee State Oil and Gas Board (Chapters 1040-01-01 through 1040-08-01).

(b) Where surveyed lines or areas must be located or calculated, they must also comply with the accuracy standards set forth in Rule 0820-03-.05 of this chapter for the category in which the survey is located.

(c) The Survey Map or Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the same information as required under this Chapter relative to General Property Surveys.

(4) Geodetic Control Surveys (GCS).

(a) All Geodetic Control Surveys must be made in accordance with the Federal Geodetic Control Standards (F.G.C.S.). Horizontal and vertical control work must meet or exceed those accuracy specification standards as published by the Federal Geodetic Control Committee, September 1984, in the bulletin titled "Standards and Specification for Geodetic Control Networks" or any subsequently published bulletins modifying such class standards. Copies of said bulletins may be obtained from the United States Department of Commerce.

(b) The Survey Map or Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the same information as normally would be required under this Chapter for General Property Surveys.

(c) It shall be acceptable practice to incorporate the use of Global Positioning Systems (commonly knows as GPS) equipment into any survey. The precision of all measurements made with such equipment must, at a minimum, meet all precision standards required otherwise by applicable state law. When using GPS equipment in the course of a survey, the Land Surveyor shall state on the face of the Survey Plat, or within the report in cases where this no Survey Plat, the following:
1. A note stating what portion (or all) of the survey was performed using GPS equipment;

2. The type of GPS equipment used including manufacturer and model number, and whether single or dual frequency receivers were used;

3. The type of GPS survey that was performed, such as static, real time kinematics ("RTK"), network adjusted real time kinematics, etc.;

4. A note that discloses the precision of the GPS work done, either in relative positional accuracy, vector closure, or other mathematical expression chosen by the Land Surveyor; and

5. The registered Land Surveyor in responsible charge of such GPS survey shall date, stamp or seal and sign the prepared documents in compliance with all applicable law.

(5) Remote Sensing Surveys.

(a) Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys are defined as any survey performed using the GPS three-dimensional (3D) measurement system based on satellite observation signals. GPS surveys include, but are not limited to: General Property Surveys; Topography Surveys; Oil and Gas Surveys; Local Control Surveys; Network Surveys; Construction Surveys; Geodetic Control Surveys; Aerial Photography Control Surveys; Geographic Information Systems and/or Land Information Systems Data Collection Surveys and any other application listed with the Board's specifications shall be performed by a Land Surveyor licensed in Tennessee. Minimum Standards from Remote Sensing Surveys are as follows:
1. Static GPS Surveys - The Land Surveyor must use the current GPS standards as set by the Board.

2. Real Time Kinematic (RTK) Surveys - The Land Surveyor must use the current GPS standards as set by the Board.

(6) Hydrographic Surveys.

(a) Hydrographic surveying is the term applied to the process used in surveying any body of water. In the case of lakes and rivers, this may include the determination of shore lines, soundings, characteristics of the bottom, location of buoys, etc. The survey of a river may also include the determination of the velocity and characteristics of the flow. In its broad sense the term may be applied to the survey of drainage areas and proposed locations for reservoirs for the storage of water.

Hydrographic maps shall be prepared as follows:

1. A Survey Map or Survey Plat shall be a copy, print or tracing, and shall be dated and stamped or sealed and signed by the registered Land Surveyor, in compliance with all applicable law.

2. The Survey Map or Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the same information as normally would be required under this Chapter for Topographic Surveys.

3. In addition to the above required data, the Survey Map or Survey Plat shall show the shore line, designated with the heaviest line on the Survey Map or Survey Plat, and the low-water line designated with the next heaviest line on the Survey Map or Survey Plat.

4. Topography to be shown outside the shore line shall be determined by the use for which the Survey Map or Survey Plat is intended, and requested in writing by the client. Topography of the submerged portions shall be shown with a dashed line.

5. Hydrographic charts prepared for purposes of navigation shall include sufficient topography to show the location of any landmarks which may be of use to the navigator, such as conspicuous objects on the shore.

6. Sufficient survey control points shall be shown on the Survey Map or Survey Plat in order for the survey to be tied to other maps or adjacent surveys.

7. Where soundings are represented on the Survey Map or Survey Plat, they shall be shown in feet and tenths in black, the number representing the depth of the water below the datum. Where the datum is mean low water, these soundings which are below shall be shown in black, and those that are above the datum shall be shown in another color or method of line designation.

8. In preparation of the navigation chart of a small river the soundings shall be recorded in feet and tenths, and contours drawn every three (3) or six (6) feet. The direction of the current shall be shown with an arrow. Rapids or waterfalls shall be shown on the Survey Map or Survey Plat when encountered in the survey.

(b) Hydrographic surveys must conform to the above minimum standards if no other more stringent standards or specifications are provided by the client, or other standards are required by the jurisdiction of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, or other legal authority, in the area where the survey project is located.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 62-18-105(d) and 62-18-106(c).

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Tennessee may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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