Land survey guides for buyers and owners

Tools and records

• Build a survey quote request
• Texas surveyor license lookup
• Published survey prices by type and state
• Flood zones and elevation certificates
• Find your Texas parcel
• Texas county records and surveyors
• County plat and deed records
• Texas registered surveying firms

State rules

• Texas land survey rulesTBPELS licenses surveyors and enforces the Texas Engineering and Surveying Practice Acts, according to the board's General Information page.
• Arkansas land survey rulesThe Arkansas board, part of the Department of Labor and Licensing, enforces the laws and rules on engineering and surveying practice.

Surveyor licensing

• Becoming a licensed land surveyor in TexasTexas licensing starts with Surveyor in Training (SIT) certification, which can be reached by five education and experience paths.
• Becoming a licensed land surveyor in ArkansasAn original Professional Surveyor license needs 3 or 6 years of acceptable experience after the education requirements are complete.

Survey types

• ALTA/NSPS land title surveysThe 2026 ALTA/NSPS Minimum Standard Detail Requirements took effect February 23, 2026 and replace all earlier versions (copy published by the Oklahoma board).
• Boundary surveys, explainedMissouri's standards require the surveyor to gather deeds, plats and prior surveys to work out the record boundary before going to the field.
• Mortgage survey or boundary survey?Oklahoma lets surveyors prepare a Mortgage Inspection Report, but it must be labeled as not a land or boundary survey.
• Topographic surveys, explainedTennessee's rules say a topographic survey shows visible surface features such as utilities, buildings and water bodies, plotted to scale.
• Elevation certificatesThe Texas Water Development Board explains that an elevation certificate records a building's flood exposure and is one factor in flood insurance premiums.

Plats and records

• Subdivision plats, explainedIn Texas, a subdivision plat submitted to a city or county for review and recording must follow the Surveying Act and board rules.
• How to read a platArkansas plats must show a north arrow with the basis of direction.
• Property corner pins and monumentsTexas rules require monuments set deep and sturdy enough to keep a stable, distinctive location.

Buying property

• Do you need a survey to close?In Texas, a seller can attest on TDI Form T-47 that nothing has changed since an existing survey, when the buyer or lender wants area and boundary coverage.

Costs

• What a land survey costsThese are prices surveying firms and counties publish themselves, each linked to the page it came from. We do not average them: parcel size, terrain and records decide what a survey costs.