GEORGIA (GA) LAND SURVEYOR LICENSE EXAM PRACTICE | COMPREHENSIVE
STUDY GUIDE | ADVANCED TESTBANK WITH PRACTICE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
| LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
I. Georgia Land Surveyor Licensure and Examination Requirements
II. Boundary Law, Title Research, and Property Surveys
III. Georgia Minimum Technical Standards
IV. Survey Measurements, Traverses, and Adjustments
V. Topographic, Elevation, GNSS, UAS, and Remote Sensing Surveys
VI. Monumentation, Maps, Plats, and Documentation
VII. Professional Ethics, Sealing, and Responsible Charge
VIII. Continuing Professional Competency and License Compliance
INTRODUCTION
This advanced practice examination is designed for candidates preparing for
Georgia Professional Land Surveyor licensure and emphasizes the technical,
regulatory, analytical, and professional-judgment skills expected of a practicing
surveyor. The questions incorporate Georgia licensing requirements, minimum
technical standards, boundary research, monumentation, horizontal and vertical
measurements, topographic surveying, GNSS and remote-sensing applications,
document sealing, professional responsibility, and continuing competency. The
difficulty ranges from advanced to extremely difficult, with realistic scenarios
requiring interpretation rather than simple memorization. Candidates should expect
questions involving calculations, conflicting evidence, regulatory exceptions,
documentation decisions, technical-quality assessment, and ethical judgment. The
material reflects Georgia requirements and rules current through 2026, including
recent regulatory amendments.
Question 1
A Georgia surveyor is retracing a rural parcel whose original survey was performed
with a compass. The surveyor elects to use compass observations to reproduce the
original surveyor's footsteps. Which additional action is required under Georgia's
technical standards?
A. The compass observations must be discarded because magnetic bearings may
never be used in rural retracement.
,B. The compass retracement must ultimately be reduced to a non-magnetic traverse
meeting the applicable closure requirement.
C. The surveyor must establish the parcel solely from current deed bearings without
occupying any original monuments.
D. The surveyor may report the magnetic traverse without adjustment if the original
deed also used magnetic bearings.
🔴 Correct Answer: B. The compass retracement must ultimately be reduced to a
non-magnetic traverse meeting the applicable closure requirement.
🔵 Explanation: Georgia permits compass retracement in this specific circumstance to
follow the footsteps of the original surveyor, but the resulting survey must be reduced
to a non-magnetic traverse so the required closure can be evaluated.
Question 2
A surveyor begins a boundary survey with a deed, an old subdivision plat, county
right-of-way information, and several deeds from adjoining owners. During
fieldwork, the surveyor discovers a previously unrecorded fence that has apparently
been treated as a boundary for decades. What is the most appropriate professional
response?
A. Ignore the fence because only recorded documents can establish boundary
location.
B. Automatically adopt the fence as the legal boundary because possession always
controls record title.
C. Analyze the physical evidence together with the record evidence and disclose the
basis for any departure from record title.
D. Set new monuments immediately on the deed calls and omit the fence from the
survey.
🔴 Correct Answer: C. Analyze the physical evidence together with the record
evidence and disclose the basis for any departure from record title.
🔵 Explanation: Georgia requires the surveyor to acquire and analyze relevant title,
map, adjacent, right-of-way, and monument evidence and to reconcile field evidence
with the predetermined legal analysis. Issues such as possession, acquiescence,
adverse possession, and disputed lines must be addressed rather than ignored.
Question 3
,A Georgia land surveyor is preparing a boundary survey in a dense urban area
where buildings can be erected along property lines. Which maximum relative
positional tolerance applies to property corners with respect to one another within
the survey?
A. 0.05 foot
B. 0.10 foot
C. 0.25 foot
D. 0.50 foot
🔴 Correct Answer: B. 0.10 foot
🔵 Explanation: Georgia's technical standards specify a maximum positional
tolerance of 0.1 foot for urban blocks where buildings can be erected along the
property line or where high land values warrant that tighter tolerance.
Question 4
A surveyor performs a boundary survey in a conventional rural area without unusual
development pressure, highway adjacency, or other circumstances requiring
increased precision. Which minimum measurement accuracy applies under
Georgia's horizontal measurement standard?
A. 1:1,000
B. 1:2,500
C. 1:5,000
D. 1:10,000
🔴 Correct Answer: C. 1:5,000
🔵 Explanation: Georgia requires angles and distances to be measured to an
accuracy of not less than 1:10,000 in urban or suburban areas and 1:5,000 in rural
areas, subject to specified exceptions and tighter tolerances where circumstances
warrant.
Question 5
A boundary corner falls directly in a concrete driveway, making the normal
monumentation impractical. Which approach most directly satisfies Georgia's
monumentation requirements?
, A. Omit monumentation and identify only the mathematical corner coordinates.
B. Set a durable and identifiable alternate monument appropriate for the hard
surface.
C. Place a temporary wooden stake approximately five feet from the corner.
D. Set a monument at the nearest accessible location without recording its
relationship to the true corner.
🔴 Correct Answer: B. Set a durable and identifiable alternate monument
appropriate for the hard surface.
🔵 Explanation: Georgia permits alternate monumentation when a boundary corner
falls in hard surfaces such as concrete or asphalt, provided the monument is durable
and identifiable.
Question 6
A boundary corner cannot be monumented because a permanent physical
obstruction occupies the exact corner position. What is the most appropriate
Georgia-compliant solution?
A. Establish no monument because the obstruction itself is sufficient evidence.
B. Set a reference monument and show its bearing and distance from the true
corner.
C. Move the boundary corner to the nearest unobstructed location.
D. Set an unmarked iron rod and omit it from the plat.
🔴 Correct Answer: B. Set a reference monument and show its bearing and
distance from the true corner.
🔵 Explanation: When a boundary monument cannot be set because of a physical
obstruction, Georgia requires a reference monument sufficiently separated from the
true corner to avoid confusion and referenced by bearing and distance.
Question 7
A surveyor is preparing a Georgia property survey and discovers an apparent
overlap between the subject parcel and an adjoining tract. Which action is most
consistent with the technical standards?
A. Resolve the overlap by proportioning the disputed area without further analysis.
B. Ignore the overlap because conflicts between adjoining deeds are solely legal
STUDY GUIDE | ADVANCED TESTBANK WITH PRACTICE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
| LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
I. Georgia Land Surveyor Licensure and Examination Requirements
II. Boundary Law, Title Research, and Property Surveys
III. Georgia Minimum Technical Standards
IV. Survey Measurements, Traverses, and Adjustments
V. Topographic, Elevation, GNSS, UAS, and Remote Sensing Surveys
VI. Monumentation, Maps, Plats, and Documentation
VII. Professional Ethics, Sealing, and Responsible Charge
VIII. Continuing Professional Competency and License Compliance
INTRODUCTION
This advanced practice examination is designed for candidates preparing for
Georgia Professional Land Surveyor licensure and emphasizes the technical,
regulatory, analytical, and professional-judgment skills expected of a practicing
surveyor. The questions incorporate Georgia licensing requirements, minimum
technical standards, boundary research, monumentation, horizontal and vertical
measurements, topographic surveying, GNSS and remote-sensing applications,
document sealing, professional responsibility, and continuing competency. The
difficulty ranges from advanced to extremely difficult, with realistic scenarios
requiring interpretation rather than simple memorization. Candidates should expect
questions involving calculations, conflicting evidence, regulatory exceptions,
documentation decisions, technical-quality assessment, and ethical judgment. The
material reflects Georgia requirements and rules current through 2026, including
recent regulatory amendments.
Question 1
A Georgia surveyor is retracing a rural parcel whose original survey was performed
with a compass. The surveyor elects to use compass observations to reproduce the
original surveyor's footsteps. Which additional action is required under Georgia's
technical standards?
A. The compass observations must be discarded because magnetic bearings may
never be used in rural retracement.
,B. The compass retracement must ultimately be reduced to a non-magnetic traverse
meeting the applicable closure requirement.
C. The surveyor must establish the parcel solely from current deed bearings without
occupying any original monuments.
D. The surveyor may report the magnetic traverse without adjustment if the original
deed also used magnetic bearings.
🔴 Correct Answer: B. The compass retracement must ultimately be reduced to a
non-magnetic traverse meeting the applicable closure requirement.
🔵 Explanation: Georgia permits compass retracement in this specific circumstance to
follow the footsteps of the original surveyor, but the resulting survey must be reduced
to a non-magnetic traverse so the required closure can be evaluated.
Question 2
A surveyor begins a boundary survey with a deed, an old subdivision plat, county
right-of-way information, and several deeds from adjoining owners. During
fieldwork, the surveyor discovers a previously unrecorded fence that has apparently
been treated as a boundary for decades. What is the most appropriate professional
response?
A. Ignore the fence because only recorded documents can establish boundary
location.
B. Automatically adopt the fence as the legal boundary because possession always
controls record title.
C. Analyze the physical evidence together with the record evidence and disclose the
basis for any departure from record title.
D. Set new monuments immediately on the deed calls and omit the fence from the
survey.
🔴 Correct Answer: C. Analyze the physical evidence together with the record
evidence and disclose the basis for any departure from record title.
🔵 Explanation: Georgia requires the surveyor to acquire and analyze relevant title,
map, adjacent, right-of-way, and monument evidence and to reconcile field evidence
with the predetermined legal analysis. Issues such as possession, acquiescence,
adverse possession, and disputed lines must be addressed rather than ignored.
Question 3
,A Georgia land surveyor is preparing a boundary survey in a dense urban area
where buildings can be erected along property lines. Which maximum relative
positional tolerance applies to property corners with respect to one another within
the survey?
A. 0.05 foot
B. 0.10 foot
C. 0.25 foot
D. 0.50 foot
🔴 Correct Answer: B. 0.10 foot
🔵 Explanation: Georgia's technical standards specify a maximum positional
tolerance of 0.1 foot for urban blocks where buildings can be erected along the
property line or where high land values warrant that tighter tolerance.
Question 4
A surveyor performs a boundary survey in a conventional rural area without unusual
development pressure, highway adjacency, or other circumstances requiring
increased precision. Which minimum measurement accuracy applies under
Georgia's horizontal measurement standard?
A. 1:1,000
B. 1:2,500
C. 1:5,000
D. 1:10,000
🔴 Correct Answer: C. 1:5,000
🔵 Explanation: Georgia requires angles and distances to be measured to an
accuracy of not less than 1:10,000 in urban or suburban areas and 1:5,000 in rural
areas, subject to specified exceptions and tighter tolerances where circumstances
warrant.
Question 5
A boundary corner falls directly in a concrete driveway, making the normal
monumentation impractical. Which approach most directly satisfies Georgia's
monumentation requirements?
, A. Omit monumentation and identify only the mathematical corner coordinates.
B. Set a durable and identifiable alternate monument appropriate for the hard
surface.
C. Place a temporary wooden stake approximately five feet from the corner.
D. Set a monument at the nearest accessible location without recording its
relationship to the true corner.
🔴 Correct Answer: B. Set a durable and identifiable alternate monument
appropriate for the hard surface.
🔵 Explanation: Georgia permits alternate monumentation when a boundary corner
falls in hard surfaces such as concrete or asphalt, provided the monument is durable
and identifiable.
Question 6
A boundary corner cannot be monumented because a permanent physical
obstruction occupies the exact corner position. What is the most appropriate
Georgia-compliant solution?
A. Establish no monument because the obstruction itself is sufficient evidence.
B. Set a reference monument and show its bearing and distance from the true
corner.
C. Move the boundary corner to the nearest unobstructed location.
D. Set an unmarked iron rod and omit it from the plat.
🔴 Correct Answer: B. Set a reference monument and show its bearing and
distance from the true corner.
🔵 Explanation: When a boundary monument cannot be set because of a physical
obstruction, Georgia requires a reference monument sufficiently separated from the
true corner to avoid confusion and referenced by bearing and distance.
Question 7
A surveyor is preparing a Georgia property survey and discovers an apparent
overlap between the subject parcel and an adjoining tract. Which action is most
consistent with the technical standards?
A. Resolve the overlap by proportioning the disputed area without further analysis.
B. Ignore the overlap because conflicts between adjoining deeds are solely legal
