2009 California Business and Professions Code - Section 8760-8774.5 :: Article 5. Surveying Practice

8760.  Every licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer may
administer and certify oaths:
   (a) When it becomes necessary to take testimony for the
identification or establishment of old, lost or obliterated corners.
   (b) When a corner or monument is found in a perishable condition,
and it appears desirable that evidence concerning it be perpetuated.
   (c) When the importance of the survey makes it desirable, to
administer an oath to his assistants for the faithful performance of
their duty.
   A record of oaths shall be preserved as part of the field notes of
the survey and a memorandum of them shall be made on the record of
survey filed under this article.

8761.  (a) Any licensed land surveyor or civil engineer authorized
to practice land surveying may practice land surveying and prepare
maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other documentary evidence in
connection with that practice.
   (b) All maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other land
surveying documents shall be prepared by, or under the responsible
charge of a licensed land surveyor or civil engineer authorized to
practice land surveying and shall include his or her name and license
number.
   (c) Interim maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other land
surveying documents shall include a notation as to the intended
purpose of the map, plat, report, description, or other document,
such as "preliminary" or "for examination only."
   (d) All final maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other land
surveying documents issued by a licensed land surveyor or civil
engineer authorized to practice land surveying shall bear the
signature and seal or stamp of the licensee and the date of signing
and sealing or stamping. If the land surveying document has multiple
pages or sheets, the signature, seal or stamp, and date of signing
and sealing or stamping shall appear, at a minimum, on the title
sheet, cover sheet or page, or signature sheet, unless otherwise
required by law.
   (e) It is unlawful for any person to sign, stamp, seal, or approve
any map, plat, report, description, or other land surveying document
unless the person is authorized to practice land surveying.
   (f) It is unlawful for any person to stamp or seal any map, plat,
report, description, or other land surveying document with the seal
or stamp after the certificate of the licensee that is named on the
seal or stamp has expired or has been suspended or revoked, unless
the certificate has been renewed or reissued.

8761.1.  The authority of a licensed land surveyor or registered
civil engineer to prepare, sign, issue, stamp, seal, or approve any
map, plat, report, description, or other document shall be consistent
with that person's authority to practice land surveying.

8761.2.  Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8761, a
registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor who signs land
surveying maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other surveying
documents shall not be responsible for damage caused by subsequent
changes to or uses of those maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or
other surveying documents, where the subsequent changes or uses,
including changes or uses made by state or local governmental
agencies, are not authorized or approved by the registered civil
engineer or licensed land surveyor who originally signed the maps,
plats, reports, descriptions, or other surveying documents, provided
that the engineering or surveying service rendered by the civil
engineer or land surveyor who signed the maps, plats, reports,
descriptions, or other surveying documents was not also a proximate
cause of the damage.

8762.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), after making a
field survey in conformity with the practice of land surveying, the
licensed surveyor or licensed civil engineer may file with the county
surveyor in the county in which the field survey was made, a record
of the survey.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), after making a field survey
in conformity with the practice of land surveying, the licensed land
surveyor or licensed civil engineer shall file with the county
surveyor in the county in which the field survey was made a record of
the survey relating to land boundaries or property lines, if the
field survey discloses any of the following:
   (1) Material evidence or physical change, which in whole or in
part does not appear on any subdivision map, official map, or record
of survey previously recorded or properly filed in the office of the
county recorder or county surveying department, or map or survey
record maintained by the Bureau of Land Management of the United
States.
   (2) A material discrepancy with the information contained in any
subdivision map, official map, or record of survey previously
recorded or filed in the office of the county recorder or the county
surveying department, or any map or survey record maintained by the
Bureau of Land Management of the United States. For purposes of this
subdivision, a "material discrepancy" is limited to a material
discrepancy in the position of points or lines, or in dimensions.
   (3) Evidence that, by reasonable analysis, might result in
materially alternate positions of lines or points, shown on any
subdivision map, official map, or record of survey previously
recorded or filed in the office of the county recorder or the county
surveying department, or any map or survey record maintained by the
Bureau of Land Management of the United States.
   (4) The establishment of one or more points or lines not shown on
any subdivision map, official map, or record of survey, the positions
of which are not ascertainable from an inspection of the subdivision
map, official map, or record of survey.
   (5) The points or lines set during the performance of a field
survey of any parcel described in any deed or other instrument of
title recorded in the county recorder's office are not shown on any
subdivision map, official map, or record of survey.
   (c) The record of survey required to be filed pursuant to this
section shall be filed within 90 days after the setting of boundary
monuments during the performance of a field survey or within 90 days
after completion of a field survey, whichever occurs first.
   (d) (1) If the 90-day time limit contained in subdivision (c)
cannot be complied with for reasons beyond the control of the
licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer, the 90-day time
period shall be extended until the time at which the reasons for
delay are eliminated. If the licensed land surveyor or licensed civil
engineer cannot comply with the 90-day time limit, he or she shall,
prior to the expiration of the 90-day time limit, provide the county
surveyor with a letter stating that he or she is unable to comply.
The letter shall provide an estimate of the date for completion of
the record of survey, the reasons for the delay, and a general
statement as to the location of the survey, including the assessor's
parcel number or numbers.
   (2) The licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer shall
not initially be required to provide specific details of the survey.
However, if other surveys at the same location are performed by
others which may affect or be affected by the survey, the licensed
land surveyor or licensed civil engineer shall then provide
information requested by the county surveyor without unreasonable
delay.
   (e) Any record of survey filed with the county surveyor shall,
after being examined by him or her, be filed with the county
recorder.
   (f) If the preparer of the record of survey provides a
postage-paid, self-addressed envelope or postcard with the filing of
the record of survey, the county recorder shall return the
postage-paid, self-addressed envelope or postcard to the preparer of
the record of survey with the filing data within 10 days of final
filing. For the purposes of this subdivision, "filing data" includes
the date, the book or volume, and the page at which the record of
survey is filed with the county recorder.

8762.5.  No record of survey of land shown on the latest adopted
county assessment roll as a unit or as contiguous units, which shows
a division of such land into additional parcels, shall be filed with
the county surveyor or with the county recorder, unless there is
attached thereto a certificate by the county surveyor if the land
lies within an unincorporated area, or a certificate by the city
engineer if the land lies within a city, of compliance with the
provisions of the Subdivision Map Act, Division 2 (commencing with
Section 66410) of Title 7 of the Government Code, and any applicable
local ordinance enacted pursuant thereto.

8763.  The record of survey shall be a map, legibly drawn, printed,
or reproduced by a process guaranteeing a permanent record in black
on tracing cloth, or polyester base film, 18 by 26 inches or 460 by
660 millimeters. If ink is used on polyester base film, the ink
surface shall be coated with a suitable substance to assure permanent
legibility. A marginal line shall be drawn completely around each
sheet leaving an entirely blank margin of one inch or 25 millimeters.

8764.  The record of survey shall show the applicable provisions of
the following consistent with the purpose of the survey:
   (a) All monuments found, set, reset, replaced, or removed,
describing their kind, size, and location, and giving other data
relating thereto.
   (b) Bearing or witness monuments, basis of bearings, bearing and
length of lines, scale of map, and north arrow.
   (c) Name and legal designation of the property in which the survey
is located, and the date or time period of the survey.
   (d) The relationship to those portions of adjacent tracts,
streets, or senior conveyances which have common lines with the
survey.
   (e) Memorandum of oaths.
   (f) Statements required by Section 8764.5.
   (g) Any other data necessary for the intelligent interpretation of
the various items and locations of the points, lines, and areas
shown, or convenient for the identification of the survey or
surveyor, as may be determined by the civil engineer or land surveyor
preparing the record of survey.
   The record of survey shall also show, either graphically or by
note, the reason or reasons, if any, why the mandatory filing
provisions of paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (b) of
Section 8762 apply.
   The record of survey need not consist of a survey of an entire
property.

8764.5.  Statements shall appear on the map as follows:

                 Surveyor's Statement
  This map correctly represents a survey made by
  me or under my direction in conformance
  withtherequirementsoftheProfessional
  LandSurveyors'Act at the request       of _______
                  Name of Person Authorizing Survey
  in ____, 20__.
  (Signed and sealed) _____________________________
  L.S. (or R.C.E.) No. ____________________________
             County Surveyor's Statement
  This map has been examined in accordance
  with Section 8766 of the Professional Land
  Surveyors' Act this ____ day of ____, 20__.
  (Signed and sealed) _________________
                                   County Surveyor
  L.S. (or R.C.E.) No. ____________________________
                 Recorder's Statement
  Filed this ____ day of ____, 20__, at ____.m. in
  Book ____ of ____ at page ____, at the request
  of       ____.
  (Signed) _________________
                                   County Recorder

   No other statements may appear on the face of the map except those
required or authorized by this article.

8765.  A record of survey is not required of any survey:
   (a) When it has been made by a public officer in his or her
official capacity and a reproducible copy thereof, showing all data
required by Section 8764, except the recorder's statement, has been
filed with the county surveyor of the county in which the land is
located. Any map so filed shall be indexed and kept available for
public inspection.
   (b) Made by the United States Bureau of Land Management.
   (c) When a map is in preparation for recording or shall have been
recorded under the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act.
   (d) When the survey is a retracement of lines shown on a
subdivision map, official map, or a record of survey, where no
material discrepancies with those records are found and sufficient
monumentation is found to establish the precise location of property
corners thereon, provided that a corner record is filed for any
property corners which are set or reset or found to be of a different
character than indicated by prior records. For purposes of this
subdivision, a "material discrepancy" is limited to a material
discrepancy in the position of points or lines, or in dimensions.
   (e) When the survey is a survey of a mobilehome park interior lot
as defined in Section 18210 of the Health and Safety Code, provided
that no subdivision map, official map, or record of survey has been
previously filed for the interior lot or no conversion to residential
ownership has occurred pursuant to Section 66428.1 of the Government
Code.

8766.  (a) Within 20 working days after receiving the record of
survey, or within the additional time as may be mutually agreed upon
by the land surveyor or civil engineer and the county surveyor, the
county surveyor shall examine it with respect to all of the
following:
   (1) Its accuracy of mathematical data and substantial compliance
with the information required by Section 8764.
   (2) Its compliance with Sections 8762.5, 8763, 8764.5, 8771.5, and
8772.
   (b) The examination pursuant to this section shall not require the
licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer submitting the
record of survey to change the methods or procedures utilized or
employed in the performance of the survey, nor shall the examination
require a field survey to verify the data shown on the record of
survey.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall limit the county surveyor from
including notes expressing opinions regarding the record of survey,
or the methods or procedures utilized or employed in the performance
of the survey.
   (d) The examination pursuant to this section shall be performed
by, or under the direct supervision of, a licensed land surveyor or
registered civil engineer.

8766.5.  The county surveyor may charge a reasonable fee for
examining a record of survey pursuant to Section 8766 which shall not
exceed the cost of the service or one hundred dollars ($100),
whichever is the lesser. However, this one hundred dollars ($100)
maximum fee may be increased by the board of supervisors if such an
increase is authorized by a duly adopted ordinance and the ordinance
was adopted pursuant to a staff report demonstrating that the cost of
providing the examination service actually exceeds one hundred
dollars ($100) per record of survey.

8767.  If the county surveyor finds that the record of survey
complies with the examination in Section 8766, the county surveyor
shall endorse a statement on it of his or her examination, and shall
present it to the county recorder for filing. Otherwise the county
surveyor shall return it to the person who presented it, together
with a written statement of the changes necessary to make it conform
to the requirements of Section 8766. The licensed land surveyor or
registered civil engineer submitting the record of survey may then
make the agreed changes and note those matters which cannot be agreed
upon in accordance with the provisions of Section 8768 and shall
resubmit the record of survey within 60 days, or within the time as
may be mutually agreed upon by the licensed surveyor or registered
engineer and the county surveyor, to the county surveyor for filing
pursuant to Section 8768.

8768.  If the matters appearing on the record of survey cannot be
agreed upon by the licensed land surveyor or the registered civil
engineer and the county surveyor within 10 working days after the
licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer resubmits and
requests the record of survey be filed without further change, an
explanation of the differences shall be noted on the map and it shall
be presented by the county surveyor to the county recorder for
filing, and the county recorder shall file the record of survey. The
licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer filing the record
of survey shall attempt to reach agreement with the county surveyor
regarding the language for the explanation of the differences. If
they cannot agree on the language explaining the differences, then
both shall add a notation on the record of survey explaining the
differences. The explanation of the differences shall be sufficiently
specific to identify the factual basis for the difference.

8768.5.  If the county surveyor fails to timely file the record of
survey with the county recorder in accordance with Section 8768, the
licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer submitting the
map may bring an action pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil
Procedure to compel the filing of the record of survey. After the
licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer resubmits and
requests the record of survey be filed without further change, the
filing of the record of survey shall be deemed to be a ministerial
act.
   In any action brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of
Civil Procedure between a licensed land surveyor or a registered
civil engineer and the county surveyor of any county, the court may
award to the prevailing party costs and other expenses of litigation,
including the payment of experts and other witnesses, and reasonable
attorney's fees.

8769.  The charge for filing any record of survey, and for indexing
the same, shall be the same as provided for subdivided land under
Section 27372 of the Government Code.

8770.  The record of survey filed with the county recorder of any
county shall be securely fastened by him into a suitable book
provided for that purpose.
   He shall keep proper indexes of such record of survey by the name
of grant, tract, subdivision or United States subdivision.
   The original map shall be stored for safekeeping in a reproducible
condition. It shall be proper procedure for the recorder to maintain
for public reference a set of counter maps that are prints of the
original maps, and the original maps to be produced for comparison
upon demand.

8770.5.  Any record of survey filed under the provisions of this
chapter may be amended to show any course or distance that was
omitted therefrom, or to correct any error in: course or distance
shown thereon, the description of the land which the record of survey
comprised, lot numbers, street names, acreages, identification of
adjacent record maps, or the character of monuments being set, or to
correct any other minor errors approved for correction by the county
surveyor in the same manner that subdivision maps may be amended
under the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act, Division 2
(commencing with Section 66410) of Title 7 of the Government Code.

8770.6.  The use of the word "certify" or "certification" by a
licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer in the practice
of professional engineering or land surveying or the preparation of
maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other surveying documents only
constitutes an expression of professional opinion regarding those
facts or findings which are the subject of the certification, and
does not constitute a warranty or guarantee, either expressed or
implied.

8771.  (a) Monuments set shall be sufficient in number and
durability and efficiently placed so as not to be readily disturbed,
to assure, together with monuments already existing, the perpetuation
or facile reestablishment of any point or line of the survey.
   (b) When monuments exist that control the location of
subdivisions, tracts, boundaries, roads, streets, or highways, or
provide horizontal or vertical survey control, the monuments shall be
located and referenced by or under the direction of a licensed land
surveyor or registered civil engineer prior to the time when any
streets, highways, other rights-of-way, or easements are improved,
constructed, reconstructed, maintained, resurfaced, or relocated, and
a corner record or record of survey of the references shall be filed
with the county surveyor. They shall be reset in the surface of the
new construction, a suitable monument box placed thereon, or
permanent witness monuments set to perpetuate their location if any
monument could be destroyed, damaged, covered, or otherwise
obliterated, and a corner record or record of survey filed with the
county surveyor prior to the recording of a certificate of completion
for the project. Sufficient controlling monuments shall be retained
or replaced in their original positions to enable property,
right-of-way and easement lines, property corners, and subdivision
and tract boundaries to be reestablished without devious surveys
necessarily originating on monuments differing from those that
currently control the area. It shall be the responsibility of the
governmental agency or others performing construction work to provide
for the monumentation required by this section. It shall be the duty
of every land surveyor or civil engineer to cooperate with the
governmental agency in matters of maps, field notes, and other
pertinent records. Monuments set to mark the limiting lines of
highways, roads, streets or right-of-way or easement lines shall not
be deemed adequate for this purpose unless specifically noted on the
corner record or record of survey of the improvement works with
direct ties in bearing or azimuth and distance between these and
other monuments of record.
   (c) The decision to file either the required corner record or a
record of survey pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be at the election
of the licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer
submitting the document.

8771.5.  When coordinates in the California Coordinate System are
shown for points on a record of survey map the map may not be
recorded unless it also shows, or is accompanied by a map showing,
the control scheme through which the coordinates were determined from
points of known coordinates.

8772.  Any monument set by a licensed land surveyor or registered
civil engineer to mark or reference a point on a property or land
line shall be permanently and visibly marked or tagged with the
certificate number of the surveyor or civil engineer setting it, each
number to be preceeded by the letters "L.S." or "R.C.E.,"
respectively, as the case may be or, if the monument is set by a
public agency, it shall be marked with the name of the agency and the
political subdivision it serves.
   Nothing in this section shall prevent the inclusion of other
information on the tag which will assist in the tracing or location
of the survey records which relate to the tagged monument.

8773.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 8773.4,
a person authorized to practice land surveying in this state shall
complete, sign, stamp with his or her seal, and file with the county
surveyor or engineer of the county where the corners are situated, a
written record of corner establishment or restoration to be known as
a "corner record" for every corner established by the Survey of the
Public Lands of the United States, except "lost corners," as defined
by the Manual of Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of
the United States, and every accessory to such corner which is found,
set, reset, or used as control in any survey by such authorized
person.
   (b) After the establishment of a lost corner, as defined by the
Manual of Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of the
United States, a record of survey shall be filed as set forth in
Section 8764.
   (c) Any person authorized to practice land surveying in this state
may file such corner record for any property corners, property
controlling corners, reference monuments, or accessories to a
property corner.

8773.1.  The board shall by regulation provide and prescribe the
information which shall be necessary to be included in the corner
record and the board shall prescribe the form in which the corner
record shall be submitted and filed, and the time limits within which
the form shall be filed. A corner record shall be a single 8.5 by 11
inch sheet which may consist of a front and back page.

8773.2.  (a) A "corner record" submitted to the county surveyor or
engineer shall be examined by him or her for compliance with
subdivision (d) of Section 8765 and Sections 8773, 8773.1, and
8773.4, endorsed with a statement of his or her examination, and
filed with the county surveyor or returned to the submitting party
within 20 working days after receipt.
   (b) In the event the submitted "corner record" fails to comply
with the examination criteria of subdivision (a), the county surveyor
or engineer shall return it to the person who submitted it together
with a written statement of the changes necessary to make it conform
to the requirements of subdivision (a). The licensed land surveyor or
licensed civil engineer submitting the corner record may then make
the agreed changes in compliance with subdivision (a) and note those
matters that cannot be agreed upon in accordance with the provisions
of subdivision (c), and shall resubmit the corner record within 60
days, or within the time as may be mutually agreed upon by the
licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer and the county
surveyor, to the county surveyor for filing pursuant to subdivision
(c). The county surveyor or engineer shall file the corner record
within 10 working days after receipt of the resubmission.
   (c) If the matters appearing on the corner record cannot be agreed
upon by the licensed land surveyor or the licensed civil engineer
and the county surveyor within 10 working days after the licensed
land surveyor or licensed civil engineer resubmits and requests the
corner record be filed without further change, an explanation of the
differences shall be noted on the corner record and it shall be
submitted to and filed by the county surveyor. The licensed land
surveyor or licensed civil engineer filing the corner record shall
attempt to reach agreement with the county surveyor regarding the
language for the explanation of the differences. If they cannot agree
on the language explaining the differences, then both shall add a
notation on the corner record explaining the differences. The
explanation of the differences shall be sufficiently specific to
identify the factual basis for the differences.
   (d) The corner record filed with the county surveyor of any county
shall be securely fastened by him or her into a suitable book
provided for that purpose.
   (e) A charge for examining, indexing, and filing the corner record
may be collected by the county surveyor, not to exceed the amount
required for the recording of a deed.
   (f) If the preparer of the corner record provides a postage-paid,
self-addressed envelope or postcard with the filing of the corner
record, the county surveyor shall return the postage-paid,
self-addressed envelope or postcard to the preparer of the corner
record with the filing data within 20 days of final filing. For the
purposes of this subdivision, "filing data" includes the date, book
or volume, and the page at which the corner record is filed by the
county surveyor. This subdivision shall not apply to a county
surveyor's office that maintains an electronic database of filed
corner records that is accessible to the public by reference to the
preparer's license number.

8773.3.  In every case where a corner record is filed pursuant to
Section 8773, the licensed land surveyor or registered civil engineer
shall reconstruct or rehabilitate the monument of such corner, and
accessories to such corner, so that the same shall be left by him in
such physical condition that it remains as permanent a monument as is
reasonably possible and so that the same may be reasonably expected
to be located with facility at all times in the future.

8773.4.  (a) A corner record shall be signed by a licensed land
surveyor or licensed civil engineer and stamped with his or her seal,
or in the case of an agency of the United States government or the
State of California, the certificate may be signed by the chief of
the survey party making the survey, setting forth his or her official
title, prior to filing.
   (b) A corner record need not be filed when:
   (1) A corner record is on file and the corner is found as
described in the existing corner record.
   (2) All conditions of Section 8773 are complied with by proper
notations on a record of survey map filed in compliance with the
Professional Land Surveyors' Act or a parcel or subdivision map, in
compliance with the Subdivision Map Act.
   (3) When the survey is a survey of a mobilehome park interior lot
as defined in Section 18210 of the Health and Safety Code, provided
that no subdivision map, official map, or record of survey has been
previously filed for the interior lot or no conversion to residential
ownership has occurred pursuant to Section 66428.1 of the Government
Code.
   (c) This section shall not apply to maps filed prior to January 1,
1974.

8774.  (a) The right of entry upon or to real property to
investigate and utilize boundary evidence, and to perform surveys, is
a right of persons legally authorized to practice land surveying,
and it is the responsibility of the owner or tenant who owns or
controls property to provide reasonable access without undue delay.
The right of entry is not contingent upon the provision of prior
notice to the owner or tenant. However, the owner or tenant shall be
notified of the proposed time of entry where practicable.
   (b) The requirements of subdivision (a) do not apply to monuments
within access-controlled portions of freeways.
   (c) When required for a property survey, monuments within a
freeway right-of-way shall be referenced to usable points outside the
access control line by the agency having jurisdiction over the
freeway when requested in writing by the registered civil engineer or
licensed land surveyor who is to perform the property survey. The
work shall be done within a reasonable time period by the agency in
direct cooperation with the engineer or surveyor and at no charge to
him or her.

8774.5.  (a) Upon the filing of a record of survey, amended record
of survey, or certificate of correction for recordation pursuant to
this chapter, the surveyor or engineer who prepared the document
shall transmit a copy of the document, including all recording
information, to the county surveyor, who shall maintain an index, by
geographic location, of the documents.
   (b) The county surveyor may charge a fee equal to the fee charged
for recording the documents specified in subdivision (a), for
purposes of financing the costs of maintaining the index of those
documents.
   (c) The requirements of this section shall not apply to any county
which requires the documents specified in subdivision (a) to be
transmitted to the county surveyor and requires that official to
maintain an index of those documents.