2012 Rhode Island General Laws
Title 5 - Businesses and Professions
Chapter 5-8.1 - Land Surveyors
Chapter 5-8.1-9 - Board of registration for professional land surveyors – Application and qualification for registration.

§ 5-8.1-9 Board of registration for professional land surveyors – Application and qualification for registration. – (a) Application for registration as a professional land surveyor or certification as a surveyor-in-training shall be made, in writing, on a form prescribed and furnished by the board of land surveyors. The application shall:

(i) Contain statements made under oath;

(ii) Show the applicant's education;

(iii) Contain a detailed summary of the applicant's technical and professional experience; and

(iv) Designate references as described in this section.

(b) The fee established in § 5-8.1-11 must accompany each application. Failure to include this fee will result in the application being returned to the applicant without consideration by the board.

(c) To be eligible for registration as a professional land surveyor, an applicant must be of good character and reputation. Additionally, the applicant must submit five (5) references with his or her application, three (3) of which are from registered professional land surveyors having personal knowledge of his or her land surveying experience. No person seeking his or her initial registration as a professional land surveyor shall be granted the certificate without first completing a surveyor-in-training program as prescribed and approved by the board.

(d) To be eligible for certification as a surveyor-in-training, an applicant must be of good character and reputation substantiated by an interview with a quorum of the board of registration and additionally must submit three (3) character references one of which must be from a professional land surveyor.

(e) One of the following shall be considered as minimum evidence to the board that the applicant is qualified for registration as a professional land surveyor or for certification as a land-surveyor-in training, respectively:

(i) Graduation from a four (4) year survey degree program, experience and examination. A graduate of a four (4) year survey degree program may be admitted to an eight (8) hour written examination in the fundamentals of land surveying. Upon passing that examination the applicant is granted a surveyor-in-training certificate in this state. After receiving the surveyor-in-training certificate the applicant will need a specific record of a minimum four (4) years of experience in land surveying. This verified experience shall be under the direct supervision of a registered professional land surveyor, satisfactory to the board and shall be broken down as follows. At a minimum twenty percent (20%) shall be field experience, twenty percent (20%) shall be research, deed evidence, reconciliation, etc. and twenty percent (20%) shall be property line calculations and determination. Once the experience has been deemed satisfactory to the board, the applicant may be admitted to a six (6) hour written examination in the principles and practice of land surveying plus an additional two (2) hour written Rhode Island legal portion. Upon passing that examination, the applicant is granted a certificate of registration to practice land surveying in this state, provided the applicant is qualified.

(ii) Graduation from a four (4) year degree program, experience and examination. A graduate of a four (4) year degree program who has also fulfilled the four (4) year core curriculum (see paragraph (iii) below) may be admitted to an eight (8) hour written examination in the fundamentals of land surveying. Upon passing that examination the applicant is granted a surveyor-in-training certificate in this state. After receiving the surveyor-in-training certificate the applicant will need a specific record of a minimum five (5) years of experience in land surveying. This verified experience shall be under the direct supervision of a registered professional land surveyor, satisfactory to the board and shall be broken down as follows: At a minimum twenty percent (20%) shall be field experience; twenty percent (20%) shall be research, deed evidence, reconciliation, etc. and twenty percent (20%) shall be property line calculations and determination. Once the experience has been deemed satisfactory to the board, the applicant may be admitted to a six (6) hour written examination in the principles and practice of land surveying plus an additional two (2) hour written Rhode Island legal portion. Upon passing that examination, the applicant is granted a certificate of registration to practice land surveying in this state, provided the applicant is qualified.

(iii) Four (4) year core curriculum. An applicant with a four (4) year degree as described in paragraph (ii) above may need to take additional courses to fulfill, at a minimum, the following core curriculum. For the following list of classes any equivalent class may be taken and any survey related course may be substituted upon approval of the board:

(A) Surveying I (3 credit hours), Surveying II (3 credit hours).

(B) GPS & Geodetic control (3 credit hours).

(C) Photogrammetry and remote sensing (3 credit hours).

(D) Boundary adjustment computations (3 credit hours).

(E) Land development/planning (3 credit hours).

(F) Geographic/land information systems (3 credit hours).

(G) Physics I with lab (4 credit hours).

(H) Calculus I (4 credit hours), Calculus II (4 credit hours).

(I) Statistical analysis (3 credit hours).

(J) Law (12 credit hours): boundary law, law of contracts, law of property, estates & trusts, professional ethics.

(K) Business (9 credit hours): Quantitative business analysis I, business administration, small business management, micro economics.

(L) Science (9 credit hours): geology, astronomy, soils, dendrology, chemistry, biology, ecology.

(M) Computer usage (12 credit hours): introduction to computers, computer science, computer programming, AutoCAD basics, AutoCAD advanced.

(N) English composition (3 credit hours).

(O) Advanced communication (6 credit hours): technical writing, creative writing or speech.

(iv) Graduation from a two (2) year survey degree program, experience, and examination. A graduate of a two (2) year survey degree program may be admitted to an eight (8) hour written examination in the fundamentals of land surveying. Upon passing that examination the applicant is granted a surveyor-in-training certificate in this state. After receiving the surveyor-in-training certificate the applicant will need a specific record of a minimum six (6) years of verified experience in land surveying. (Four (4) of the years of experience shall be after receiving a surveyor-in-training certificate). All six (6) years of experience shall be under the direct supervision of a registered professional land surveyor, satisfactory to the board and shall be broken down as follows: At a minimum twenty percent (20%) shall be field experience, twenty percent (20%) shall be research, deed evidence, reconciliation, etc. and twenty percent (20%) shall be property line calculations and determination. Once the experience has been deemed satisfactory to the board, the applicant may be admitted to a six (6) hour written examination in the principles and practice of land surveying plus an additional two (2) hour written Rhode Island legal portion. Upon passing that examination, the applicant is granted a certificate of registration to practice land surveying in this state, provided the applicant is qualified.

(v) Graduation from a two (2) year degree program, experience, and examination. A graduate of a two (2) year degree program who has also fulfilled the two (2) year core curriculum (see paragraph (vi) below) may be admitted to an eight (8) hour written examination in the fundamentals of land surveying. Upon passing that examination the applicant is granted a surveyor-in-training certificate in this state. After receiving the surveyor-in-training certificate the applicant will need a specific record of a minimum seven (7) years of verified experience in land surveying. (Four (4) of the years of experience shall be after receiving a surveyor-in-training certificate). All seven (7) years of experience shall be under the direct supervision of a registered professional land surveyor, satisfactory to the board and shall be broken down as follows: At a minimum twenty percent (20%) shall be field experience; twenty percent (20%) shall be research, deed evidence, reconciliation, etc. and twenty percent (20%) shall be property line calculations and determination. Once the experience has been deemed satisfactory to the board, the applicant may be admitted to a six (6) hour written examination in the principles and practice of land surveying plus an additional two (2) hour written Rhode Island legal portion. Upon passing that examination, the applicant is granted a certificate of registration to practice land surveying in this state, provided the applicant is qualified.

(vi) Two (2) year core curriculum. An applicant with a two (2) year degree as described in paragraph (v) above may need to take additional courses to fulfill, at a minimum, the following core curriculum. For the following list of classes any equivalent class may be taken and any survey related course may be substituted upon approval of the board:

(A) Surveying I (3 credit hours), Surveying II (3 credit hours).

(B) Mathematics (12 credit hours): advanced algebra, analytical trigonometry, analytical geometry, spherical trigonometry, statistical analysis or quantitative business analysis I, Analytical trigonometry and analytical geometry are mandatory classes to fulfill the (12 credit hours).

(C) Business and law (6 credit hours): legal principles, business administration, law of contracts, law of property, estates & trusts, professional ethics.

(D) Science (6 credit hours): physics, geology, astronomy, soils, dendrology, chemistry, biology, ecology.

(E) Computer usage (6 credit hours): introduction to computers, computer science, computer programming, AutoCAD basics, AutoCAD advanced.

(F) English composition (3 credit hours).

(G) Advanced communication (6 credit hours): technical writing, creative writing or speech.

(vii) Graduation from a two (2) year program, experience and examination. Any person obtaining a minimum of five (5) years experience under the supervision of a registered professional land surveyor, and is satisfactory to the board, may be admitted to an eight (8) hour written examination in the fundamentals of land surveying. Upon passing that examination the applicant is granted a surveyor-in-training certificate (LSIT), in this state provided the applicant is qualified. Upon obtaining a specific record of a minimum of an additional five (5) years of experience of combined office and field experience satisfactory to the board in land surveying, which experience was under the direct supervision of a registered professional land surveyor, and which experience indicates to the board that the applicant may be competent to practice land surveying, and the person is a graduate of a land surveying or related curriculum of satisfactory standing, of two (2) years or more approved by the board, who has obtained an associates degree in land surveying or related curriculum, the applicant may be submitted to a six (6) hour written examination in the principles and practice of land surveying plus an additional two (2) hour written Rhode Island legal portion. Upon passing that examination, the applicant is granted a certificate of registration to practice land surveying in this state, provided the applicant is qualified. This subsection expires at midnight, December 31, 2009.

(viii) In certain instances in which an applicant presents an experience of unusually high quality, the board, at its complete discretion, may allow an applicant, having acquired six (6) verified years of active office and field experience in land surveying, which experience has been under the direct supervision of a professional land surveyor, to be admitted to an eight (8) hour written examination in the fundamentals of land surveying. Upon passing those examinations, the applicant is granted a surveyor-in-training certificate in the state. This subsection does not exempt the applicant from the required degree or the experience after obtaining the surveyor-in-training certificate (LSIT).

(ix) Surveying teaching. Teaching of advanced land surveying subjects in a college or university offering an approved land surveying curriculum may be considered as land surveying experience satisfactory to the board.

(x) Registration by comity or endorsement. A person holding a current certificate of registration to engage in the practice of land surveying issued to him or her by a proper authority of a state, territory, or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia must have, at the time they were licensed, met the existing Rhode Island requirements for licensure. All applicants applying under this section must have passed the written examinations in the fundamentals of land surveying and the principles and practice of land surveying. If, based upon verified evidence and the opinion of the board, the applicant meets all appropriate requirements of this section, the applicant will be allowed to take the two (2) hour written Rhode Island legal portion. Upon passing this examination the applicant shall be granted a certificate of registration to practice land surveying in this state, provided the applicant is qualified.

(f) The passing grade on all examinations offered by the land surveyors is not less than seventy percent (70%). An applicant failing any examination may apply for re-examination upon payment of the appropriate fees. An applicant who scores less than fifty percent (50%) on any examination may not apply for re-examination for at least one year.

(g) An applicant who fails any of the exams three (3) times shall be interviewed by the board, before any further application can be acted upon. It is the applicant's responsibility to show the board that he or she will be successful if allowed to take the exam again. If in the board's opinion the applicant can not satisfactorily demonstrate that he or she is qualified to re-take the exam, the board may require that the applicant acquire additional knowledge, education, and or experience, satisfactory to the board before the applicant may sit for another exam.

History of Section.
(P.L. 1990, ch. 330, § 2; P.L. 1991, ch. 304, § 4; P.L. 1992, ch. 337, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 86, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 90, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 98, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 157, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 165, § 1.)