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Land Boundary Surveys I

Jan Van Sickle, P.L.S.


Course Overview

The law in most jurisdictions has recognized a qualified surveyor as being entitled to both recognition and responsibility. The surveyor's client employs him because the surveyor has skills upon which the client is entitled to rely. Probably, the least of these skills is the surveyor's ability as an expert measurer.

Among his skills that are considerably more significant are tracing the footsteps of the original surveyor; his qualifications as an expert witness, his facility at finding the proper location of a boundary, in other words, his knowledge and, most important, his judgment. It is these qualities that are the foundation on which a degree of trust in the surveyor by the public and recognition by courts of law can be built.

There are myriad factors that a land surveyor must consider in exercising that judgment. In the restoration of boundaries he must often sort out, among other things, contradictory evidence, written and unwritten conveyances, several kinds of deeds, easements, rights-of-way, and various encumbrances on the rights in property. Guidance from the law, statutory or common, can be challenging, as Frank E. Clark wrote:

" English property law (upon which our American property law is based) cannot be rationalized on the basis of logic, common sense or even modern principles of justice. The 'common law' can only be explained as the residue of centuries of development of a set of rules designed to meet civil and economic needs . . . (Grimes 1976:33)

Learning all the aspects of rights in property can easily take a lifetime. This course is designed to offer just a few insights that might assist a land surveyor exercise his most important facility, his judgment.


This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.


Course Content

This course consists of the following four course modules.

Course Modules

Module #1

Module #2

Module #3

Module #4

The course content is in PDF format in each module. You need to open or download those documents to study this course.


Once you finish studying the above course content you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

Take a Quiz


DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.com or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.