RPLS Ethics and Professional Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A land surveyor discovers that a boundary they established five years ago contains a significant error. What is the ethical obligation?
- Ignore it since the statute of limitations has passed
- Notify affected parties and correct the record if possible (Correct answer)
- Only correct it if a client specifically requests a resurvey
- File the correction anonymously to avoid liability
Correct answer: Notify affected parties and correct the record if possible
Surveyors have an ongoing ethical duty to correct errors that could harm property owners, regardless of when the mistake was made.
Question 2: When a surveyor is asked to stake a boundary that conflicts with an adjoining owner's longstanding fence, the surveyor should:
- Always follow the fence line to preserve harmony
- Stake per the legal description and note the conflict in the survey (Correct answer)
- Refuse the job to avoid disputes
- Ask the client which line they prefer
Correct answer: Stake per the legal description and note the conflict in the survey
The surveyor must follow the legal evidence and document discrepancies; the client cannot direct the surveyor to deviate from correct professional findings.
Question 3: A firm employs a licensed RPLS who signs and seals surveys they have not personally supervised. This practice is known as:
- Delegation
- Plan stamping or rubber-stamping (Correct answer)
- Responsible charge
- Sub-licensing
Correct answer: Plan stamping or rubber-stamping
Signing and sealing work the licensee did not supervise is called plan stamping and constitutes a serious ethical and legal violation.
Question 4: Under NSPS ethical standards, when two surveyors disagree on a boundary location, the appropriate first step is to:
- Let the courts decide immediately
- Confer professionally to review each other's evidence and methodology (Correct answer)
- Report the other surveyor to the board without discussion
- Accept whichever opinion favors the client paying more
Correct answer: Confer professionally to review each other's evidence and methodology
NSPS guidelines encourage professional consultation between surveyors before escalating disagreements to formal dispute resolution.
Question 5: A surveyor is offered a gift valued at $500 from a title company in exchange for referring business. Accepting this gift would most likely violate:
- Federal gift tax law only
- Anti-kickback statutes and professional ethics codes (Correct answer)
- The surveyor's right to free enterprise
- No rule if disclosed to clients
Correct answer: Anti-kickback statutes and professional ethics codes
Accepting compensation for referrals violates RESPA anti-kickback provisions and professional ethics codes requiring impartiality.
Question 6: Which action best demonstrates a surveyor's commitment to public safety in a boundary dispute near a flood zone?
- Survey only the area the client pays for and ignore flood data
- Include FEMA flood zone notation and alert the client to building restrictions (Correct answer)
- Advise the client to contact FEMA directly without surveyor input
- Exclude flood information to keep the report simple
Correct answer: Include FEMA flood zone notation and alert the client to building restrictions
Protecting the public welfare requires surveyors to include material information such as flood zone status that affects property use and safety.
Question 7: A surveyor licensed in State A is asked to perform a survey in State B where they are not licensed. The ethical course of action is to:
- Perform the survey and have a State B licensee sign it
- Obtain a State B license or decline the project (Correct answer)
- Proceed because RPLS credentials are nationally recognized
- Subcontract to an unlicensed technician in State B
Correct answer: Obtain a State B license or decline the project
Land surveying licensure is state-specific, and practicing without the required license is both illegal and unethical.
RPLS Ethics and Professional Practice 2
A land surveyor discovers that a boundary they established five years ago contains a significant error.
What is the ethical obligation?