RPLS Ethics and Professional Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client asks a surveyor to prepare a plat that shows lot sizes larger than they actually are to facilitate a sale. The surveyor should:
- Comply if the client signs a waiver
- Refuse and explain that falsifying survey data is fraud (Correct answer)
- Prepare the plat but add a disclaimer
- Round up measurements to the nearest foot
Correct answer: Refuse and explain that falsifying survey data is fraud
Falsifying measurements on a plat constitutes fraud and violates the surveyor's fundamental duty of honesty and accuracy.
Question 2: The primary reason states require land surveyors to carry professional liability (E&O) insurance is to:
- Increase state revenue through premium taxes
- Protect the public from financial harm due to surveyor errors (Correct answer)
- Protect the surveyor's personal assets exclusively
- Satisfy federal OSHA requirements
Correct answer: Protect the public from financial harm due to surveyor errors
E&O insurance requirements are primarily designed to ensure that members of the public harmed by surveying errors have a source of financial recovery.
Question 3: When a surveyor realizes mid-project that the scope of work will cost significantly more than quoted, the ethical approach is to:
- Complete the work and bill double without notice
- Notify the client immediately and renegotiate the scope or fee (Correct answer)
- Abandon the project without explanation
- Reduce quality to stay within budget silently
Correct answer: Notify the client immediately and renegotiate the scope or fee
Honest communication with clients about changed circumstances is a core ethical obligation to avoid deception.
Question 4: A surveyor's seal on a plat certifies that the surveyor:
- Guarantees the title is clear
- Has personally supervised the survey and found it accurate to professional standards (Correct answer)
- Warrants no future boundary disputes will arise
- Confirms the property taxes are current
Correct answer: Has personally supervised the survey and found it accurate to professional standards
The surveyor's seal certifies personal supervision and professional accuracy of the survey, not legal title or tax status.
Question 5: Which of the following constitutes a conflict of interest for an RPLS?
- Using modern GPS equipment on a traditional boundary survey
- Simultaneously representing both buyer and seller in a disputed boundary without disclosure (Correct answer)
- Working for two different clients in unrelated counties
- Referring a client to a title company with no financial relationship
Correct answer: Simultaneously representing both buyer and seller in a disputed boundary without disclosure
Representing parties with opposing interests in the same matter without disclosure and consent creates a direct conflict of interest.
Question 6: A licensed surveyor knowingly allows an unlicensed employee to make boundary decisions and sign field notes. This is a violation of which principle?
- The principle of economy
- The principle of responsible charge requiring licensed oversight (Correct answer)
- The principle of delegation in corporate practice
- The principle of at-will employment
Correct answer: The principle of responsible charge requiring licensed oversight
Responsible charge requires that a licensed surveyor personally direct and control all professional decisions; delegation to unlicensed staff for boundary determinations is prohibited.
Question 7: If a surveyor discovers evidence of encroachment by a neighbor's structure during a routine mortgage survey, they should:
- Ignore it since encroachments are outside the mortgage survey scope
- Note the encroachment on the plat or survey drawing as observed (Correct answer)
- Remove the structure from the drawing to simplify the document
- Advise the neighbor privately and omit it from the survey
Correct answer: Note the encroachment on the plat or survey drawing as observed
Surveyors must report material observations such as encroachments even when they fall outside the primary scope of the survey.
RPLS Ethics and Professional Practice 3
A client asks a surveyor to prepare a plat that shows lot sizes larger than they actually are to facilitate a sale.
The surveyor should: