Becoming a licensed land surveyor in Florida is a structured and highly regulated professional journey. The state relies on accurate boundary determination for real property rights, making the licensing process rigorous. This career progression requires specialized education, supervised experience, and the successful completion of multiple licensing examinations. The process is administered by the state’s regulatory body, which sets a high standard for entry into the profession.
Understanding the Professional Surveyor and Mapper Role in Florida
The official title for a licensed land surveyor in Florida is Professional Surveyor and Mapper (PSM). This designation reflects the broad scope of work, including determining the size, shape, topography, and legal location of real property using measurement or photogrammetric procedures. The practice applies specialized knowledge in mathematics, physical sciences, and law to accurately measure and establish legal boundaries, angles, and elevations. The profession is regulated by the Florida Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers (FBPSM), operating under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The legal framework is established within Chapter 472 of the Florida Statutes, which defines the practice and the standards licensees must uphold.
Meeting Florida’s Educational Requirements
The initial step toward licensure is meeting the academic requirements set by the FBPSM. The most direct path involves earning a bachelor’s degree in surveying and mapping, or a similarly titled program like geomatics, from a Board-recognized college or university. This specialized degree provides the necessary theoretical and technical foundation for the profession. An alternative route exists for applicants holding a bachelor’s degree in another field, such as civil engineering. These candidates must supplement their degree with a minimum of 25 semester hours in surveying and mapping subjects, including courses in mathematics, photogrammetry, land law, or physical sciences. Any required 25 semester hours not part of the original degree are subject to approval by the Board.
Achieving the Surveyor Intern (S.I.T.) Designation
Once the formal education requirement is satisfied, the next step is applying for the Surveyor Intern (S.I.T.) designation. This formal registration with the FBPSM signifies that a candidate is qualified to begin accruing the necessary experience hours. The S.I.T. designation is granted after successfully passing the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) examination. This examination is a national computer-based test administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Candidates must first apply to the Florida Board, submitting an official transcript or a Letter of Good Standing to verify educational qualifications. Upon application approval, the candidate is authorized to register with NCEES to take the FS exam.
Gaining Required Professional Experience
The S.I.T. designation allows the candidate to begin the mandatory phase of supervised professional practice under a licensed PSM. The required experience depends on the applicant’s academic background. A candidate with a bachelor’s degree in surveying and mapping must document at least four years of experience working under a registered PSM. If the applicant holds a non-surveying bachelor’s degree, the requirement increases to six years of work under a registered PSM. For this alternative path, five of those six years must be documented as being in responsible charge of the accuracy and correctness of the surveying work performed. This experience must cover a range of activities, such as boundary surveys, topographic mapping, and construction layout, and requires detailed, verifiable records for the final application.
Passing the Professional Licensing Examinations
After accumulating the necessary supervised experience, the candidate must pass two final licensing examinations. The first is the Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) exam, a national test developed and administered by NCEES. This exam is typically taken after the four-year experience requirement has been met. The second examination is the mandatory Florida-specific laws, rules, and procedures examination, often called the Jurisprudence Exam. This open-book test focuses entirely on the statutes and administrative codes that govern the practice of surveying in the state. Both the national PS exam and the state-specific Jurisprudence Exam must be successfully passed for the candidate to be eligible for a Professional Surveyor and Mapper license.
Final Application for Licensure
The final step is submitting a comprehensive application for the PSM license to the FBPSM. This requires documentation to verify every prerequisite has been met. The application package must include official verification of educational credentials directly from the college or university. Documentation of the required professional experience must also be included, signed and attested to by the licensed Professional Surveyor and Mappers who provided the supervision. The applicant must provide proof of passing the Fundamentals of Surveying, Principles and Practice of Surveying, and Florida Jurisprudence examinations. Additionally, applicants must affirm their good moral character, as the Board reviews all materials before granting a state professional license.
Maintaining Your Florida PSM License
Once granted, the Professional Surveyor and Mapper license must be actively maintained through a biennial renewal cycle. Licensees must fulfill Continuing Education (CE) requirements every two years, completing a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education. A portion of these hours must cover specific topics to ensure ongoing competence in core areas. For example, six of the 24 hours must be dedicated to courses concerning Minimum Technical Standards (MTS) or the laws and rules affecting the practice of surveying and mapping. All CE courses must be approved by the Florida Board.