Individual Applicants

Professional Land Surveyor

For information about the NCEES exams please visit the NCEES web site. Upon passing the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) and Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) exams, and meeting the education and experience requirements, the applicant will then apply to the North Carolina Board to be seated for the North Carolina State Specific Exam. After passing this exam your license will be issued.

To be eligible for initial or comity PLS licensure in North Carolina, the applicant must:

• Satisfy the education requirements per G. S. 89C-13.
• Pass the FS and PS exams.
• Satisfy the experience requirements per G. S. 89C-13 and present evidence satisfactory to the Board of a specific record of progressive surveying experience after the date of graduation that is of a grade and character that indicates to the Board that the applicant is competent to practice surveying.
• Submit an acceptable map.
  • Maps should be a simple black and white 18” x 24” single page plat.
  • All maps must be from actual surveys and comply with the North Carolina Standards of Practice for Land Surveying (Board Rules). It must also comply with G. S. 47-30 (Mapping Requirements for Recordable Maps). For your reference, there is a sample map on the Board’s web site (Sample Map).
  • All maps must contain a statement that the fieldwork, calculations and drawing was done by the applicant.
    • The applicant’s name must be identified in the statement and signed by a Professional Land Surveyor.
  • If after Board review the map needs to be revised, the applicant should cloud, describe and date the revisions.
• Pass the North Carolina State Specific Exam. The state exam tests an applicant’s knowledge of the laws, procedures and practices pertaining to land surveying in North Carolina, which includes testing what a PLS can do per G. S. 89C and the incidental drainage guidelines with respect to erosion control and surface drainage. This is an open book exam administered at the Board office. Applicants may bring bound reference materials and a calculator as approved by NCEES (Approved Calculators).
  • State Specific Exam resources include but are not limited to:
    • Board Rules – 21 NCAC 56.1600 (Standards of Practice for Land Surveying)
    • The North Carolina Engineering and Land Surveying Act – G. S. 89C
    • Mapping Requirements for Recordable Maps – G. S. 47-30
    • “Mini-Brooks” Act – G. S. 143.64.31-34
    • Professional Corporation Act – G. S. 55B
    • Board Policies and Guidelines
    • Incidental Streets and Storm Sewer Systems Design
    • NCDEQ Erosion and Sediment Control Planning and Design Manual
    • NCDEQ Stormwater BMP Manual
    • NC Geodetic Survey Development & Application of the State Plane Coordinate System
    • NCDOT Subdivision Roads Minimum Constructions Standards
    • Rational Method Hydrological Calculations

The state exam is administered four times a year:

Exam Period & Deadline for Completed Application

• February 23, 2026 / December 1st
• May 18, 2026 / April 1st
• August 24, 2026 / July 1st
• November 16, 2026 / October 1st

To be eligible for PLS licensure as a current licensee in a neighboring state (Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia), the applicant must satisfy the requirements listed in this document, submit an acceptable map, and pass the state-specific exam.

For questions regarding application status please e-mail sbryant@ncbels.org.

Educational institutions can send transcripts via e-mail to transcripts@ncbels.org.

Military Applicants

All military applicants are required to comply with the licensing requirements of G. S. 89C-13 and Board Rule 21 NCAC 56.0601.

The Department of Veteran Affairs has approved NCEES (The National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors) per Section 21.4268 of Title 38 of the US Code of Federal Regulations, which allows the reimbursement of exam fees for surveyors (and engineers) who are military veterans.  A veteran who takes any of the surveying (or engineering) exams offered by NCEES no matter where they took the exam or their state of residence should complete VA Form 22-0810 Application for Reimbursement of National Exam Fee and submit to the appropriate VA Regional Processing Office listed on page 2 of Form 22-0810.  Help contact information for VA is also included in the instructions of the form.

Effective April 27, 2021, Professional Land Surveyors who are actively serving in the military, and their spouses, will be eligible to transmit their NCEES Record to a member board at no charge when military orders require them to move to a new state. These transmittals will include a military designation in the existing remarks section on the first page to alert member boards as to their military status.

This new option for military families will help them complete the comity application process faster.

Military-related applicants can start the process by emailing military@ncees.org. Information is also available on the NCEES website at ncees.org/records.