Licensure Requirements in North Carolina

Steps to Earning Your PLS

If you are interested in becoming a Professional Land Surveyor, there are several avenues to achieve this goal. See the chart below to decide which route is a good fit for you:

EDUCATION	YEARS OF EXPERIENCE	+	YEARS OF  SUPERVISED EXPERIENCE (Under PLS)	Total
BS Surveying (45 semester hrs: Survey Courses)			2	2
AAS Degree Surveying Technology (20 semester hrs: Survey Courses)	4	+	4	8
High School Diploma or Equivalent	7	+	9	16

In addition to the above educational & experience requirements, you must successfully take and pass the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) Exam. Once you pass the FS Exam, you must successfully take and pass either the Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) Exam OR the Mapping Sciences (MS) Exam in order to obtain your license to practice surveying in North Carolina.

SURVEYING EXAMS
Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) Exam	Online Exam (8 hrs)
Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) Exam prerequisite = successfully passing FS	Part 1 Online Exam (6 hrs)	Submit a Printed Map for Review	Part 2 - Written (2 hrs) North Carolina Specific
Mapping Sciences (MS) Exam prerequisite = successfully passing FS	Part 1 Online Exam (6 hrs)	Submit a Printed Map for Review	Part 2 - Written (2 hrs) North Carolina Specific

You may take the FS and Part 1 of either the PS or MS before meeting the required number of years of supervised experience. Part 2 may only be taken after the required supervised experience is obtained. In addition, you may apply to be certified as a Surveyor Intern (SI) after taking the FS.
For additional information visit: http://www.ncbels.org

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Note: The surveying education bill, sponsored by the North Carolina Society of Surveyors, was signed into law in August 2005 and became effective January 1, 2013. The law changed the minimum education and experience requirements to become a surveyor in North Carolina.

Applicants who have not passed the Fundamentals of Surveying (Exam I) by the end of December 2012 will be required to meet the new prerequisites before they will be eligible to be seated for an exam.

Current applicants who have taken and passed the Fundamentals of Surveying (Exam I) and are working toward obtaining their experience to be eligible for the Principles and Practice of Surveying (Exam II) will be grandfathered and will remain within the pre-2013 requirements.