OC: Georgia Minimum Technical Standards

The following course is intended to satisfy the continuing education requirements in Board Rule 180-11-.03, and is intended to be comprehensive as to the rules and laws pertaining to the professional practice of Land Surveying in the state of Georgia. This course also will highlight any updates and changes since the 2017 Georgia legislative session – most notably, the change to the Georgia Plat Act that affected how a plat is drafted.

This course has been separated into five sections.  The first section will be a review of HB76, which was signed by the governor on May 8, 2017 and affects OCGA §15-6-67. It is referred to as the “Georgia Plat and Condominium Plan Recording Act of 2017,” which has been updated periodically and most recently in 2024. 

Section II will detail the Georgia Plat Act, as it was updated in 2024. Section III will review the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, first detailing the minimum technical standards of property boundaries, as well as the rules that are applied to the use of seals and the sealing of documents.  The other rules as they apply to professional land surveyors will be included and contain:

• Board organization, duties, license applications and examinations;
• Temporary permits,
• Qualifications (educational and experience) to be approved for licensure in Georgia;
• Rules of professional conduct, rules of practice, conflicts of interest;
• License renewals;
• Procedural rules; and
• Compliance and enforcement and continuing professional competency requirements (which includes record keeping and exemptions).

Section IV will provide a detailed review of Title 43 of the Professions and Businesses Chapter 15: Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.  It will discuss Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors among other details of interest to professional land surveyors in Georgia as they pertain to examinations, licensure and scope of practice. 

The final section, Section V, will provide a brief overview of more recent changes.

Course Learning Objectives: 

• Identify the changes that occurred as a result of HB76, which amended the code section regarding the requirements for plats and condominium plans.
• Describe where a professional land surveyor in Georgia can access an example of a plat created with these new changes applied.
• Summarize the subsequent updates to the Georgia Plat Act of 2017.
• Distinguish among the technical standards for property surveys and seals, as outlined in the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia.
• Discuss the variety of regulations as they appear in the Rules and Regulations, Department 18.
• Explain the rules of professional conduct and ethics, as well as the certifications for land surveyors in the state of Georgia.
• Describe the relevance of Title 43, Chapter 15 of the Professions and Businesses in the state of Georgia.