Licensing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Professional Land Surveyors

1. How do I become eligible for a license as a land surveyor in the state of Maryland?
2. How do I qualify for licensure in the state of Maryland?
3. What qualifies as approved experience?
4. What exams are required to become a licensed professional land surveyor?.
5. What are the state-specific exams required for Maryland?
6. How do I report my work experience to the board?
7. What are the educational requirements if I have a foreign degree?
8. What is the application process?
9. Can I use my current license to become licensed in the state of Maryland?
10. My license is about to expire. What is the process for renewal?
11. My license is expired. What is the procedure to get it reinstated?
12. What are the fees for licensure in the state of Maryland?
13. What types of payments are accepted online?
14. I met all of the requirements. How will I receive my license?
15. What are the CPC requirements for a professional land surveyor?
16. How long is my license valid?
17. How do I get another copy of my license if it is lost or misplaced?
18. How do I change my address and/or contact information on my license?
19. How do I recover my PIN/password?
20. How do I change my name on my license?
21. I operate a business that provides land surveying services. Do I need a permit?

1. How do I become eligible for a license as a land surveyor in the state of Maryland?
   To qualify for licensure in the state of Maryland you must demonstrate good moral character in addition to meeting education, experience, and examination requirements listed in Maryland laws and regulations. Once you verify that you meet the requirements you can complete an electronic application for a license by examination from the Maryland Board for Professional Land Surveyors.

2. How do I qualify for licensure in the state of Maryland?
   

   The state of Maryland has five options based on Maryland laws and regulations. Information on Maryland original licenses, renewals, reciprocity and, reactivation can be found in the licensing section of our website.

   ORIGINAL LICENSE (by examination) – For an original license in Maryland, the applicant has five options that are divided into academic and non-academic options:

   §15–305 (b) Approved Curriculum Option – requires the applicant to complete a four-year degree from an accredited land surveying curriculum along with two years of approved experience.

   §15–305 (c) Approved Curriculum Option – requires the applicant to complete a four-year degree from an accredited physical science curriculum along with four years of approved experience**

   §15–305 (d) Approved Curriculum Option – requires the applicant to complete any accredited four-year degree with a minimum of 30 credits in land surveying-related curriculum along with four years of approved experience**.

   §15–305 (e) Non-academic Option – Applicants can satisfy the licensing requirement with a high school diploma or equivalent and a minimum of 30 credits in land surveying-related curriculum along with six years of approved experience**.

   §15–305 (f) Non-academic Option –Applicants can satisfy the licensing requirement with a high school diploma or equivalent and nine years of approved experience.

   ** The board may allow one year of experience credit for each 30 semester hours or its equivalent that an applicant completes in land surveying-related courses that the board approves, with a three-year maximum.

3. What qualifies as approved experience?
   Maryland law requires that applicants for a professional land surveyor’s license meet minimum levels of experience in addition to examinations. To meet diverse pre-licensing experience requirements, the board established recommendation criteria and tasks according to surveying category. These guidelines can be found online. Experience and/or education requirements must be met prior to applying

4. What exams are required to become a licensed professional land surveyor?
   Maryland regulations require passing of the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS), Principles and Practice of Surveying(PS) administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), and state-specific exams as part of any of the licensing options. Visit NCEES’s examination page for more information on the FS examination and PS examination.

5. What are the state-specific exams required for Maryland?
   Maryland requires that each applicant pass two state-specific exams.

   1. Maryland Law and Ethics: 2-hour, open book exam, with 60 multiple-choice questions covering Maryland laws and regulations for professional land surveyors.
   2. Maryland Storm Drain and Road Grade Design: 4-hour, open book exam covering principles and practice problem-solving. Calculators are allowed. The state-specific application fee is $60.00 (non-refundable) plus $39.00 per exam.

6. How do I report my work experience to the board?
   Your work experience is reported by filling out a Report of Professional Experience (RPE) Form. This form must be started by the applicant and completed by the person in Responsible Charge who is verifying your experience. The board must receive this form directly from the responsible official (not the applicant).

7. What are the educational requirements if I have a foreign degree?
   Applicants applying for licensure that possess a foreign degree must obtain a course-by-course evaluation of their degree from an approved evaluation service. The evaluation company used must be a member of NACES. The evaluation company must receive transcripts directly from the college or university. The evaluation company must then send the completed evaluation directly to the Maryland Board for Professional Land Surveyors.

8. What is the application process?
   The following steps are required to become licensed in Maryland:

   1. Review qualifications to determine licensing option (approved curriculum or non-academic)
   2. Create an NCEES account
   3. Apply to the state of Maryland for a license by examination.
      • Register for and pass the FS exam.
      • Pay licensing fee
      • Submit transcripts, RPE forms, professional references and any other relevant supporting documents
   4. Wait for board approval (board approves applications during each monthly meeting)
   5. Register for and pass the PS and the Maryland State Exams.
   6. Confirming to the board that you passed all required exams
   7. License is released

9. Can I use my current license to become licensed in the state of Maryland?
   A person may not offer or provide land surveying or property line surveying without a Maryland license. An applicant who is licensed to practice surveying in another jurisdiction of the United States may qualify for licensure by reciprocity if he or she provides adequate evidence that, at the time he or she was licensed in another jurisdiction, he or she met requirements that were equivalent to those required by Maryland; AND provides meets the requirements currently required by the laws of Maryland, and having passed two State-Specific Examinations:

   Maryland Law and Ethics
   Storm Drain and Road Grade Design

10. My license is about to expire. What is the process for renewal?
    You can renew your license within 60 days of the expiry by visiting the board’s license renewal and reinstatement page. To renew your license, you will need to log in with your username and password (or create one), fill out the application, pay the $86.00 renewal fee, and certify that you have completed your required Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) units.

11. My license is expired. What is the procedure to get it reinstated?
    To reinstate your license you will need to log in with your username and password (or create one), fill out the application, pay the license and reinstatement fees. You will be required to certify that you have completed the required Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) units and completed any additional instructions. All reinstatement applicants are subject to a CPC audit.

12. What are the fees for licensure in the state of Maryland?
    View a list of all fees related to licensure. Maryland fees are set by law and regulation and are subject to change.

13. What types of payments are accepted online?
    Most credit cards are accepted for online payments with the exception of American Express.

14. I met all of the requirements. How will I receive my license?
    The Board will email a link with instructions for accessing and printing a PDF of your license.

15. What are the CPC requirements for a professional land surveyor?
    Land surveyors in Maryland are required to complete a minimum of 24 Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) during each individual two-year licensing term. View secific CPC information online.

16. How long is my license valid?
    Each professional land surveyor’s license is valid for a two-year term.

17. How do I get another copy of my license if it is lost or misplaced?
    A printable copy will be available upon logging into the licensing portal. Your 5-digit state issued registration number and PIN/PASSWORD are sent to the email listed in the license file. For accuracy, please copy and paste the password exactly as it is written in the email.

18. How do I change my address and/or contact information on my license?
    Using your license/registration number and PIN/password, log in to the electronic licensing portal’s information change page . There is no fee for making changes to your information.

19. How do I recover my PIN/password?
    You can go to the logging into the home screen and select “Forgot My Password” for instructions on resetting your password.

20. How do I change my name on my license?
    To change the name on your license, you must provide a copy of an official legal document reflecting your new name (e.g., court document, marriage certificate, etc.) to the Board for Professional Land Surveyors. The legal documents can be submitted by email or uploading them. The electronic name change form can be found on the Professional Land Surveyors’ website under Change Your Information.

21. I operate a business that provides land surveying services. Do I need a permit?
    The state of Maryland requires a firm permit for corporations and partnerships that are practicing, offering to practice, or representing to practice land surveying services. Firm permits are not required for entities operating as sole proprietorship. If you are unsure as to whether you require a permit, contact our board staff.