Licensed Land Surveyors in Texas
Who can survey land in Texas
Land surveyors are licensed by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) as Registered Professional Land Surveyors (RPLS). A business that offers surveying to the public must also register with the board as a surveying firm and employ an RPLS full-time. Each branch office is registered separately.
Some RPLS also hold a Licensed State Land Surveyor (LSLS) license, which lets them survey land the state or the Permanent School Fund has an interest in. A Surveyor Intern (SIT) is in training and is not licensed to practice as an RPLS.
How to check a surveyor before you hire
- Look up the surveyor on the TBPELS RPLS roster search (opens in new tab) and the firm on the surveying firm search (opens in new tab). The status should read Registered.
- Ask for the RPLS number of the surveyor who will seal your survey, and the firm's registration number.
- Every listing on this site shows both numbers, the roster date, and the surveyors the board links to each office.
Since September 1, 2023, the board no longer publishes individual surveyors' mailing addresses or phone numbers, to comply with Senate Bill 510. Firm offices are still listed with their business address.
How someone becomes an RPLS
- Board-approved education (updated requirements took effect January 1, 2026)
- Boundary surveying experience and three references from licensed surveyors
- The national Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) exam, then the Texas Specific Surveying Exam
- A criminal history check
Licenses and firm registrations renew every year. The 2026 RPLS renewal window runs November 1 to December 31, and firms must renew before January 1 to keep offering services. That's why we show “registered as of” the roster date rather than an expiration date.
Buying a home: can you reuse the existing survey?
Often, yes. Texas title rules let a title company accept an existing survey instead of a new one. For a home, the seller signs a T-47 Residential Real Property Affidavit confirming nothing has changed, or since November 1, 2024 a T-47.1 declaration, which doesn't need a notary. The policy then covers the same land shown on the old survey, and the title company still decides whether the survey is acceptable.
The standard resale contract (updated January 3, 2025) lets the parties choose who provides or pays for the survey; the buyer may get a new one but isn't required to. If the house, fences or easements have changed since the old survey, expect to need a new one. See what a survey costs in Texas.
Sources: TDI Basic Manual, Procedural Rule P-2 (opens in new tab); TREC contract changes, January 2025 (opens in new tab). General information, not legal advice; confirm requirements with your title company.
Which survey you'll be asked for
Texas surveys follow the categories in the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors' Manual of Practice. A Category 1A land title survey is the one title companies use to insure title when you buy or refinance. A Category 1B standard land survey is a traditional boundary survey, not meant for title insurance.
Source: Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center (opens in new tab).