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TITLE 68: PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS

CHAPTER VII: DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION

PART 1270 ILLINOIS PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR ACT OF 1989

SECTION 1270.56 MINIMUM STANDARDS OF PRACTICE

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Section 1270.56 Minimum Standards of Practice

The minimum standards of practice set forth in this Section are intended to provide protection for

the public

insuring

that surveying services defined in this Section are completed in accordance

with prevailing

professional

practices and

current technological methods, and to provide a means

by which professional

performance of the

individual practitioner

can be assessed. These standards

are to be binding upon every

person and firm practicing

land surveying in the State of

Illinois,

except where differing federal, State or local

laws, ordinances or rules may

be more stringent, or

when special

conditions exist that effectively prevent the

survey from meeting these

minimum

standards. When special conditions

exist any necessary deviations from

the standards shall be

noted

on the plat of survey. It shall be a violation of this Part

to use special conditions

circumvent the intent and

purpose of the minimum standards. Any of the professional

services set

forth in

this Section are greatly

influenced by the evaluation of recorded information and field

observations,

and all

those services shall be

accomplished in compliance with these standards to

ensure that they are located,

described and platted in a

professional manner. All terms used in

these Minimum Standards of Practice shall

interpreted to agree with

the definitions of those

terms in the most current publication of Black's Law

Dictionary,

Definitions of Surveying

and

Associated Terms published by the American Congress on Surv

eying

and Mapping

(

ACSM

) and

the

American Society of Civil Engineers (

ASCE

), and Glossary of the Mapping

Sciences published

American

Society for Photogrammetry

and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), ACSM and the

ASCE.

ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey.

1) An ALTA/ACSM land title survey is a specialized survey that meets the specific needs

peculiar to title

insurance

purposes, to enable title insurance companies to insure title to land

without exceptions as to survey

matters.

2) All land title surveys shall be subject to the "2005 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements

for

ALTA/ACSM

Land Title Surveys", published jointly by the American Land Title Association

(ALTA), 1828 L.

St., N.W., Suite 705,

Washington, D.C. 20036; the American Congress on

Surveying and Mapping (ACSM),

Montgomery Village Avenue,

Suite #403, Gaithersburg MD

20879; and the National Society of Professional

Surveyors (NSPS), 6 Montgomery Village

Avenue,

Suite #403, Gaithersburg MD 20879. This incorporation

does not include any later amendments or

editions.

3) All ALTA/ACSM land title surveys are to be performed to the current ALTA/ACSM

Minimum

Standard

Detail

Requirements. It is incumbent upon the licensed professional land

surveyor to discuss with

the client

additional or

optional requirements to be provided.

Boundary Survey

1) A boundary survey is a land survey that requires study, investigation and evaluation of

major factors

affecting

and influencing the location of boundary lines and that culminates in the

deliberate location or

relocation

of the

perimeters, division lines or boundaries of a certain lot,

parcel or quantity of real estate,

according to the

record title

description of the parcel or parent

tract. This description should be furnished by

the client, unless

otherwise jointly

agreed upon by

the client and surveyor.

2) The purpose of a boundary survey is to establish or re-establish the extent of title lines,

and to define

and

identify those lines so as to uniquely locate each lot, parcel or other specific land

area in relation to well

recognized and

established points of reference, adjoining properties, and

rights of way.

3) A boundary survey shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

A) Clear and legible field notes containing all pertinent information, measurements and

observations made

the

course of the field survey.

B) Unless requested otherwise by the client or his/her agent, a plat of survey.

C) A legal description for any parcel surveyed.

D) Unless requested otherwise by the client or his/her agent, monuments or witness points

shall be set

for

all

accessible corners of the survey.

4) Information Research Required. Sufficient information to perform the survey shall be

either

furnished

by the

client and/or his/her agent or obtained by the surveyor by agreement with

the client. The

following

appropriate factors

must be evaluated by the surveyor:

A) A property description describing the subject parcel. If, in the opinion of the surveyor, the

description

furnished

or obtained is insufficient to fully define the extent or location of the parcel to

be surveyed due to

ambiguity or calls for

adjoining deeds, prior recorded survey plats, etc., it is the

duty of the client (unless

agreed

upon otherwise) to furnish

the additional information requested by

the surveyor. This is not to be

construed to

indicate that the surveyor has an

obligation to research

the title of record.

B) A reproduction of the recorded subdivision plat that created the subject lot, block or parcel.

C) A reproduction of the Government Township Plat and pertinent Monument Records if the

survey is of

section

or aliquot part of a section.

D) Relevant data provided by the client regarding special circumstances, such as unrecorded

easements,

judgements or Court decrees that may influence the location of boundaries of the

survey.

5) Monuments. Monuments set or called for, whether artificial or natural, bear witness to the

footsteps

surveyor and his/her professional opinion as to the proper marking of a desired

position. Monumentation

for

public land

survey systems corners shall be in accordance with the

Land Survey Monuments Act. The

following

shall be

considered acceptable types of artificial

monuments for all other corners:

Types

i) Iron bars or rods shall be a minimum of ½" in diameter by 24" in length. Iron pipes shall

be a

minimum

of ½"

in diameter by 24" in length, with a minimum wall thickness of ⅛". Where

rocky soils

prevent specified

lengths, the

bar, rod or pipe should be driven to refusal at depths

where it will remain stable.

ii) Concrete monuments shall be a minimum size of 5" in diameter by 24" in length, or 4"

square by 24"

length,

and shall have a precise corner mark and shall be reinforced by at least a

¼" re-bar or ½" or larger

iron

pipe.

iii) Stone monuments shall be a minimum size of 4" square by 24" in length and shall have a

precise

corner

mark.

iv) Commercial cast iron or aluminum survey markers no less than 24" in length. Non-ferrous

markers

shall have

ceramic magnets attached to aid in recovery.

v) Other monuments, such as drill holes, chiseled marks in stone, concrete or steel, punch

marks,

precast

bronze

discs, nails or spikes, etc., shall be of sufficient size, diameter or depth to be

definitive, stable

and readily

identified as a

survey marker. Objects upon which the marks or

markers are placed shall be of a

stable and

permanent nature.

Requirements

i) Where placement of corner monuments is a condition of the survey and it is physically

impossible or

impractical

to set a monument at the corner, a witness corner or corners will be set,

or noted if existing

witness

corners are found.

Witness corners shall be referenced to the survey

corner or survey lines.

ii) Monuments must be set to a sufficient depth so as to retain a stable and distinctive

location. Material

and size

for monuments shall be chosen in regard to the terrain and situation that

exists at the site of the

survey.

All monuments

shall be set vertically whenever possible.

6) Plats. On all boundary surveys the completed plat shall be drawn on a stable and durable

medium

with a

minimum size of 8½" by 11" and shall contain the following:

A) Firm name, address and registration number.

B) Professional land surveyor seal, signature, date of signing, and license expiration date.

Rubber-stamp

signatures,

computer generated signatures or other reproduced signatures are

prohibited.

C) Client's name.

D) North arrow.

E) Scale-written or graphic.

F) Date of completion of field work.

G) Legal description of the property.

H) Legend for all symbols and abbreviations used on the plat.

I) Monuments or witness corners, whether set or found, intended to represent or reference

corners of

the

survey,

shall be shown and described as to size, shape and material, and their

positions noted in relation to

the

survey corners.

J) Sufficient angles, bearings or azimuths, linear dimensions and curve data must be shown

on the plat

provide a

mathematically closed figure for the exterior of the survey. Where record

angular dimensions,

bearings or azimuths,

linear dimensions or curve data exist, such data shall be

shown on the plat and

distinguished from measured dimensions

or data. Area of the survey is to

be shown on the face of the plat

unless otherwise requested by the client.

K) Where bearing, azimuth or coordinate systems are used, the basis or proper names of the

system shall

noted

on the plat.

L) If the survey is a parcel in a recorded subdivision, any adjacent rights of way or

easements and

setback

lines

shown on the recorded plat that affect the subject parcel are to be

shown and dimensioned.

M) Visible physical evidence of possession or occupation either way from the exterior lines of

the survey

shall be

shown and dimensioned.

N) Show visible evidence of improvements, rights of way, easements, or use when requested

by the

client.

O) Exculpatory statements that attempt to restrict the uses of boundary surveys shall not be

affixed to

any

plat.

P) The following statement shall be placed near the professional land surveyor seal and

signature: "This

professional service conforms to the current Illinois minimum standards for a

boundary survey."

7) Field Procedures. All field work shall be performed by a professional land surveyor or a

person under

his/her

direct control and supervision in accordance with accepted methods of

surveying theory, practice and

procedures. It is

the responsibility of the professional land surveyor

to insure conformance with the following

specific requirements:

A) All surveying instruments shall be kept in proper adjustment and calibration.

B) All corners or monuments called for in the information provided or obtained under

subsection (b)(4)

that

affect

the location of the boundaries of the land to be surveyed shall be

physically searched for in a

methodical

and meticulous

fashion. Each corner or monument

recovered shall be evaluated as to its

agreement by

description and location with the

information in

subsection (b)(4).

C) Other evidence that could influence the location of the lines or corners of the survey shall

be located

and

evaluated.

D) When the survey is of an aliquot or divisional part of a larger tract, sufficient field work

must be

performed to

ensure that the existence of excess or deficiency, if any, in the parent tract

can be determined

and

distributed by the

professional judgment of the surveyor.

E) All field data, including electronic field notes, shall be retained in a legible and orderly

fashion that will

understandable to other surveyors.

8) It shall be the responsibility of each professional land surveyor to monitor his/her work

and that of

those

working under his/her supervision, so that the methods used to perform the

survey and produce the plat

and/or

report

will be of such quality that the accuracy, precision and

positional tolerance of the final product

delivered

to his/her client

will equal or exceed that which

would be provided by another competent surveyor

under similar

circumstances.

c) Condominium Surveys. Condominium surveys are a specialized class of boundary

surveys and are

governed by

the Condominium Property Act [765 ILCS 605]. The plat

requirements referred to in Section 5

that Act must be the

result of actual field measurements

and are not to be transcribed from plans or other

informational materials. The

exterior boundaries

of a condominium parcel shall be monumented as required by

the Plat Act [765 ILCS 205]. Notes

on the condominium plat must indicate whether the interior

measurements

shown are referring to

finished or unfinished

surfaces or planes and what data was used for

any elevations

depicted on the

plat.

Subdivision Surveys

1) Subdivision surveys are properly included in the boundary survey category and are

primarily governed

by the

Plat Act. Subdivision surveys differ from the typical boundary survey in

that monumentation for

subdivision surveys is

mandatory according to the statute. All exterior

corners of the subdivision must be

monumented prior to recordation of

the subdivision plat. If, in

the opinion of the subdividing surveyor, a

disportionate number of interior monuments would

destroyed by grading, utility installation, etc.,

monumentation of the interior corners may be

delayed unless local

regulations or ordinances specify

otherwise.

Interior corners of the

subdivision must be monumented prior to the

conveyance of any lot, block,

parcel or unit

within

the subdivision and in all cases the monumentation must be in place

within 12 months

after the

recording

date of the subdivision plat. All of the interior corners subject to delayed staking

shall be

denoted on the record

plat as "to be set", either by labeling or appropriate symbols. Upon

completion of the

monumentation the

subdividing surveyor shall file an affidavit with the Recorder

of the county in which the

subdivision

is located

certifying that the monumentation of the

subdivision has been completed. The affidavit

shall include the name

the subdivision, date of

plat recording and recording location information (book and

page and/or document

number).

2) Vertical subdivisions, i.e., subdivisions that divide property by horizontal, vertical, and

oblique planes,

require

that all exterior boundary corners of the subdivision be monumented at its

ground elevation prior to

recordation of the

subdivision plat. The physical features, if any,

controlling the limits of the subdivided

property

must be defined on the

subdivision plat. The

datum used to control the dividing horizontal planes

must be

defined on the subdivision plat

together with the benchmark used to determine the elevations of these

planes.

The interior corners

or any lot or block

corners other than those that are required for monumenting

the exterior

boundary corners do not require monumentation.

e) Mortgage Inspection. A Mortgage Inspection does not approach the standards of other

survey

categories,

though by the provisions of Section 5 of the Illinois Professional Land Survey

Act of 1989 [225

ILCS

330/5] the

services of an Illinois Professional Land Surveyor are required.

A mortgage inspection is not

a type

of boundary survey

or ALTA/ACSM survey and does not

constitute a boundary survey of the subject

real

property. A mortgage inspection

includes field

investigation, measurements and graphic representation of

improvements.

1) Purpose. The mortgage inspection is intended for use by a mortgage lender and/or title

insurer and is

only a

professional opinion of the relationship of improvements with respect to the

deed lines and the

existence,

location and

type of building on the property, the intent of which is to

assist in the determination of

the

property's suitability to serve

as collateral for a mortgage. It is

not an opinion as to deed, title or platted

lines. It

is not to be used in matters of

boundary disputes,

legal actions between landowners, or for

construction

purposes. No new legal descriptions can be

created from a mortgage inspection.

2) Product. A complete mortgage inspection will produce a drawing entitled "Mortgage

Inspection" and,

required, a written report of the surveyor's findings and determinations.

Information

A) The following information shall be furnished by the client and/or his/her agent:

i) Legal description and address for the tract of land.

ii) Copy of commitment of title insurance for the tract of land, if possible.

B) The following information shall be obtained by the surveyor:

i) Copy of recorded subdivision plats (if applicable).

ii) Recorded section corner tie monuments and original government surveys (if applicable).

iii) Other necessary surveying information.

4) Monuments. No monuments shall be set.

5) Tolerances. Tolerances cannot be mandated for a mortgage inspection since the very

nature of

recovering deed

lines and other information for that purpose precludes a rigid adherence

to any standard value.

6) Field Procedures. The following procedures should generally be considered as minimum,

but

deviations

dictated by specific conditions shall be allowed:

A) Preliminary search and recovery of existing monument evidence.

B) Field location of tract through measurement from some controlling locations, such as:

street

intersection,

subdivision corner, section corners, etc., sufficient to eliminate the possibility of

gross error in

location of the premises.

C) Through field measurements, locate and dimension relevant improvements.

D) If evidence of deed lines does not exist, the surveyor is obligated to refuse to perform a

mortgage

inspection

until satisfactory evidence is obtained, either through a boundary survey or a

land title survey.

E) If evidence exists of the possibility that the improvements on the subject property or

adjoining

property

are on

or very near the apparent deed lines, the surveyor is obligated to note

his/her findings and

recommend that

a boundary

survey or land title survey be performed.

Drawing

A) Minimum size: 8½" x 11".

B) The drawing shall be entitled:

MORTGAGE INSPECTION

THIS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A BOUNDARY SURVEY

(The above two lines shall be of the same letter size and shall be twice the letter size of all other

lettering on

the

drawing.)

C) A North arrow, scale of drawing, date and drawing legend shall be included.

D) Building dimensions and type of structure shall be shown.

E) Boundary dimensions shown shall be based on the public record or description provided;

field

measurements do

not need to be shown.

F) No dimensional ties from structures or other improvements to apparent deed lines are

required.

G) The legal description of the tract shall be given on the face of the drawing.

H) Use of the word "survey" in the title, or any implication in a certification that this drawing

represents a

"survey",

is prohibited.

I) Professional land surveyor seal, signature, date of signing, and license expiration date.

Rubber-stamp

signatures, computer-generated signatures or other reproduced signatures are

prohibited.

J) Address of the tract.

K) No found corner, boundary line or other survey monumentation shall be shown on the

drawing.

L) Preceding the legal description and in the same size letters as the legal description the

following

statement shall

appear:

"This mortgage inspection and drawing is not a boundary survey or plat of survey. This mortgage

inspection

was

prepared to assist the mortgage company and title insurance company and is not to

be used for any

purposes of

boundary disputes, location of actual deed, title or platted lines, or for

construction of new

improvements. Graphic

representation shall be deemed approximate and no

reliance should be placed on the

scale of the drawing."

M) The following statement shall be placed immediately above the signature of the surveyor

and in the

same

size

letters as the legal description:

"This professional service conforms to the current Illinois minimum standards of practice for a

mortgage

inspection and

is not a boundary survey."

Topographic Survey

1) Topographic Survey. A topographic survey is the delineation of horizontal and/or vertical

locations of

the

existing natural or man-made features of a portion of the earth's surface,

subsurface or airspace and the

graphic

representation of the results of such delineation.

Topographic surveys that also depict land boundaries

shall be entitled

"Boundary and Topographic

Survey" or "ALTA/ACSM Land Title and Topographic Survey",

and

shall be subject to the

current

minimum standards established for the ALTA/ACSM Land Title Surveys or

Boundary Surveys by

this Part,

except where differing federal, State or local laws, ordinances or rules may be

stringent. When the position and/or

extent of a topographic survey is not defined by land

boundaries,

enough information must be shown on the survey to

enable the client to locate the

survey on the ground. A

licensed professional engineer knowledgeable in topographical

survey

may perform a topographic survey

specific

to his/her design project. A licensed professional

engineer may not,

however, offer topographic

surveying

services independent of his/her specific

design project.

2) Information Research Required. Sufficient information to perform the survey shall be

furnished by

the

client or

his/her agent or obtained by the surveyor by agreement with the client.

The following appropriate

factors must be

evaluated by the surveyor.

A) A specific description of the survey site, along with designated areas outside the actual

survey site

where

topographic information is required.

B) The location, description, datum and elevation of all benchmarks to be used for the

survey. The

datum

should

be based on a nationally accepted datum whenever practical, unless

instructed otherwise by the

client or

as mandated by

a governmental organization having

jurisdiction in the area the survey is located.

C) The location and description of all horizontal control points to be used for the survey.

D) If contour lines are required by the client, the contour interval should be agreed upon by

the surveyor

and client.

E) Location and elevations of utilities is often an important part of a topographic survey. The

surveyor

and

client

must have a clear understanding of which utilities are to be located and what

information on each

utility is

to be shown.

F) The surveyor shall be furnished a clear, concise description of the intended use of the

survey.

Field Requirements

A) All surveying instruments shall be kept in proper adjustment and calibration.

B) The surveyor may apply procedures that most efficiently meet the requirements of the

client without

sacrificing

the accuracy of the acquired information.

C) All field data, including electronic field notes, shall be retained in a legible and orderly

fashion that will

understandable to other surveyors.

4) Plats. On all topographic surveys, the completed plat shall be drawn on a stable and

durable medium

with a

minimum size of 8½" by 11" and shall contain the following:

A) Firm name, address and registration number.

B) Professional land surveyor seal, signature, date of signing, and license expiration date.

C) "This professional service conforms to the current Illinois minimum standards for

topographic

surveys."

This

statement shall be placed near the professional land surveyor seal and

signature.

D) Client's name.

E) North arrow.

F) Date of completion of field work.

G) Scale as agreed upon by surveyor and client.

H) Location and elevation of benchmarks at or near the survey shall be shown, and the datum

noted.

I) Legend for all symbols and abbreviations used on the plat.

J) If elevation points are to be shown, such elevations shall be shown to the nearest one-

hundredth of a

foot on

hard surfaces and to the nearest tenth of a foot elsewhere, unless requested

otherwise by the client.

K) Description of horizontal control points used in the survey, which shall be noted and shall

be shown

the plat

if possible.

L) The location of permanent structures, including buildings, retaining walls, bridges,

culverts, street or

road

paving and sidewalks.

M) Existing contour lines indicating the relief of the entire parcel, unless required otherwise by

the client.

Elevation

points, if shown, may be in a grid pattern or at high points, low points and

grade changes, a

combination of both

methods, or at locations requested by the client.

N) Location and water surface elevations of lakes, rivers, streams and drainage courses on or

near the

surveyed

parcel, and direction of flow if any.

O) If boundary line information is shown on the plat, the source of the boundary line

information.

P) If topographic information is to be delivered via electronic media, a suitable format shall be

agreed

upon. In

every case, the surveyor shall also provide a signed and sealed hard copy drawing

or representation

the survey. This

drawing shall be the official survey and shall be deemed to be

correct and superior to the

electronic data.

(Source: Amended at 31 Ill. Reg. 1832, effective January 8, 2007)

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SAMBORSKI, MATTIS, INC.

Quality Since 1936

Illinois Minimum Standards of Practice

Professional
Survey Services

Quality Surveying
Since 1936