To meet Virginia land surveyor license requirements, you have to earn a Surveyor-in-Training (SIT) designation, log at least four years of approved surveying experience under a licensed Professional Land Surveyor, pass four separate examinations, and submit a $150 application to the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). The license is issued by the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers, and Landscape Architects (the APELSCIDLA Board), and the steps have to happen in order.
Start With the Surveyor-in-Training Designation
The SIT is the regulatory halfway point, not an informal title. You qualify based on your education, pass the Fundamentals of Surveying exam, and only then begin logging the experience that counts toward full licensure. Without an SIT designation, the Board will not approve you to sit for the licensing exams.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-300 – Requirements for Surveyor-in-Training Designation
Virginia recognizes eight qualification tracks for the SIT, and the pre-SIT experience you need depends on how much formal education you bring:
- A bachelor’s degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited surveying or surveying technology program: no experience required. Students within 12 months of finishing such a program can also apply.
- A bachelor’s degree in a surveying-related field: at least one year of approved experience.
- A bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field plus 30 credit hours of approved surveying coursework: at least two years of experience.
- A board-approved bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field alone: at least two years of experience.
- A related associate degree: at least four years of experience.
- A board-approved apprenticeship with at least 480 hours of surveying-related classroom instruction: six years of experience.
- A high school diploma with coursework in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry: at least eight years of experience.
Approved college credits can substitute for experience on most tracks at a rate of one year for every 40 credit hours, but credits already used to satisfy a degree requirement cannot be counted a second time.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-300 – Requirements for Surveyor-in-Training Designation
The SIT application fee is $85.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-280 – Fee Schedule
Log Four Years of Approved Experience
After you hold the SIT designation, you need at least four years of approved land surveying experience before the Board will let you sit for the licensing exams.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-310 – Requirements for the Land Surveyor License The experience must be progressive and supervised by a licensed Professional Land Surveyor. The Board expects real fieldwork: boundary retracement, plat preparation, geodetic control surveys, and hands-on use of surveying instruments. Office-based work like drafting and data analysis can count toward part of the requirement, but the bulk of your hours should be field operations.
You submit a detailed work history and professional references from supervising surveyors. NCEES requires five references, at least three of whom must currently be licensed surveyors in the United States. References cannot be relatives, and all five must be signed within the past 12 months.4NCEES. Professional Reference FAQs The Board can request additional documentation such as work samples or project records, and if it finds deficiencies it can require supplemental experience before approving you.
Pass Four Exams in the Right Order
Virginia’s licensing process involves four separate exams. The sequence matters, because you cannot sit for the later exams until you have passed the earlier ones and met the associated experience thresholds.
Fundamentals of Surveying
The Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) exam is the first test in the sequence and a prerequisite for the SIT designation. Administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), it is a computer-based exam with 110 questions and a six-hour time limit that includes a tutorial and an optional break.5NCEES. Fundamentals of Surveying CBT Exam Specifications It covers seven topic areas: surveying processes and methods, mapping, boundary law and real property principles, surveying principles, computations and computer applications, business concepts, and applied mathematics.6NCEES. Fundamentals of Surveying FS Exam
You can take the FS while still completing your education if you are within 12 months of finishing your degree. Passing early means the clock on your four-year experience requirement starts sooner.
Principles and Practice of Surveying
Once you hold the SIT and have finished your four years of approved experience, you become eligible for the Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) exam. Also administered by NCEES, it is a computer-based exam with 100 questions.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-350 – Examinations It tests higher-level competencies including geodesy, boundary law, legal descriptions, and professional practice. The exam fee is $375, paid directly to NCEES.8Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Land Surveyor Examination and Education
Virginia State-Specific Exam and Board Regulations Exam
Virginia requires two additional exams beyond the NCEES tests: a state-specific land surveying exam and a separate exam on the Board’s regulations.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-310 – Requirements for the Land Surveyor License The state-specific exam covers Virginia property law, easements, subdivision regulations, VDOT standards, and riparian rights. The regulations exam tests knowledge of the Board’s rules and standards of practice. Both are administered by the APELSCIDLA Board at scheduled times, and applications must be received at least 130 days before the exam date.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-350 – Examinations Miss that deadline and you wait for the next administration cycle.
You receive your license only after passing all four exams and meeting every other Board requirement.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-310 – Requirements for the Land Surveyor License
Submit the Application and Fees
DPOR manages all applications for the APELSCIDLA Board. Your submission includes the completed application, official transcripts, a record of your professional experience, proof of passing the required exams, and your professional references. Incomplete applications stall the process, so verify everything before submitting.9Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects
The Board’s fees are nonrefundable and cannot be prorated. The SIT application is $85, the initial land surveyor license application is $150, and licensure by comity is also $150. These are separate from the NCEES exam fees, which you pay directly to NCEES when you register.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-280 – Fee Schedule
Coming In From Another State
If you already hold a land surveyor license in another state, Virginia offers a comity pathway rather than starting you over. The application fee is $150.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-280 – Fee Schedule
To qualify, you must show that the education, experience, and exam requirements under which you were originally licensed were substantially equivalent to Virginia’s requirements at the time. You must be in good standing in every jurisdiction where you hold a license, and you must pass Virginia’s state-specific exam. There is no waiver for that exam, even for experienced out-of-state surveyors. If your original jurisdiction had weaker requirements than Virginia, the Board evaluates you against Virginia’s current entry standards, which may mean additional coursework or experience.10Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-360 – Licensure by Comity
Renewal and Continuing Education
Virginia land surveyor licenses renew every two years, and you cannot practice with an expired license.11Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-670 – Renewal The renewal fee is $180.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-280 – Fee Schedule Virginia law also requires 16 professional development hours (PDH) per two-year renewal cycle.12Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia Title 54.1 Chapter 4 – Architects, Engineers, Surveyors Keep records of completed continuing education for three years from your license expiration date, because the Board audits and can request proof at any time.13Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-683 – Continuing Education Requirements for Renewal
A late fee applies if you go more than 30 days past expiration, and letting the license lapse for more than six months triggers reinstatement instead of renewal, with escalating surcharges the longer it stays expired.14Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-680 – Reinstatement
Practicing Without a License
The APELSCIDLA Board can issue cease and desist orders against anyone practicing or offering to practice land surveying without a license, and it can impose a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation.15Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia Title 54.1 Chapter 4 – Section 54.1-402.2 The practical consequences extend past the fine. An unlicensed survey has no legal standing, so boundary determinations, plats, and legal descriptions produced without a license can be challenged or thrown out. If you are working toward licensure, do not represent yourself as a land surveyor or sign off on survey work before your license is in hand.
Character and Disciplinary Issues That Can Block Approval
The Board screens every applicant for what its regulations call “good moral character,” meaning you have not committed any act involving dishonesty, fraud, misrepresentation, or negligence related to the practice of surveying within the ten years before your application.16Virginia Register of Regulations. 18VAC10-20 Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects Regulations – Section 18VAC10-20-10 Definitions Criminal convictions involving fraudulent land transactions, falsified survey records, or misrepresentation in professional services carry real weight. Minor offenses do not automatically disqualify you, but expect to provide explanations and evidence of rehabilitation.
Disciplinary history from other states matters too. If your license has been revoked, suspended, or surrendered in lieu of discipline anywhere, Virginia can deny your application outright.16Virginia Register of Regulations. 18VAC10-20 Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects Regulations – Section 18VAC10-20-10 Definitions Providing false information on the application, including failing to disclose prior disciplinary actions, can lead to immediate disqualification. Once you are licensed, you remain under the Board’s disciplinary authority at all times, including during periods when the license is expired.