Rule 180-4-.02. Experience

In evaluating experience offered by an applicant to qualify under O.C.G.A. § 43-15-13, the Board will consider the following factors:

1. (a) Prior Education. The applicant's prior education at the time the experience was acquired will be considered. Land surveying experience gained prior to completion of at least nine hours of the required eighteen semester hours of land surveying course work shall be credited to the applicant at a maximum rate of 50% credit, and at the discretion of the board.

2. (b) Kind of Experience.

   1. 1. The experience should involve the special knowledge of the mathematical and physical sciences including those of the land surveying profession. It should also involve the preparation and interpretation of maps, plats, and other related data, as used in the land surveying profession.
   2. 2. A maximum of one year of experience equivalent may be granted for successful completion of undergraduate or graduate studies in a curriculum of land surveying, geomatics, civil engineering, civil engineering technology, or law, provided that any such education record to be applied as experience equivalent is in addition to the education used to meet the education requirement for O.C.G.A. § 43-15-13.

3. (c) Quality of Experience.

   1. 1. The quality of experience should demonstrate that the applicant has developed technical skills and initiative in the correct application of land surveying. The experience should also demonstrate sound judgment in the application of principles and in review of such applications of principles by others. It should also indicate the capacity to assume responsibility for work of a highly technical character.
   2. 2. Experience credit will not be granted if the experience is determined by the Board to be the unlicensed practice of land surveying.
   3. 3. For experience evaluated in regard to O.C.G.A. § 43-15-13,"responsible charge" shall consist of working independently in a leadership and/or decision-making role where the applicant is directly responsible for progress of land surveying projects, provided however that all such experience shall be under the direct supervisory control on a daily basis by a professional land surveyor as required by O.C.G.A. § 43-15-22. Work in responsible charge reflects the applicant's ability to take land surveying projects from beginning to finished product and shall demonstrate the ability to competently complete all research prior to field work, competently perform a compliant field traverse that adequately identifies all applicable field evidence and elements of possession, properly analyze all field work through thorough calculations and evaluation, and prepare maps and plats that adequately depict all required elements of such maps and plats. A minimum of twenty-four months of the required experience shall be in the form of an apprenticeship. Said apprenticeship shall consist of work experience in responsible charge of land surveying projects under the direct supervision and tutelage of a professional land surveyor and will not be recognized as beginning until at least nine of the eighteen required semester hours of land surveying course work have been successfully completed. The board shall provide an endorsement form specifically for the supervising professional land surveyor regarding the apprenticeship of the applicant. The apprenticeship shall be strictly full-time work experience. The supervising professional land surveyor shall agree to focusing on the applicant's proficiency in a minimum of 3 prescribed skill sets and evaluate the applicant on such proficiency at the conclusion of the apprenticeship. The prescribed skill sets shall be boundary surveying, topographic surveying, and a third skill set to be chosen from GPS/GNSS surveying, Geographic Information Systems, construction layout, or photogrammetry (which may include LIDAR collection and laser scanning) or other skill sets acceptable to the Board. The supervising professional land surveyor must attest that in his or her opinion the applicant is competent to practice land surveying in the state of Georgia.
4. (d) Scope. The experience should demonstrate sufficient breadth and scope within the basic land surveying field rather than highly specialized technical skill in a very narrow and limited branch of that field.
5. (e) Progression. The record of work experience should indicate successive and continued progress from initial work of simple character to recent work of greater complexity, difficulty, and responsibility.
6. (f) Capacity and Viewpoint. The record of experience should indicate that the applicant has attained those attributes of clear thinking and keen analysis essential to competence.

Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 43-1-25, 43-15-4, 43-15-6, 43-15-13, 43-15-15.

History. Original Rule was filed and effective on June 30, 1965.

Amended: Original Rule entitled "Acceptance by Advanced Degree" repealed by Emergency Rule entitled "Education." Filed and effective on July 31, 1975, for a period of 120 days or until a permanent Rule covering the same subject matter has been adopted superseding this Emergency Rule.

Amended: Permanent Rule adopted. Filed November 4, 1975; effective November 24, 1975.

Repealed: New Rule entitled "Experience" adopted. F. Aug. 9, 1990; eff. Aug. 29, 1990.

Repealed: New Rule of the same title adopted. F. Apr. 4, 2011; eff. Apr. 24, 2011.

Amended: F. Jan. 15, 2026; eff. Feb. 4, 2026.