A Land Surveyor shall comply with the minimum requirements provided below for all surveys and Survey Plats prepared therefrom.

1. (1) General Property Surveys.

   1. (a) A Survey Plat shall be a copy, print or tracing on tangible media, and shall be dated, stamped, or sealed and wet ink signed by a registered Land Surveyor, responsible for the survey in compliance with applicable law. This shall include surveys in an electronic format that contain the Land Surveyor’s seal and a digital signature in reference to Rule 0820-04-.08(10).

   2. (b) A Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the following information:

      1. 1. A descriptive location of the property, surveyed or vicinity map, and a corner of the property surveyed must be tied by bearing and distance either:
   3. (i) To a corner of a subdivision,
   4. (ii) To a corner of the parent tract from which property is carved from,
   5. (iii) To a permanent identifiable corner,
   6. (iv) To a permanent identifiable reference point, or

   7. (v) To a nearest road intersection. In the case of a formation of a new tract, a tie must be made by bearing and distance to an identifiable corner of the parent tract.

      1. 2. The city or district, county, and the state where the property is located;
      2. 3. The name of the grantor or grantee of the property, or the name of the person or entity who requested or required the Survey Plat;
      3. 4. The date of the Survey Plat;
      4. 5. A graphic scale and numeral scale;
      5. 6. The name, registration number, address, company name (if applicable), email address, and telephone number of the Land Surveyor in responsible charge; and
      6. 7. A certification on the face of the final Survey Plat shall contain certification as to Category I, II, III, or IV and that the survey meets or exceeds the accuracy requirements thereof.
   8. (c) A north arrow shall be shown correlated with the courses, azimuths and/or bearings to which the survey was performed, with the source of reference clearly indicated.
   9. (d) All lines shall be defined by horizontal distances, azimuths, and/or bearings, and shall be plotted to the scale shown on the Survey Plat. Units of distance (U.S. survey feet, international feet, meter, etc.) used for the survey shall be noted on the Survey Plat.
   10. (e) Where a boundary is formed by a curve, the curve shall be defined by the arc length curve radius, chord bearing, and long chord distance.
   11. (f) The Land Surveyor shall show and label the widths and/or center lines of easements and rights-of-way within the property which are obvious and apparent. The survey shall be completed using the recorded deeds to the property and include pertinent information as described in Rule 0820-03-.06(7).
   12. (g) Boundaries formed by water course shall be located and plotted to the scale of the survey. Traverse lines and/or offset lines used to close water course boundaries shall be shown plotted to scale and defined by interior angle, azimuth, and or/ bearing and distance.

   13. (h) Monumentation requirements:

       1. 1. New property monuments, including reference monuments, shall be composed of material(s) suitable to perpetuate the position and location of the monument. A notation on the Survey Plat shall state whether the monuments were found or set and include the material and size.
       2. 2. Metal monuments shall be no less than one-half (½) inch in diameter; concrete monuments shall be no less than four (4) inches on each side or in diameter and shall contain ferrous or magnetic material; and both shall be no less than eighteen (18) inches in length unless some impregnable material is encountered.
       3. 3. No monument should be set if, in the opinion of the Land Surveyor, the existing monument is found undisturbed and adequate to perpetuate the corner position and can be reasonably made to conform to the angle point in the boundary. Large or indefinite monuments which cannot be measured to within the positional accuracy requirements contained herein, such as trees, rock piles or fence corners, may be marked with reference monuments as deemed necessary by the Land Surveyor.
       4. 4. When conditions warrant setting a reference for a monument on an offset, the location shall be selected so that the monument lies on a line of the survey, or a prolongation of such line.
       5. 5. New metal or concrete monuments set shall have an identifying mark or cap with the Land Surveyor’s registration number or company name permanently fixed upon it. Concrete monuments shall have a permanent mark for the survey point.
       6. 6. Survey points that do not divide land ownership, such as point of intersection (P.I.), centerline of water course, etc. may be established with or without monumentation at the Land Surveyor’s discretion. Newly created and/or existing public right-of-way is/are excluded and shall comply with the monumentation requirements herein.
   14. (i) In the compilation of a composite Survey Plat, the Land Surveyor shall indicate and cite the source of all lines copied from a previous survey on the Survey Plat and qualify the Survey Plat as prepared from other sources and does not represent a current survey. A composite Survey Plat may not be used for the creation of a new parcel from within a parent tract when produced in conjunction with T.C.A. § 13-4-301(4)(A) and/or T.C.A. § 13-4-301(4)(B)(i).
   15. (j) The names of adjoining land owners and deed references, if available from the county property assessor’s office. This shall include lot and/or block numbers, and highways, streets, and named waterways.
   16. (k) The point of beginning (POB) in the metes and bounds description prepared by the Land Surveyor shall be shown on the Survey Plat (except in the case of a subdivision plat).

2. (2) Topographic Surveys.

   1. (a) A Survey Plat shall be a copy print or tracing on tangible media, and shall be dated, stamped, or sealed, and signed by the registered Land Surveyor responsible for the survey, in compliance with applicable law.

   2. (b) A Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the following information:

      1. 1. A descriptive location of the property surveyed or a vicinity map;
      2. 2. The city or district, county, and the state where the property is located;
      3. 3. The name of the grantor or grantee of the property, or the name of the person or entity who requested the Survey Plat;
      4. 4. The date of the Survey Plat;
      5. 5. A graphic scale and a numerical scale; and
      6. 6. The name, registration number, company name (if applicable), email address, telephone number, and address of the Land Surveyor in responsible charge.
   3. (c) A north arrow shall be shown correlated with the horizontal datum, courses, azimuths, and/or bearings to which the survey was performed, with the source of reference clearly indicated.

   4. (d) Property lines, if shown on the Topographic Survey, shall be shown as needed and/or as deemed necessary by the Land Surveyor and shall be plotted to the scale of the Survey Plat. If shown, the following shall also be included:

      1. 1. The Land Surveyor shall show and label the widths and/or centerline of easements and rights-of-way which are obvious and apparent;
      2. 2. The cite and the source of any lines copied from other sources; and
      3. 3. The names of adjacent land owners, deed references, block numbers, highways, streets, and named waterways.
   5. (e) If limits of the topographic survey are formed by water course, then the water course shall be located and plotted to the scale shown in the title.
   6. (f) Visible, obvious, and apparent surface indications of physical features such as utilities, buildings, water bodies, etc. shall be shown and plotted to the scale of the Survey Plat.
   7. (g) Elevations shall be shown as spot elevations and/or contours. The contour interval shall be noted and shall meet national mapping accuracies.
   8. (h) An on-site project vertical benchmark shall be established with reference to the project vertical datum. The benchmark location shall be shown, adequately described, and plotted to the scale of the Survey Plat. The vertical datum referenced shall be noted on the face of the Survey Plat.
   9. (i) If contours, elevations, and/or features are generated by remote sensing methods, the Land Surveyor in responsible charge of the ground control shall certify, sign, stamp, or seal the Survey Plat for the ground control portion of the survey.

3. (3) Oil and Gas Well Location Surveys.

   1. (a) Oil and gas well location surveys must be made in compliance with the provisions of T.C.A., Title 60, Chapter 1, and the rules of the Tennessee State Oil and Gas Board (Chapters 1040-01-01 through 1040-08-01).
   2. (b) Where surveyed lines or areas must be located or calculated, they must also comply with the accuracy standards set forth in Rule 0820-03-.05 of this Chapter for the category in which the survey is located.
   3. (c) The Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the same information as required under this Chapter relative to General Property Surveys.

4. (4) Geodetic Control Surveys (GCS).

   1. (a) All Geodetic Control Surveys must be made in accordance with the Federal Geodetic Control Standards (F.G.C.S.). Horizontal and vertical control work must meet or exceed those accuracy specification standards as published by the Federal Geodetic Control Committee, September 1984, in the bulletin titled “Standards and Specification for Geodetic Control Networks” or any subsequently published bulletins modifying such class standards. Copies of said bulletins may be obtained from the United States Department of Commerce.
   2. (b) The Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the same information as normally would be required under this Chapter for General Property Surveys.

5. (5) Remote Sensing Surveys.

   1. (a) Minimum Standards for Remote Sensing Surveys. When using GNSS equipment in the course of a survey, the Land Surveyor shall state on the face of the Survey Plat, or within the report in cases where there is no Survey Plat, the following:

      1. 1. The Land Surveyor in responsible charge of such GNSS surveys shall date, stamp, or seal and sign the prepared documents in compliance with all applicable law;
      2. 2. A note stating what portion (or all) of the survey was performed using GNSS equipment;
      3. 3. The type of GNSS equipment used, including manufacturer and model number, and whether single or dual frequency receivers were used;
      4. 4. The type of GNSS survey that was performed, such as static, real time kinematic (RTK), network adjusted real time kinematics, etc.;
      5. 5. A note that discloses the precision of the GNSS work done, either in relative positional accuracy, vector closure, or other mathematical expression chosen by the Land Surveyor;
      6. 6. Date of the survey;
      7. 7. Data for any fixed station(s) used for the GNSS survey shall appear on the Survey Plat or report. The minimum data shown for each fixed station shall include the fixed station name, horizontal position (defined by northing/easting or latitude/longitude), elevation (ellipsoid or orthometric), datum and epoch;
      8. 8. Geoid model used; and
      9. 9. Combined scale factor.

6. (6) Hydrographic Surveys (also referred to as Bathymetric Surveys).

   1. (a) Hydrographic surveying is the term applied to the process used in surveying any body of water. In the case of lakes and rivers, this may include the determination of shore lines, soundings, characteristics of the bottom, location of buoys, etc. The survey of a river may also include the determination of the velocity and characteristics of the flow. In its broad sense the term may be applied to the survey of drainage areas and proposed locations for reservoirs for the storage of water. Hydrographic Surveys shall be prepared as follows:

      1. 1. A Survey Plat shall be a copy, print or tracing, on tangible media and shall be dated, stamped, or sealed and signed by the registered Land Surveyor responsible for the survey, in compliance with all applicable law.
      2. 2. The Survey Plat shall have a title and contain the same information as normally would be required under this Chapter for Topographic Surveys.
      3. 3. In addition to the above required data, the Survey Plat shall show the shore line, designated with the heaviest line on the Survey Plat, and the low-water line designated with the next heaviest line on the Survey Plat.
      4. 4. Topography to be shown outside the shore line shall be determined by the use for which the Survey Plat is intended, and requested in writing by the client. Topography of the submerged portions shall be shown with a dashed line.
      5. 5. Hydrographic charts prepared for purposes of navigation shall include sufficient topography to show the location of any landmarks which may be of use to the navigator, such as conspicuous objects on the shore.
      6. 6. Sufficient survey control points shall be shown on the Survey Plat for the survey to be tied to other maps or adjacent surveys.
      7. 7. Where soundings are represented on the Survey Plat, they shall be shown in feet and tenths of a foot in black, the number representing the depth of the water below the datum. Where the datum is mean low water, these soundings which are below shall be shown in black, and those that are above the datum shall be shown in another color or method of line designation.
      8. 8. In preparation of the navigation chart of a small river the soundings shall be recorded in feet and tenths of a foot, and contours drawn every three (3) or six

7. (6) feet. The direction of the current shall be shown with an arrow. Rapids or waterfalls shall be shown on the Survey Plat when encountered in the survey.

   1. (b) Hydrographic surveys must conform to the above minimum standards if no other more stringent standards or specifications are provided by the client, or other standards are required by the jurisdiction of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, or other legal authority, in the area where the survey project is located.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 62-18-105 and 62-18-106. Administrative History: Original rule filed August 15, 1980; effective September 29, 1980. Amendment filed November 20, 1991; effective January 4, 1992. Repeal and new rule filed December 17, 2010; effective March 17, 2011. Amendments filed February 6, 2025; effective May 7, 2025.