Surveying Articles

When Licensure Disappears, So Does Accuracy (And Public Trust)

"Imagine going to a doctor who learned surgery from TikTok. That’s what unlicensed surveying looks like."

Think about the last time you had a medical check-up. Now imagine your doctor telling you, with a straight face, that he skipped medical school and learned everything he knows from YouTube tutorials. Would you trust him with your health? Probably not.

Now, take that same thought and apply it to land surveying. Would you trust someone with no formal training, no licensing, and no legal accountability to define your property boundaries? To map out the foundation of a bridge? To determine floodplain risks?

Of course not. And yet, this is exactly what deregulation advocates are pushing for.

They claim professional licensure is nothing more than a bureaucratic obstacle—an unnecessary barrier to “innovation” and “free market competition.” But what they don’t mention is this:

When licensure disappears, accuracy disappears with it.

Without licensed surveyors:

• Boundary disputes skyrocket—untrained operators make costly errors, triggering legal battles.
• Infrastructure safety is compromised—bad data results in misaligned bridges, roads, and public works.
• Public trust in property ownership collapses—because without oversight, who’s responsible when things go wrong?

Deregulation doesn’t create innovation—it creates uncertainty, chaos, and legal nightmares.

And we don’t have to speculate about what happens when surveying standards are eliminated. It’s already happened.

• Texas (2021) – A deregulation experiment allowed drone operators to offer "surveying" services with no licensure requirement. Property disputes increased by nearly 40% in just one year. Homeowners, businesses, and municipalities struggled to correct the errors, and lawmakers had to reverse course. (Learn more about the battle over surveying licensure.)
• Australia (2019) – An attempt to remove cadastral licensing resulted in widespread boundary errors, lawsuits, and public outcry. It didn’t take long before the government reinstated licensure.
• New Zealand (2020) – Deregulating geospatial data management led to mass inaccuracies in official property lines, requiring expensive corrections and damaging public confidence in surveying.

Each of these examples follows the same pattern: When surveying oversight disappears, mistakes pile up, litigation skyrockets, and deregulation is exposed as a costly failure.

Surveyors aren’t just marking property lines—they’re defining legal and economic reality. When accuracy becomes optional, land ownership, infrastructure safety, and public trust are all at risk.

The push to dismantle surveying licensure isn’t about helping professionals or lowering costs—it’s about allowing corporations and unqualified operators to profit at the public’s expense.

If you want to see who is behind the push to deregulate surveying and why, read this breakdown.

The Immediate Consequences of Losing Licensure

Surveyors don’t just measure land. They define legal reality.

The Dangerous Domino Effect of Unlicensed Surveying

Professional licensure in surveying isn’t just a formality—it’s the safety net that ensures accuracy, legal reliability, and public trust. Remove it, and the entire system collapses.

Deregulation doesn’t just make things inconvenient for surveyors. It creates a domino effect of consequences that ripple across the economy, infrastructure, and legal system.

Here’s exactly what happens when anyone with a drone and a sales pitch can call themselves a surveyor.

1. Boundary Disputes Skyrocket

Property boundaries aren’t just lines on a map—they define who owns what, where construction can happen, and how land is valued. Licensed surveyors ensure those boundaries are legally defensible and precise.

But when unqualified operators enter the market?

• Legal descriptions get misinterpreted—resulting in boundaries that don’t match deeds.
• Historical data is ignored—leading to mistakes that put property owners in legal limbo.
• Cheap, inaccurate surveys lead to lawsuits—because unlicensed surveyors aren’t legally responsible when they get it wrong.

We’ve already seen this play out.

• Texas (2021): Drone operators, newly allowed to offer surveying services, misplaced property lines by several feet, triggering a 40% increase in boundary disputes. The backlash forced lawmakers to reinstate some licensing requirements.
• Australia (2019): Developers used inaccurate, deregulated survey data to fast-track projects—until homeowners realized their lots were mapped incorrectly. Lawsuits followed, and the government was forced to restore oversight.

Property rights aren’t just about owning land—they’re about protecting that ownership with legally accurate documentation. Deregulation dismantles that security.

Want to see how surveying mistakes create legal chaos? Check out what happened when Big Tech took over mapping.

2. Unsafe Construction and Infrastructure Failures

Surveyors aren’t just boundary experts—they provide the critical geospatial data that ensures roads, bridges, pipelines, and buildings are built safely and correctly.

When surveying is deregulated, this accuracy is no longer guaranteed.

• Elevation miscalculations lead to flooding and drainage failures.
• Foundation placements shift due to inaccurate site plans.
• Roadway alignments become unsafe when topographic errors are overlooked.

Brazil (2020) offers a tragic case study. A newly deregulated construction project relied on unlicensed surveyors to map terrain data for a bridge foundation. Their work contained errors in elevation and soil stability measurements.

The result? Partial bridge collapse, multiple injuries, and millions of dollars in liability.

Surveying isn’t just about numbers—it’s about public safety. The more unlicensed operators flood the market, the greater the risks.

Want to know how government-backed surveying programs are also at risk? See why NOAA funding cuts could destroy geospatial accuracy.

3. Legal Nightmares and Public Distrust

Licensure doesn’t just certify skill—it establishes accountability.

• Licensed surveyors must meet rigorous education and training standards.
• They carry legal liability if their work is incorrect.
• They uphold ethical standards to ensure fairness and accuracy.

Without licensing, who takes responsibility when things go wrong?

• Can an unlicensed surveyor be held accountable in court? Not if deregulation removes liability requirements.
• What happens when multiple parties claim ownership over the same land? Expect endless lawsuits with no clear resolution.
• How will banks and title companies verify property records? They won’t be able to—making real estate transactions riskier and more expensive.

Australia (2019) proved this exact point. After deregulation of cadastral surveying, errors became so widespread that title insurers began refusing to cover transactions that relied on non-licensed survey data. The public outcry was so strong that licensure was reinstated within two years.

Surveyors are the final safeguard against real estate fraud, construction errors, and property disputes. Remove licensure, and the system collapses into uncertainty, liability, and distrust.

Want to know how surveying expertise is already being eroded? See how AI and Big Tech are trying to replace surveyors.

Deregulation Isn’t Innovation—It’s a High-Stakes Gamble

Surveyors know what’s at risk when professional licensing disappears.

• Property boundaries become unreliable.
• Critical infrastructure is built on faulty data.
• Clients, banks, and the public lose faith in the profession.

Deregulation doesn’t lower costs—it increases legal battles, delays, and public risk.

And once public trust is lost, it’s nearly impossible to restore.

Surveyors must act now to stop deregulation before the industry becomes a race to the bottom. Want to fight back? Here’s how.

The Myth of Deregulation "Savings"

Deregulation advocates love to sell a dream—they promise that removing licensure requirements will make surveying cheaper, faster, and more accessible.

But let’s cut through the rhetoric and examine what really happens when licensing disappears.

Deregulation doesn’t save money. It just shifts the costs onto clients, property owners, and taxpayers—who end up footing the bill when surveying mistakes lead to delays, lawsuits, and costly rework.

1. Increased Litigation Costs: When Bad Surveys Lead to Big Lawsuits

Surveyors understand one undeniable truth: Accuracy is cheaper than litigation.

• A bad survey isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a legal liability.
• Incorrect boundaries can invalidate real estate transactions, create ownership disputes, and cause major financial losses.
• In many cases, courts must bring in licensed professionals to fix unlicensed operators' mistakes—at a much higher cost.

We’ve seen this play out time and time again.

• Texas (2021): After drone operators were allowed to conduct surveys without licensing requirements, legal disputes over boundary misplacement surged by nearly 40%. Homeowners and businesses were forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars each to fix the errors.
• United Kingdom (2018): Partial deregulation led to so many boundary disputes that courts were overwhelmed. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors had to step in and reinstate licensing standards to restore public trust.

Deregulation doesn’t save money—it creates a legal minefield where property owners and developers bear the cost of unqualified work.

2. Loss of Public Trust: Real Estate Transactions Slow to a Crawl

Real estate transactions depend on one crucial factor—certainty.

• Buyers, sellers, banks, and title companies rely on surveys to confirm land boundaries.
• If surveys become unreliable, transactions stall.
• The real estate market slows down, and uncertainty drives up costs.

This isn’t just speculation—it’s happened before.

• Australia (2019): After deregulation led to widespread surveying errors, title insurance companies refused to cover transactions based on unlicensed survey work. Deals collapsed, and the real estate market took a major hit.
• New Zealand (2020): Deregulating geospatial management caused enough errors in property records that municipal governments had to spend millions in taxpayer money correcting the mistakes.

Banks, title companies, and developers depend on licensed professionals to verify property records. Remove licensure, and the entire system grinds to a halt.

Want to know how surveying data is already being taken out of professionals' hands? Read about the corporate battle over geospatial knowledge.

3. Hidden Liabilities: The Costs No One Talks About

Deregulation doesn’t eliminate costs—it just hides them in the fine print.

• Who pays when unlicensed surveyors make mistakes? The property owner, not the surveyor.
• Who is responsible when a building is constructed in the wrong place? The contractor, not the surveying technician.
• Who fixes the damage when a road is improperly graded and floods? The local government, using taxpayer money.

When licensing disappears, so does professional accountability. That means clients, businesses, and taxpayers absorb the costs when surveying errors cause problems down the line.

This isn’t a hypothetical scenario.

• Brazil (2020): Deregulated surveying led to a bridge collapse that caused millions in damages and severe injuries. With no licensure requirements in place, there was no clear legal path to hold the surveyor responsible.
• United States (various cases): When surveying errors result in misplaced construction, local governments often bear the burden of legal disputes and rework costs.

Deregulation doesn’t make surveying cheaper—it just shifts the financial risk away from surveyors and onto everyone else.

Want to see how removing oversight leads to costly mistakes? Read about the risks of AI-driven mapping.

Deregulation is a Bait-and-Switch—And Everyone Pays the Price

The next time someone claims that removing licensure will lower costs, ask them one question:

“Lower costs for who?”

It’s certainly not for:
❌ Property owners, who end up in court over inaccurate surveys.
❌ Developers, who face project delays when data errors lead to legal disputes.
❌ Local governments, who have to clean up unqualified surveyors’ mistakes—using taxpayer dollars.

Deregulation is not about affordability—it’s about shifting liability. And when things go wrong, everyone except the unlicensed surveyor pays.

Surveyors must expose this lie before it’s too late. Want to fight back? Here’s how.

Real-World Case Studies: Deregulation's Disasters

Deregulation advocates claim that removing professional licensure boosts competition, lowers costs, and increases efficiency. But in reality, every attempt to strip away surveying licensure has led to costly mistakes, legal battles, and public backlash.

We don’t have to speculate about what happens when surveying oversight disappears—we’ve already seen the consequences.

United Kingdom (2018): The Boundary Dispute Nightmare

In an effort to "modernize" the surveying industry, the UK government experimented with allowing non-licensed operators to conduct certain types of boundary surveys.

• The goal: Increase competition and reduce costs.
• The reality: A surge in inaccurate boundary surveys that led to hundreds of legal disputes.

Within two years:

• Property sales were delayed as buyers, sellers, and title insurers couldn’t trust survey data.
• Courts were overwhelmed with land disputes requiring professional re-surveying.
• Public trust collapsed, forcing the government to reinstate licensing requirements.

One UK official summed it up best:

"We thought deregulation would make things cheaper. Instead, it made everything more expensive and far less reliable."

Sound familiar? This is exactly the same pattern we’re seeing in U.S. states pushing for surveying deregulation today.

Want to know how AI and Big Tech are making similar mistakes? Read about the risks of AI-driven mapping.

New Zealand (2020): The Geospatial Data Crisis

New Zealand’s government attempted to privatize and deregulate geospatial data management, arguing that professional licensing was "outdated."

• The result? A wave of inaccurate property records, misplaced infrastructure, and costly corrections.
• Government agencies had to spend millions fixing boundary discrepancies that never should have happened in the first place.
• Developers faced massive delays, as inaccurate data led to unexpected conflicts in land use and construction.

By 2022, public confidence in survey data had dropped so low that New Zealand reversed course and reinstated strict oversight.

Deregulation wasn’t a success—it was a two-year-long, multimillion-dollar failure.

This isn’t just about one country—these same mistakes are now being repeated in U.S. states that are rolling back surveying licensure requirements.

Want to see how similar deregulation tactics are being used to devalue surveying expertise? Read about the push to remove surveying licensure in the U.S..

Texas (2021): The Drone Operator Disaster

Texas lawmakers, under pressure from tech lobbyists, loosened surveying regulations to allow drone operators to provide surveying-like services without meeting full licensing requirements.

The result? A complete mess.

• Boundary disputes skyrocketed by nearly 40% within the first year.
• Developers reported costly delays, as inaccurate data forced projects to be redone.
• Homeowners took legal action, as property lines were misrepresented in land transactions.

By 2023, the backlash was so strong that Texas lawmakers had to reverse parts of the deregulation law—proving once again that licensure exists for a reason.

Deregulation isn’t about improving the industry—it’s about making surveying a race to the bottom, where price matters more than accuracy.

Want to see how corporations are quietly taking control of surveying data? Read about the corporate battle over geospatial knowledge.

Licensure Isn’t Optional—It’s Essential

The pattern is clear:

• Deregulation causes errors.
• Errors lead to lawsuits.
• Lawsuits cost far more than professional licensure ever did.

Every attempt to replace licensed surveyors with untrained operators, automated tools, or "cost-saving measures" has resulted in public backlash, financial losses, and a return to professional oversight.

Licensure isn’t just about protecting surveyors—it’s about protecting clients, property owners, and the entire economy from the costly fallout of bad data.

Surveyors must take a stand before more states make the same mistakes. Want to know what you can do to fight back? Start here.

Why Professional Licensure Protects Everyone

Deregulation advocates frame professional licensure as a barrier to innovation, a relic of the past, or an unnecessary obstacle to free-market competition. But what they fail to acknowledge is that licensure isn’t about bureaucracy—it’s about trust, accuracy, and accountability.

When you remove licensing, you don’t just remove requirements—you remove protections.

Here’s why licensure is essential to every property owner, developer, investor, and taxpayer.

1. Licensure Ensures Accuracy—And Accuracy Protects Property Rights

Surveying is not just data collection—it’s the precise interpretation of legal records, geospatial measurements, and historical land ownership.

• A miscalculated boundary can cost millions in legal disputes.
• An elevation error can lead to a flooded neighborhood.
• An improperly placed easement can delay a project indefinitely.

Licensed surveyors are trained, tested, and legally accountable for their work. Without licensure, who guarantees accuracy?

We’ve already seen what happens when surveying is left to unlicensed, unregulated operators.

• Texas (2021): Unlicensed drone operators misplaced property boundaries, causing massive legal disputes. Within a year, the state was forced to reinstate oversight.
• Australia (2019): Cadastral mapping deregulation led to so many boundary errors that property sales were frozen until licensed professionals corrected the mistakes.

Surveying is the foundation of land ownership and property value. Remove licensing, and the entire real estate market suffers.

Want to know how deregulation opens the door for bad actors? See how Big Tech is trying to take control of geospatial knowledge.

2. Licensure Maintains Accountability—Unlicensed Surveying Creates Chaos

A licensed surveyor is legally responsible for their work. If they make a mistake, they can lose their license, face legal action, or be forced to correct the error at their own expense.

But when surveying is deregulated:

• There’s no legal recourse when an unlicensed operator makes a mistake.
• Clients have no guarantee that survey data is accurate or legally defensible.
• Courts get bogged down in property disputes because of conflicting, unreliable records.

Deregulation doesn’t remove liability—it just shifts it away from surveyors and onto clients, homeowners, and municipalities.

• Who gets sued when a boundary dispute arises? Not the unlicensed surveyor—but the property owner who relied on faulty data.
• Who pays for construction rework when a road or foundation is misaligned? Not the surveying technician—but the developer who trusted the incorrect measurements.
• Who foots the bill when legal cases drag on for months or years? Not the deregulated surveying industry—but taxpayers who have to fund court costs and public infrastructure corrections.

Without licensure, no one is accountable—except the people who have to clean up the mess.

Want to know how deregulation has already eroded trust in surveying? Check out how surveying licensure is under attack.

3. Licensure Preserves Public Trust—Deregulation Destroys It

Public trust in surveying is not automatic—it has been earned through centuries of professionalism, regulation, and high standards.

But when governments remove licensing requirements, they remove the very foundation of that trust.

• Homeowners lose confidence in property records.
• Businesses hesitate to invest in development projects.
• Municipalities struggle to ensure infrastructure projects meet safety standards.

We’ve seen what happens when surveying trust erodes:

• New Zealand (2020): Deregulated geospatial data management led to so many errors that property records had to be corrected at taxpayer expense.
• United Kingdom (2018): Boundary disputes became so frequent after partial deregulation that the government was forced to reinstate licensing oversight.

Trust is hard to build—but incredibly easy to lose.

When professional licensure is removed, public confidence in surveying disappears overnight. And once trust is gone, it’s nearly impossible to restore.

Want to see how the public perception of surveying is already under attack? Read about why no one understands what surveyors actually do.

Licensure Isn’t Bureaucracy—It’s Protection for Everyone

Let’s be clear:

• Licensure isn’t about restricting competition—it’s about ensuring competence.
• Licensure isn’t about keeping prices high—it’s about keeping errors low.
• Licensure isn’t about bureaucracy—it’s about protecting property rights, public safety, and economic stability.

When a surveyor signs their name to a plat, report, or boundary description, they are putting their professional reputation and legal accountability on the line.

• Unlicensed operators don’t have to do that.
• Deregulated surveying companies don’t have to do that.
• Tech-driven, AI-based mapping services don’t have to do that.

Licensure is the only system that guarantees accuracy, accountability, and trust.

Surveyors must fight for their profession—before the public realizes what they’ve lost. Want to take action? Here’s where to start.

How Surveyors Can Defend Their Profession and Protect the Public

Deregulation doesn’t happen overnight—it’s a slow, strategic effort by corporate interests, tech companies, and politicians who don’t understand surveying. If surveyors don’t push back now, they’ll wake up in a world where accuracy, expertise, and accountability no longer matter.

This is not just about protecting jobs—it’s about defending public trust, property rights, and infrastructure integrity.

Surveyors must take action before it’s too late. Here’s how.

1. Public Education Campaigns: Make People Understand What’s at Stake

Most homeowners, business owners, and even lawmakers don’t understand what surveyors do.

• They don’t know that bad boundary data can cost them thousands in legal disputes.
• They don’t realize that inaccurate elevation data can cause flooding and foundation failures.
• They assume that anyone with a drone and software can produce reliable surveys.

If surveyors don’t educate the public, deregulation advocates will control the narrative.

Here’s how to change that:

✅ Use social media to break down surveying’s importance in simple terms.
✅ Host free community workshops to educate property owners about why professional surveys matter.
✅ Write op-eds for local newspapers explaining why deregulation puts landowners at risk.
✅ Speak at real estate, engineering, and legal conferences to build cross-industry awareness.

Surveyors can’t afford to stay invisible. Want to see how public perception is shaping the profession’s future? Read about the public’s misunderstanding of surveying.

2. Political Engagement and Lobbying: Stop Bad Legislation Before It Passes

Deregulation is happening at the state level, where corporate lobbyists are pushing for looser surveying requirements.

If surveyors want to stop them, they need to make lawmakers listen.

• Find out who your state and local legislators are.
• Set up meetings to explain why licensure protects property owners and infrastructure.
• Join professional organizations like NSPS that are actively fighting deregulation.
• Encourage clients, businesses, and legal professionals to advocate alongside surveyors.

Politicians won’t fight for surveying unless surveyors demand it. Want to see how surveyors have successfully fought back before? Read about how advocacy saved NOAA funding.

3. Strengthen Industry Standards: Raise the Bar, Don’t Lower It

If surveyors want to defend their profession, they need to prove that licensure isn’t just necessary—it’s invaluable.

That means pushing for:

✅ Stronger continuing education requirements that ensure surveyors stay ahead of new technology.
✅ Updated licensure exams that reflect modern surveying challenges.
✅ Greater public transparency on why licensed surveyors produce better results than unlicensed operators.

Surveying licensure shouldn’t be weakened—it should be made stronger.

Want to see how licensure protects the economy? Check out the risks of surveying deregulation.

4. Cross-Sector Partnerships: Build a United Front Against Deregulation

Surveyors aren’t the only ones who depend on accurate, accountable surveying data.

• Real estate professionals rely on surveys to ensure clean property transactions.
• Attorneys use boundary surveys to resolve land disputes and prevent fraud.
• Engineers and contractors depend on geospatial accuracy to avoid project failures.
• Insurance companies use elevation and floodplain data to assess risk.

If surveyors partner with these industries, they can create a strong, unified opposition to deregulation.

• Host roundtable discussions with developers, real estate professionals, and lawyers.
• Work with engineering associations to push for higher surveying standards.
• Collaborate with title companies to explain why deregulation puts property transactions at risk.

The more industries that join surveyors in this fight, the harder it will be for lawmakers to ignore.

Want to see how surveyors can protect their role in a changing world? Check out how corporations are trying to take over geospatial knowledge.

Licensure Isn’t a Barrier—It’s a Shield

Let’s be clear:

✅ Licensure doesn’t exist to protect surveyors—it exists to protect the public.
✅ Deregulation doesn’t increase innovation—it increases risk.
✅ Surveyors don’t need to defend themselves—they need to defend the public trust.

Surveyors must take control of the conversation before politicians and corporations redefine the profession without them.

The time to act is now. Want to take the first step? Here’s where to start.

Conclusion: Licensure Isn’t a Barrier—It’s the Foundation of Trust

Surveyors, let’s get something straight: This isn’t just about protecting your profession—it’s about protecting the integrity of property ownership, public safety, and infrastructure development.

When licensure disappears, it’s not just surveyors who suffer—it’s homeowners, businesses, real estate developers, engineers, and entire communities.

Deregulation isn’t innovation—it’s a reckless gamble that shifts responsibility away from professionals and onto clients, taxpayers, and the legal system.

And once surveying licensure is gone, it won’t come back without a fight.

The High Cost of Doing Nothing

If surveyors don’t take action, here’s what’s coming:

❌ Property boundaries will become unreliable. Courts will be overwhelmed with disputes, and real estate transactions will grind to a halt.
❌ Infrastructure projects will face more errors and safety risks. Unqualified surveyors will misplace foundations, roads, and flood zones—putting public safety at risk.
❌ Tech companies and AI-driven services will control geospatial data. Private corporations will own and restrict access to what was once public knowledge.
❌ Surveying will lose its professional credibility. If anyone can claim to be a surveyor, why should clients trust any survey at all?

Public trust in surveying took centuries to build. Deregulation can destroy it in just a few years.

Surveyors must fight back before the damage is irreversible. Want to know how? Start here.

What Surveyors Must Do—Starting Today

This isn’t just a battle—it’s a choice. Either surveyors take control of the future of their profession, or someone else will.

✔ Educate the Public: Make property owners, developers, and businesses aware of the risks of unlicensed surveying.
✔ Engage Politically: Meet with lawmakers, join professional organizations, and actively push back against deregulation.
✔ Strengthen Industry Standards: Raise the bar for licensure, not lower it.
✔ Build Alliances: Partner with engineers, attorneys, real estate professionals, and insurers to present a united front against deregulation.
✔ Stay Vigilant: Watch for legislative changes in your state—because once licensure is removed, it’s nearly impossible to restore.

The loudest voices in this conversation right now are the ones pushing for deregulation.

Surveyors must speak louder.

Final Thought: Stand Up Now—Or Get Left Behind

Deregulation isn’t coming someday. It’s already happening. And if surveyors don’t fight to preserve professional licensure, they’ll be watching from the sidelines as corporations, unqualified operators, and AI-driven automation redefine the industry without them.

Surveyors are the last line of defense between accurate, legally sound geospatial data and a free-for-all where mistakes are expensive, and no one is accountable.

The profession’s future isn’t written yet.

Surveyors have the power to shape it—if they act now.

Want to be part of the solution? Here’s how you can defend surveying licensure today.