Land surveyors in Georgia: licensed PLS Georgia surveyors, quoted
Land surveyors in Georgia must hold a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) license from the Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board. Only a PLS can set monuments and seal a boundary survey in the state. A residential boundary survey in Georgia typically costs $450 to $950 and takes 5 to 10 business days. Surveyors.io verifies every Georgia PLS number against the state board before a surveyor can quote your job.
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What a PLS license means in Georgia, and how to check one
Georgia licenses land surveyors as Professional Land Surveyors under Title 43, Chapter 15 of the Official Code. The license comes from the Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board, which has regulated the profession in the state since 1937. Determining boundaries and setting monuments is licensed work: an unlicensed person cannot legally perform it or seal a plat.
You can verify any Georgia surveyor yourself. The board publishes a public license verification search on its licensing platform at gapelsb.evokeplatform.com, and the Secretary of State runs a statewide licensee search as well. Look up the name or license number and confirm the license is active before you hire.
Firms need their own credential. Under O.C.G.A. 43-15-23.1 any corporation, PC, LLC or partnership that offers land surveying in Georgia must first obtain a Certificate of Authorization from the board, with a licensed PLS in responsible charge, on top of the individual who signs and seals your plat. Sole proprietors are the only exception. On Surveyors.io we verify the PLS number against the board and keep a certificate of professional liability insurance on file, and a profile comes down the day a credential lapses.
The Georgia land description quirk that makes a survey worth more
Georgia does not use the township-and-range grid that covers most of the country, and it does not use plain metes-and-bounds alone either. Instead the state is divided into Land Lots, Land Districts and Georgia Militia Districts, so a Georgia deed reads something like "Land Lot 47 of the 14th District." That historical grid is the skeleton every legal description hangs on.
For a buyer, that is exactly why a survey earns its cost here. A Land Lot and District reference tells you which roughly square parcel of the original survey your land sits in, but it does not put a corner on the ground. Tying that description to the physical monuments, and confirming your deed does not overlap the neighbor's, is the surveyor's job, and it is harder to do from a Georgia description than from a modern platted lot in a township-and-range state.
When a plat is recorded, Georgia has its own rule. Under the Georgia Plat Act, O.C.G.A. 15-6-67, plats filed with the Clerk of Superior Court must meet the board's minimum standards, must now be filed electronically through the state clerks' authority, and must carry one of the prescribed surveyor certifications. A plat that creates a subdivision generally cannot be recorded without planning-commission approval unless it adds no new streets or utilities, in which case the surveyor certifies that no approval was required.
The accuracy standard your Georgia survey has to meet
Georgia sets technical standards for property surveys in Chapter 180-7 of the board's rules, and they are precise. Rule 180-7-.03 requires an accuracy of not less than 1:10,000 for urban and suburban work and 1:5,000 for rural work, with positional tolerances tightening from 0.50 feet in rural areas to 0.10 feet in urban ones.
Rule 180-7-.05 governs monuments: the surveyor must set a durable monument at every boundary corner unless a suitable one already exists, the marker has to meet minimum size and material specs, and each boundary monument must carry a cap stamped with the surveyor's Georgia registration or the firm's Certificate of Authorization number. Rule 180-7-.07 then lists what the plat must show, including the Land Lot, District and Militia District, the bearings and distances, the closure ratio, the equipment used, adjacent owners, the source of title, and the signed and sealed certification required to record it. If those elements are missing, it is not a compliant Georgia survey.
Land survey cost in Georgia
Georgia pricing sits close to the national market, a little tighter inside metro Atlanta where crews are dense and higher out in the rural counties and along the coast where drive time and flood work add up.
| Survey | Typical Georgia cost |
|---|---|
| Residential boundary survey, suburban lot | $450 - $950 |
| Boundary survey, 1 to 5 acres | $700 - $1,800 |
| Rural acreage, 20+ acres | $2,500 - $8,000+ |
| Mortgage or physical survey for closing | $400 - $1,000 |
| Topographic survey | $900 - $3,500 |
| ALTA/NSPS survey (commercial) | $2,500 - $10,000+ |
| Elevation certificate (coastal / flood zones) | $170 - $800 |
| Construction staking, per mobilization | $800 - $2,500 |
Fence line staking, corner re-sets and rush turnarounds are add-ons, not separate surveys. Full national context in the land survey cost guide.
Where Georgia surveyors get booked
Surveyors.io matches at county level across all 159 Georgia counties. These are the metros where demand concentrates and the local wrinkle each one brings.
| Metro | What drives survey demand | Typical boundary survey |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta metro (Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett) | Tear-down rebuilds, infill lots, fence and addition permits, commercial ALTA work | $450 - $950 |
| Savannah / Chatham | Historic-district lots, coastal flood zones and elevation certificates | $550 - $1,200 |
| Augusta and Columbus | Older neighborhoods with thin monument records, boundary disputes | $450 - $900 |
| Athens and the exurbs | Rural parcels splitting on the edge of town, acreage boundary work | $500 - $1,100 |
| South Georgia counties | Timber and farm acreage, drive time, metes-and-bounds research | $600 - $1,400 |
Georgia legal descriptions lean on the Land Lot and District grid, so a surveyor who works your county regularly and knows its records is worth more than the cheapest quote from two counties away.
Georgia land survey questions
How much does a land survey cost in Georgia?
A residential boundary survey in Georgia typically costs $450 to $950 for a suburban lot. Acreage runs $700 to $1,800 for 1 to 5 acres and $2,500 or more for large rural tracts. Elevation certificates in coastal and flood zones run $170 to $800, and commercial ALTA/NSPS surveys start around $2,500.
Do you need a survey to buy a house in Georgia?
No state law requires one, but a survey is customary and recommended. It is the only way to get full survey coverage on your owner's title policy and to confirm no encroachments before closing. Georgia is an attorney closing state, so a licensed Georgia attorney runs the closing and will advise whether your file needs one.
How do I verify a Georgia land surveyor is licensed?
Search the Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board verification tool at gapelsb.evokeplatform.com, or the Secretary of State licensee search, by name or license number and confirm the license is active. Every surveyor on Surveyors.io has already been checked against that board and carries insurance on file.
What is the Georgia Land Lot and District system?
Georgia is divided into Land Lots, Land Districts and Militia Districts rather than the township-and-range grid used in most states, so deeds read like "Land Lot 47 of the 14th District." A survey ties that historical description to the actual corners on the ground, which is harder to do in Georgia than in a platted township-and-range state.
Does a Georgia plat need approval before recording?
A plat that creates a subdivision generally needs planning-commission approval before the Clerk of Superior Court will record it, and under the Georgia Plat Act it must be filed electronically with a prescribed surveyor certification. A survey that adds no new streets or utilities can be certified as not requiring approval.
How long does a land survey take in Georgia?
Five to ten business days is typical for a residential boundary survey: records research at the county, half a day of field work, then drafting and the seal. Peak season in metro Atlanta and rural parcels with old Land Lot descriptions both push it toward three weeks.
Three quotes beat six voicemails
Describe the parcel once. Up to 3 license-verified, insured surveyors covering your county quote it, usually within 24 hours. Posting is free for clients and quotes are never marked up.