NCSS Legislative Resource Center

Find key updates on legislation, policy changes, and advocacy efforts impacting our profession—all in one place. Stay informed and get involved.

Legislative Support

Legislative Updates

The Legislative Updates section provides summaries and information about recent laws, regulations, or policy changes that affect land surveying professionals in North Carolina.

NSPS Director Jim Craddock and Executive Director Sherri Barron attended NSPS Day on the Hill on March 18, 2025, where they met with five congressional offices to discuss key legislative issues. They advocated for a Workforce Development provision in the 2026 NDAA to help transitioning servicemembers with surveying and geospatial experience enter the profession. They also sought backing for a “Sense of Congress” resolution emphasizing the critical role of licensing for surveyors, engineers, and architects in protecting public safety amid discussions on occupational licensing reform. Lastly, they supported legislation to assist property owners in preserving and reestablishing survey monumentation that was lost due to natural disasters.  

Use the links below to review the issue papers on these topics.
Protection of Professional Licensing
Monument Preservation
Transition Assistance Program (TAP)
Click here to view the 2025 NSPS government affairs report.

In 2023, North Carolina repealed G.S. 102‑1.1, removing the statutory definition of NAD 83 as part of legislation adopting NATRF2022. Senate Bill 710 includes a technical correction to restore G.S. 102‑1.1, re-establishing NAD 83 in state law. The bill has passed both chambers and is now awaiting the governor’s approval.

House Bill 763, the Neighbor State License Recognition Act, passed both the House and the Senate with overwhelming support and Governor Stein signed the bill on July 3rd. It will become law on October 1, 2025. NCSS actively advocated for an exemption for professional land surveyors, but despite our efforts, the final version of the bill did not include one.

Under the new law, the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCBELS) is charged with ensuring that applicants from South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, and West Virginia, who become residents of North Carolina, demonstrate competency in the profession before being granted a North Carolina license. On September 24th, NCBELS published a document outlining the licensure recognition procedure. You can view the full document here.

NCSS worked with state legislators to relocate the right-of-entry language for surveyors from Chapter 89C to Article 22B of Chapter 14, Trespass Law, where it was originally intended to appear. This change was included in HB 926, the Regulatory Reform Act of 2025, ratified on October 6. The final version of the bill removed the previous requirement to notify adjoining landowners.

The new statute, now codified as G.S. 14-159.15 states that “[a] professional land surveyor shall have the right to enter upon the lands of others, if necessary to perform surveys for the practice of land surveying, including the location of property corners, boundary lines, rights-of-way, and easements, and may carry with them their customary equipment and vehicles.” Further, any “entry by a professional land surveyor to perform the practice of land surveying . . . shall not constitute trespass . . . and shall not cause the professional land surveyor to be subject to arrest or a civil action by reason of the entry.” The statute does NOT grant land surveyors the authority to enter property owned, held, used, or operated by a railroad or their subsidiaries, or to enter lands containing critical infrastructure without permission. Nor does it “authorize a professional land surveyor to “destroy, injure, damage, or move anything on the lands of another without the written permission of the landowner.”

Surveyors are reminded to continue to exercise this authority with professionalism and in accordance with the ethical standards of the profession. While prior notification is no longer required, NCSS continues to encourage surveyors to make a reasonable effort to notify adjoining landowners whenever possible.

Section 2.5 of the bill also added a separate provision allowing courts to award attorneys’ fees in trespass cases or when a surveyor’s negligence causes physical or economic harm. Fees may be awarded to either party, depending on the circumstances and outcome of the case. This language was added independently and was going to be included regardless of whether the right-of-entry provision was part of the bill. It does not alter what damages may be recovered; those remain governed by existing law, and awarding fees remains entirely at the judge’s discretion.

Governor Stein signed Senate Bill 391 into law on July 1. The bill passed with strong support in the legislature. One key provision, found in Section § 136-44.18, allows the Department of Transportation to define the boundaries of certain rights-of-way and easements based on typical maintenance limits. Click Here for Reference
The language includes: “SECTION 14.(b) By October 1, 2025, the Department of Transportation shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee (i) describing the maintenance limits used by the Department in G.S. 136-44.18, as enacted by subsection (a) of this section, and (ii) recommending any additional legislative changes that may further aid in defining the boundaries of rights-of-way and easements subject to G.S. 136-44.18.”

We will provide further guidance as we receive it.

House Bill 295
Senate Bill 205
House Bill 926

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