Surveyor General Role
BC's Surveyor General oversees the province's land survey system. Land survey plans define the legal boundaries of properties.
Land surveys, combined with BC's system of assured land titles, establish the basis for all property ownership and play a central role in the province's social and economic stability.
Surveyor General Services
The LTSA's Surveyor General Division provides three core services:
1. Maintain the Integrity of BC's Cadastral Survey System
The LTSA's Surveyor General Division oversees the land survey system and works closely with the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors in maintaining cadastral (legal) survey standards. These standards are the rules that professional land surveyors must follow when they are hired by a landowner to survey a parcel of land. The rules define approved land survey methods and accuracy requirements, and specify standards for maintaining on-the-ground survey evidence, such as survey monuments.
The Surveyor General Division reviews all survey plans that define portions of Crown land as part of their strategy to maintain the quality and integrity of the provincial survey fabric and ensure that an accurate inventory of Crown land parcels is maintained.
High quality cadastral surveys complement the integrity of the LTSA's land titles system, and are also critical in defining other important boundaries that the Surveyor General is responsible for overseeing, including: mine sites, oil and gas well-sites, pipeline and utility corridors, and First Nation treaty settlement areas.
Crown Land Surveys
- Where Crown land is being surveyed, the Surveyor General Division provides land surveyors with parcel designations and reviews and approves all land survey plans. The official copy of all Crown land survey plans is maintained in the Crown Land Registry. Historic survey field books and notes are also preserved in the Registry.
Private Land Surveys
To maintain BC's cadastral survey structure, the Surveyor General Division also:
- Meets all statutory obligations for the Surveyor General, including: adjudication of natural boundary issues, designation of entities to hold statutory rights-of-way or conservation covenants; and confirming official plans for provincial parks
- Provides professional guidance to government agencies and land surveyors on land survey issues
- Works with the federal government and neighbouring jurisdictions to address territorial questions related to the province's boundaries
In addition, the Surveyor General maintains the province's 'Integrated Survey Area' program.
The LTSA's Electronic Survey Plan process is making survey plan registration quicker and less expensive for landowners.
2. Distribution of Survey Records
The Surveyor General Division maintains the official survey plans for all parcels surveyed out of Crown land, together with field books and notes compiled by surveyors at the time the survey was completed. The earliest survey records in the Crown Land Registry date from the mid-nineteenth century.
Land surveyors today often require access to these official plans to obtain cadastral information needed to complete surveys they are preparing for clients. Landowners and others often require copies of these plans and field notes to determine the location of property boundaries of interest. When requests come in, Record Distribution Services staff copy existing hard copy records and provide the copies to the surveyor by fax or mail. Payment of service charges is required.
Copies of Crown Land Registry records can be Ordered Online. Contact orderdesk@ltsa.ca with email enquiries about these records.
Find out more about survey plans and surveyor's field books and access to records.
3. Preparation of Crown Grant Documents
The Surveyor General Division prepares and issues Crown grant documents. Crown grants are issued where the provincial government authorizes a sale of Crown land to an individual or corporation -- for example, for agricultural, residential, commercial or community purposes.
Crown grant documents normally contain a sketch plan showing the location and extent of the Crown land parcel being granted, and a description of the terms and conditions of the land grant. When a Crown grant is issued, an initial title for the property is registered in the LTSA's land title system in the name of the person or organization receiving the grant. All subsequent transactions for that parcel, such as subdivisions and changes in ownership or mortgages, are registered with the LTSA's Land Title Offices.
Find out more about Crown grant documents and how to gain access to them.
The LTSA's performance target for issuing Crown grant documents is 21 days or less.
4. Surveyor General Division contact information
