CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 446
March 2, 2010
TO ALL BRITISH COLUMBIA LAND SURVEYORS
Re: Land Surveyors Plan Certification - Replacement of old “Form 9” with new Statement by Surveyor
Land surveyors are required to certify the survey they conduct and the resultant plan they prepare are correct. The legislative requirement for such certification on subdivision and reference plans lies within section 67(t) of the Land Title Act repeated below:
Requirements as to subdivision and reference plans
67 A plan tendered for deposit, other than an explanatory plan or sketch plan, must comply with the following requirements:
(t) the correctness of the survey and plan must be verified by the surveyor by his or her statement in the form approved by the director.
The form required has long been known as “Form 9” and was found in the Land Title Act Regulation.
At the request of the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors (ABCLS), and due primarily to the fact that some members of the ABCLS reside outside of British Columbia, the Director of Land Titles has approved a new Statement By Surveyor.
View Practice Note 02-10 describing the new Statement by Surveyor.
In summary, in place of the old “Form 9” land surveyors are directed to use the new “Statement by Surveyor” on all manual subdivision and reference plans as well as upon manual statutory rights of way plans. The new “Statement by Surveyor” is:
STATEMENT BY SURVEYOR
I, _________________________, a British Columbia land surveyor, certify that I was present at and personally superintended the survey represented by this plan, and that the survey and plan are correct. The field survey was completed on the __________ day of ___________________, 20_____. The plan was completed and checked, and the checklist filed under #________________, on the __________ day of ___________________, 20_____.
______________________________
(SIGNATURE OF B.C.L.S.)
Land surveyors may begin using the new Statement by Surveyor immediately. Plans which incorporate the old statement (“Form 9”) will continue to be accepted for deposit into the Land Title Office provided they were completed prior to May 1, 2010. Effective May 1, 2010, the new statement must be incorporated in all subdivision and reference plans submitted for deposit in hard copy form that were completed on or after May 1, 2010.
Additionally, the new “Statement by Surveyor” is required in place of the old “Form 9” certificate on all plans prepared for filing into the Crown Land Registry.
Plans which incorporate the old “Form 9” will continue to be accepted for filing into the Crown Land Registry provided they were completed prior to May 1, 2010. Effective May 1, 2010 the new statement must be incorporated on all plans submitted for filing in hard copy form that were completed on or after May 1, 2010.
Plans which are certified electronically are not affected by this circular letter.
Please note Part 3 - General Plan Requirements and Part 13 - Strata Property Act of the General Survey Instruction Rules (GSIR), and specifically, Survey Rules 3-4(2)(f) and 13(2)(b) will be modified shortly to require the new “Statement by Surveyor” appear on all plans in place of the old “Form 9” certificate.
Yours sincerely,
original signed by Mike Thomson
Mike Thomson, BCLS
Surveyor General of British Columbia
