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Board defers decision on whether drone/LiDAR deliverables amount to unlicensed land surveying
Summary
The Tennessee Board of Land Surveyors deferred a formal finding after staff presented a complaint asserting that a local drone/LiDAR firm’s topographic deliverables and marketing effectively constituted land surveying without a licensed surveyor; the board asked staff to return in November with fuller attendance and potential expert review.
The Tennessee Board of Land Surveyors on Aug. 28 agreed to defer a complaint about a company offering drone-based topographic models and site plans so the full board could review marketing materials, product samples and, if needed, an expert surveyor’s analysis.
Legal staff summarized the complaint: an unnamed licensed surveyor provided screenshots and proposals indicating an unlicensed company advertised “site survey with TOPO,” produced one‑foot contour topographic plans for a 25-acre site using drone photogrammetry and RTK-enabled drones, and offered downloadable outputs (PDF/DWG/point cloud) that the complainant said are functionally equivalent to certified surveying products. The respondent later edited website text to add disclaimers and a statement that “legal property boundaries and certified elevation data were available as an upgrade through our…
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