# S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-4: Practice of land surveying defined

> South Dakota · Statutes · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-4

## Section

- **Citation:** S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-4
- **Heading:** Practice of land surveying defined
- **Jurisdiction:** South Dakota
- **Kind:** Statutes
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** SD Code / Title 36 / Chapter 18A / Section 36-18A-4

## Text

For the purposes of this chapter, the term, practice of land surveying, means the practice or offering to practice professional services such as consultation, investigation, testimony evaluation, land-use studies, planning, mapping, assembling, interpreting reliable scientific measurements and information relative to the location, size, shape, or physical features of the earth, improvements on the earth, the space above the earth, or any part of the earth, and utilization and development of these facts and interpretation into an orderly survey map, plan, report, description, or project.

The practice of land surveying includes any of the following:

(1) Locates, relocates, establishes, reestablishes, lays out, or retraces any property line or boundary of any tract of land or any road, right-of-way, easement, alignment, or elevation of any of the fixed works embraced within the practice of land surveying;

(2) Makes any survey for the subdivision of any tract of land;

(3) Determines, by the use of principles of land surveying, the position for any survey monument or reference point; or sets, resets, or replaces any such monument or reference point;

(4) Determines the configuration or contour of the earth's surface or the position of fixed objects on the earth's surface by measuring lines and angles and applying the principles of mathematics;

(5) Geodetic surveying which includes surveying for determination of the size and shape of the earth utilizing angular and linear measurements through spatially oriented spherical geometry; or

(6) Creates, prepares, or modifies electronic or computerized data, including land formation systems and geographic information systems, relative to the performance of the activities in subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive, of this section.

Source: SL 1999, ch 195, § 4; SL 2016, ch 195, § 1.

## Nearby sections

- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-1 Definition of terms](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-1.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-1.1 Inactive licensee defined](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-1.1.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-2 Practice of architecture defined](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-2.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-3 Practice of engineering, design coordination, and engineering studies defined](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-3.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-4 Practice of land surveying defined](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-4.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-5 Practice of landscape architecture defined](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-5.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-6 Practice of petroleum release assessment defined](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-6.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-7 Practice of petroleum release remediation defined](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-7.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-8 License required to practice professions enumerated in chapter](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-8.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-9 Certain persons exempt from provisions of chapter](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-9.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-10 Building consisting of more than one type of occupancy--Limitations for each type](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-10.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-11 Design-build services by contractor](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-11.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-12 Certain services performed by authorized petroleum release business exempt](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-12.md)
- [S.D. Codified Laws § 36-18A-13 Incidental cross-practice by architects and engineers](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-13.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_SD_T36_C18A_S36-18A-4. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.