Examinees who do not pass the exam by January 15, 2027, may be required to submit a new application, due to upcoming system upgrades. Candidates are advised to retain a copy of their exam approval notification for future reference.
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If you applied and it has been more than 4 weeks please contact our office.
To become Licensed as a Professional Land Surveyor in Washington
You must meet criteria in three areas:
Education (optional)
- A baccalaureate degree in land surveying from an approved curriculum shall be equivalent to four years of required experience.
- An associate degree in land surveying from an approved curriculum shall be equivalent to two years of required experience.
- Each year completed of an approved curriculum without graduation shall be granted up to a year of required experience.
- Any other education will be taken into account and evaluated on its merits.
- WAC 196-16-010
Experience
- 8 years of broad based, progressive field and office experience:
- Board approved education is counted as part of experience
- Completion of the Certified Federal Surveyor (CFedS) program, including the final exam, may count for 3 months of experience
- Experience must be verified by the PLS who was in direct supervision of the work being done
- WAC 196-16-010(2)
Examinations
See the Board's exam info page for additional information.
- Pass the Fundamentals of Surveying Exam (FS)
- Pass the NCEES Principles and Practice of Surveying Exam (PS)
- Pass the Washington State PLS Exam
Steps to Apply / Required Documentation
- Fill out and submit (see “How to Apply” below) the basic application form
- Pay application fee
- Upload the Certificate issued upon passing the Washington Land Surveyor Law Review.
- Passing score is 80%
- Verification of passing the FS/LSIT exam. If you took the FS/LSIT in another state, go to NCEES or contact the state board to request an exam verification.
- Complete and submit our Work Experience Form and Experience Verification Form (see forms for instructions)
- If you want your education applied toward experience, have your school submit official transcripts to NCEES for evaluation
- Foreign degrees can be evaluated by NCEES, WES, or FIS. For use of other evaluation services, contact the board
OR
- Transmit your NCEES Record.
- There is no charge to create a record. A fee is charged each time you transmit your record to the Board.
- NCEES Records include education information, exam verification, work experience and more.
- Transmitting an NCEES record does not generate automatic approval. Records are reviewed for accuracy and if the applicant meets the Board’s requirements.
How to Apply
Important: do not apply until you meet all requirements. See Chapter 196-16 WAC and Chapter 18.43 RCW for more details.
- Login or Sign-up to fill out basic application form, and upload required documentation, and to pay your application fee
- You will be directed to use a Secure Access Washington (SAW) account to access our service. SAW is the State’s security interface for all state agencies.
- Access our service, 'Board of Registration for Professional Engineers & Land Surveyors (BRPELS)'
- Using an NCEES record for work experience? Transmit your record after applying
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