Can a New York county clerk record a subdivision map that is certified by a professional engineer instead of a licensed land surveyor?

Plain-English summary

Rockland County's assistant county attorney asked the AG whether a county clerk could record a subdivision plat (the formal map a developer files when dividing real property into lots for sale) that had been certified by a licensed professional engineer rather than a licensed land surveyor. The engineer pointed to provisions of the Education Law that allow engineers to perform certain land surveys.

The AG concluded no. Real Property Law § 334 spells out who has the duty to file a subdivision map and how. The map must be filed in the county clerk's office "with a certificate of the licensed land surveyor filing said map attached." The text is specific to a licensed land surveyor, not an engineer.

The AG had reached the same conclusion in a 1970 informal opinion. The Suffolk County Supreme Court had also addressed the related provision in Real Property Law § 335 (about Suffolk County's specific filing requirements) in Matter of Nassau-Suffolk Civil Engineers, Inc. v Albertson. The court held that the public interest in subdivision accuracy required certification by a licensed land surveyor, and a professional engineer's certificate would not do. The Legislature had set different training and licensing requirements for surveyors and engineers, and had emphasized subdivision work in the practice-of-surveying definition. If the Legislature wanted engineers to certify subdivision surveys, it could have said so expressly.

The current Education Law makes the rule clearer than ever. Education Law § 7208 provides that surveys may be made by professional engineers, "except that the determination of real property boundaries may be done only by a licensed land surveyor." Subdivision maps are by definition exercises in determining real property boundaries, so the carve-out applies. The county clerk should refuse to record subdivision maps that lack the licensed land surveyor's certificate.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1997. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What is a subdivision map and why does certification matter?

A subdivision map (or plat) is the recorded document that creates the legal boundaries of individual lots when a developer divides a larger parcel for sale. Every later title transaction in the subdivision relies on the accuracy of those boundary lines. A flawed map can cause title disputes, encroachments, and litigation for decades. Certification by a licensed professional carries professional responsibility, professional liability, and the regulatory backstop of professional discipline.

Why does the Education Law distinguish land surveyors from professional engineers?

The Legislature treated boundary determination as a distinct profession requiring specific training. Land surveyors are trained in measurement, plat preparation, monumentation, and boundary-law principles in ways engineers typically are not. Engineers handle a wide range of projects (structural, electrical, civil, environmental) and may perform surveys incidental to engineering work, but the boundary-determination element is reserved.

Can an engineer perform any surveys at all?

Yes. Education Law § 7208 permits engineers to perform surveys in support of engineering projects. The carve-out is specifically for "determination of real property boundaries." That includes subdivision maps, which divide land into lots with defined boundaries, but does not include, for example, a topographic survey for an engineering site analysis.

What if a subdivision map combines engineering analysis with boundary determination?

The boundary determination piece must be done by a licensed land surveyor. The engineering analysis can be done by a professional engineer. In practice, the two professionals often work together on complex projects, each certifying the parts of the work within their professional scope.

What does the county clerk do if presented with an engineer-certified subdivision map?

Decline to accept the map for recording. Real Property Law § 334's filing duty is conditioned on the licensed land surveyor's certificate. A noncompliant map should be returned, with the deficiency identified, so the developer can have a licensed land surveyor certify a proper version.

Background and statutory framework

Real Property Law § 334 imposes a duty on persons or corporations subdividing real property for sale to file a map in the county clerk's office, accompanied by the certificate of the licensed land surveyor who completed the survey and made the map, before offering any lots for sale.

Real Property Law § 335 contains a similar Suffolk County-specific provision requiring a surveyor's certificate. The Suffolk County Supreme Court in Matter of Nassau-Suffolk Civil Engineers, Inc. v Albertson held that § 335 required a licensed land surveyor's certificate, not a professional engineer's.

Education Law § 7208 carves out boundary determination from the surveys engineers may perform. Engineers can do surveys as part of engineering projects, but real property boundary determination is reserved to licensed land surveyors.

1970 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 210 had earlier reached the same conclusion as the 1997 opinion.

Citations

• Real Property Law § 334 (subdivision-map filing duty; licensed land surveyor's certificate required).
• Real Property Law § 335 (Suffolk County-specific filing rule).
• Education Law § 7208 (boundary determination reserved to licensed land surveyors).
• 1970 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 210 (prior AG opinion).
• Matter of Nassau-Suffolk Civil Engineers, Inc. v Albertson (Sup Ct Suffolk Co October 9, 1970) (Supreme Court holding that engineer's certificate insufficient).

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_97-28_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

EDUCATION LAW § 7208; REAL PROPERTY LAW §§ 334, 335.
The county clerk may not accept for filing subdivision maps
that are certified by a professional engineer rather than by a
licensed land surveyor as required by Real Property Law § 334.
June 13, 1997
Thomas E. Walsh, II, Esq.
Informal Opinion
Assistant County Attorney
No. 97-28
County of Rockland
Allison-Parris County Office Bldg.
11 New Hempstead Road
New City, NY 10956
Dear Mr. Walsh
You have asked whether the Rockland County Clerk may accept
for filing a subdivision plat certified by a licensed
professional engineer who is authorized under the Education Law
to make land surveys that are essential to engineering projects.
Real Property Law § 334 provides:
It shall be the duty of every person or
corporation who, as owner or agent,
subdivides real property into lots, plots,
blocks or sites, with or without streets, for
the purpose of offering such lots, plots,
blocks or sites for sale to the public, to
cause a map thereof, together with a
certificate of the licensed land surveyor
filing said map attached showing the date of
the completion of the survey by said land
surveyor and of the making of the map by said
land surveyor and the name of the subdivision
as stated by the owner, to be filed in the
office of the county clerk . . . prior to the
offering of any such lots, plots, blocks or
sites for sale.
In a prior opinion we concluded that under this provision a
county clerk should not accept for filing subdivision maps that
are certified by anyone other than a licensed land surveyor.
1970 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 210. We noted that the Supreme Court,
Suffolk County, had reviewed section 335 of the Real Property
Law, which requires that all subdivision maps filed in the
Suffolk County Clerk's office include a "certificate of the

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surveyor" verifying that the subdivision map was made from an
actual survey. The court held that section 335 required a
certificate stating that the map had been prepared by a licensed
land surveyor and that one prepared by a professional engineer
was not sufficient. Matter of Nassau-Suffolk Civil Engineers,
Inc. v Albertson, (Sup Ct Suffolk Co October 9, 1970
[unreported]).
The court in Albertson noted that the Legislature
established different training and licensing requirements for
surveyors than for engineers and that it emphasized the
subdivision of real property in defining the practice of
surveying. The court stated that "the public interest demands
that subdivisions of land be accomplished with the greatest
possible standards of accuracy". Finally, it noted that if the
Legislature wished to entrust subdivision surveys to professional
engineers it could have done so expressly. Id.
We considered the decision in Albertson in construing
section 334 of the Real Property Law in our 1970 opinion. We
reasoned that section 334 is more specific than section 335,
requiring that a "certificate of the licensed land surveyor"
accompany a subdivision map. We concluded in 1970 that section
334 should also be construed to require certification of
subdivision maps by a licensed land surveyor rather than a
professional engineer.
Current Education Law provisions regarding the authority of
licensed land surveyors and professional engineers are consistent
with section 334. Education Law § 7208 specifically gives
licensed land surveyors, rather than professional engineers, the
responsibility to determine real property boundaries. It permits
(e) making of surveys by professional
engineers, except that the determination of
real property boundaries may be done only by
a licensed land surveyor.
We conclude that the county clerk may not accept for filing
subdivision maps that are certified by a professional engineer
rather than by a licensed land surveyor as required by Real
Property Law § 334.
The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to
officers and departments of State government. This perforce is
an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this
office.

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Very truly yours,

SIOBHAN S. CRARY
Assistant Attorney General