Wisconsin Questions

Why would I take the test and not be licensed?  

You failed?

Sounds like a call to the executive director of the board may be in order.

I'm confused as to why one would assume that you could sit for the State portion of the exam without filing an application with all pertinent supporting documents.  Without the application and supporting documents what do they have to review and approve to schedule your exam?  Somebody's word that they meet the minimum qualifications?

While agreeing with @chris-bouffard above, there is only one application for land surveyor licensure on the WI website and it includes the following:

Reciprocity Applicants [applicant holding unexpired license(s) and/or registration(s) from another state]
All applicants applying by Reciprocity are required to pass the written Wisconsin State Jurisdictional Examination. This examination is provided
by the Department at an online testing program. You may apply to take the examination by submitting Form #2973.
An applicant may apply for licensure as a Professional Land Surveyor if he or she holds an unexpired license and/or registration in another state
in which requirements are not lower than those in Wisconsin. The license must remain active until the Wisconsin licensure process is
complete. The applicant must have passed the NCEES professional land surveying examination(s). Applicants may apply using NCEES
Council Record or application by examination.

Granted, the use of the term "reciprocity" is incorrect and their process is really "Comity" but you still need to submit an application (or NCEES Record) with verification of your applicable education/experience.

I have been approved to Take the jurisdictional test,

Did you give them

a complete application to get a license.

Without the application and supporting documents what do they have to review and approve to schedule your exam?

@chris-bouffard I would assume if it is reciprocity then the licensure in another state would suffice as long as you passed the state exam. If you have to apply and pass all the exams as if you were not yet licensed, how is that reciprocity?

@ric-moore I considered applying to the neighboring state of NY for licensure by comity.  An Engineer friend that is licensed in several states actually applied and got the run around for three years.  Their web site instructions are convoluted and nobody there takes calls or returns emails.  I ended up throwing in the towel because I have no need to be licensed there.  PA, on the other hand has very responsive people but their exams requires a Surveyor to pass an exam with a ton of drainage design questions and while I have experience designing drainage in NJ using the rational method, PA uses the antiquated TR 55 method which I don't care to learn on my age as I will never design drainage as a Surveyor.

Sorry for the side track but everything you included in your reply to the original post clearly refers to the "applicant".

@lurker you have to fill out the application but not necessarily all of the experience details if you are already licensed in another state so that you can be verified through both your home state and NCEES.  If licensed in a state with equal requirements you will only have to take the State Specific portion.

In NJ, if applying for licensure by comity, you still have to complete the full application and I'm not sure if they still do it but the State used to mail the State exam to you for you to complete and mail back.

I'm confused as to why one would assume that you could sit for the State portion of the exam without filing an application with all pertinent supporting documents. 

Where did I say that?   I'm saying it's clear as mud and I got approval to take the State exam and that's somehow disconnected from the "licensure" part of it.  But still have to fill out the application as if I've just come out of college.  

 

Either have reciprocity or don't, this seems like some odd interpretation of what that means.  

 

 

Without the application and supporting documents what do they have to review and approve to schedule your exam?  Somebody's word that they meet the minimum qualifications?

 

Ummm, except for the college transcripts, official state records and my 20+ years of being licensed in a state(s)  with similar or more stringent requirements.  but yeah, that's just like saying take my word for it.  😉  

 

@lurker   EXACTLY!

@ric-moore   Thanks Ric!    That seems spot on.   Not really reciprocity.   Just updating my NCEES portal now.

@chris-bouffard Yes, over the last few years, I've become more acquainted with the relatively few states which authorized land surveyors to perform incidental drainage design.  And I've also heard of the inconsistencies in terms of accepted methodology.

@andy-j my remarks do not strictly relate to you, when I say you, it is a generalized term but here is where my confusion comes in....."There is a reciprocity avenue, and I have been approved to Take the jurisdictional test, but then was also told that I have to do a complete application to get a license.  As if it's two different processes.....   Does that seem right?....This sounds as though you did not submit the application to begin with, please pardon my confusion.

The whole comity situation is convoluted and can simply be as easy as filling out a one page form for the license and a second simple form to request that your exam scores and licensure status be sent directly to the state you are seeking comity in but that will never work because it's too uncomplicated.

@chris-bouffard   yes, it could be so easy.   Just a few questions answered in a flow chart type of page to get the information needed.    

1)  do you have a college degree in surveying, if so, what school and year?   

2)  are you licensed in another state?   If so, what state.   (they have to have a metric for what and when they match up with... ie    Licensed in FL after certain year means applicant matches WI requirements.  )   

I shouldn't have to re-prove my responsible charge time from 20 years ago, especially when I've bought and sold and run my own land surveying businesses for 15 years.   

@andy-j I agree with you 100%.  I've been licensed in NJ for 30 years with over 25 of them being in responsible charge.  I've worked for six different companies in my 40 year career and it's a big problem for me to come up with references from people that I've worked for because most of them are deceased.

When they ask us to reinvent the wheel, I wonder how much of the information that we give them is actually verified.  I know, for a fact, that not even one of my five professional references that I was required to submit was ever contacted in any way for verification of their reference.

@andy-j

The NECCES record comes in handy for situations like yours, especially if you are going to apply for licensure in other states after Wisconsin.

@chris-bouffard In CA, when we receive a Comity application for land surveyor, we simply tell the applicant to provide four references of other surveyors who are familiar with their work (provided they've been licensed longer than our statutory period of 6 years).