Minnesota State specific

#1 · April 15, 2016, 10:23 am

Will be sending in my application for Minnesota. Any suggestions on study material? Special topics to pay attention to?

#2 · April 15, 2016, 6:41 pm

Quote from RPlumb314 on April 15, 2016, 6:41 pm
Since I took the MN exam in 1981, I have no idea what it's like nowadays. But here are a few information sources and some characteristics of survey practice in MN, which are no doubt slightly different from other states--

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/ - MN Legislature - access to statutes in general

http://mn.gov/aelslagid/ - Board of Registration - its formal name is the Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design. Of course nobody calls it by its full name.

There are no state laws or rules regulating how a boundary survey is to be prepared. There is a code of ethics, in state Rules Ch. 1800, linked from the Board website. Practice definitions and licensure requirements are in Chap. 326 of the Statutes, also linked from the Board website. It would no doubt be a good idea to browse around there and read everything they have posted.

Platting (subdivision plats) is regulated by MN Stats. Chapter 505. Local jurisdictions, usually counties, may have additional requirements, usually dealing with fine points like line weights, etc. Condominiums (formally called CICs or Common Interest Communities) are regulated by Chap. 515B.

The PLSS in Minnesota is partly run from the 5th P. M. and partly from 4th P. M. surveys extended over from Wisconsin. The 4th PM takes in about 16 townships around Minneapolis-St. Paul. North of there the 4th P. M. surveys stay east of the Mississippi River. The 5th P. M. surveys were closed onto the 4th P. M. surveys on the south and west sides.

All townships are North in Minnesota and all ranges are West, except for a small area north of Lake Superior where there are 4 or 5 ranges East of the extended 4th P. M. All the 5th P. M. Township numbers are over 100 and all the 4th P. M. township numbers are under 100, which makes it easy to tell them apart.

In the Twin Cities there is a considerable amount of Torrens (Registered) property, and there is some elsewhere in the state. Don't know if you have that in Missouri. Chapter 508 of the Statutes tells about it.

Aside from ordinary subdivision plats, there is a type of recorded map called a Registered Land Survey which can only be used on Torrens property. It's described in Stats. 508.47. A Registered Land Survey is commonly used for simple parcel divisions. The parcels created are identified with letters instead of numbers. A RLS can't be used to dedicate a road or easement to the public. One unusual feature of a Minnesota Registered Land Survey is that it can include elevation boundaries, so it can be used to create air-rights parcels.

There is an odd kind of recorded map called an Auditor's Subdivision. These are created by order of a County Auditor, who is in charge of collecting taxes. They take a collection of metes-and-bounds parcel descriptions, compile them into a map, and give the parcels numbers so they can be referred to more easily. This is done only for the convenience of the Auditor, and the parcels have generally not been surveyed. But property owners then start conveying the parcels with descriptions like "Lot 13, Auditor's Subdivision No. 44, Aitkin County MN." Auditor's Subdivisions make trouble for surveyors. They're not being used much at present, if at all, but there are plenty of old ones in the records. The most recent Auditor's Subdivision I have found in Hennepin County dated from 1964.

Since I took the MN exam in 1981, I have no idea what it's like nowadays. But here are a few information sources and some characteristics of survey practice in MN, which are no doubt slightly different from other states--

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/ - MN Legislature - access to statutes in general

http://mn.gov/aelslagid/ - Board of Registration - its formal name is the Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design. Of course nobody calls it by its full name.

There are no state laws or rules regulating how a boundary survey is to be prepared. There is a code of ethics, in state Rules Ch. 1800, linked from the Board website. Practice definitions and licensure requirements are in Chap. 326 of the Statutes, also linked from the Board website. It would no doubt be a good idea to browse around there and read everything they have posted.

Platting (subdivision plats) is regulated by MN Stats. Chapter 505. Local jurisdictions, usually counties, may have additional requirements, usually dealing with fine points like line weights, etc. Condominiums (formally called CICs or Common Interest Communities) are regulated by Chap. 515B.

The PLSS in Minnesota is partly run from the 5th P. M. and partly from 4th P. M. surveys extended over from Wisconsin. The 4th PM takes in about 16 townships around Minneapolis-St. Paul. North of there the 4th P. M. surveys stay east of the Mississippi River. The 5th P. M. surveys were closed onto the 4th P. M. surveys on the south and west sides.

All townships are North in Minnesota and all ranges are West, except for a small area north of Lake Superior where there are 4 or 5 ranges East of the extended 4th P. M. All the 5th P. M. Township numbers are over 100 and all the 4th P. M. township numbers are under 100, which makes it easy to tell them apart.

In the Twin Cities there is a considerable amount of Torrens (Registered) property, and there is some elsewhere in the state. Don't know if you have that in Missouri. Chapter 508 of the Statutes tells about it.

Aside from ordinary subdivision plats, there is a type of recorded map called a Registered Land Survey which can only be used on Torrens property. It's described in Stats. 508.47. A Registered Land Survey is commonly used for simple parcel divisions. The parcels created are identified with letters instead of numbers. A RLS can't be used to dedicate a road or easement to the public. One unusual feature of a Minnesota Registered Land Survey is that it can include elevation boundaries, so it can be used to create air-rights parcels.

There is an odd kind of recorded map called an Auditor's Subdivision. These are created by order of a County Auditor, who is in charge of collecting taxes. They take a collection of metes-and-bounds parcel descriptions, compile them into a map, and give the parcels numbers so they can be referred to more easily. This is done only for the convenience of the Auditor, and the parcels have generally not been surveyed. But property owners then start conveying the parcels with descriptions like "Lot 13, Auditor's Subdivision No. 44, Aitkin County MN." Auditor's Subdivisions make trouble for surveyors. They're not being used much at present, if at all, but there are plenty of old ones in the records. The most recent Auditor's Subdivision I have found in Hennepin County dated from 1964.

#3 · April 15, 2016, 7:42 pm

Thank you for all that information! I have some material already like the Fant, Freeman and Madson Legal description book, the Land Surveyors Handbook of Statutes (book 1 &2) and the Manual of platting guidelines. I will most definitely print out your suggestions and make sure I take note of all those items.

Even though it has been a few years since your exam, if those items stick out to you I am sure they are important.

Thanks again.

#4 · May 18, 2020, 11:50 am

BUMP....So this originally fell through, but I have been asked again now that I am back at the BIG firm. I have been asked to get my license in Minnesota and will given a very nice size bonus for doing so....So why not...

Anyways so has anyone taking the exam recently? Besides what is laid out on the candidate handbook is there anything one should pay close attention to?

#5 · May 18, 2020, 12:03 pm

Watch out for cold winters.

I know about a guy who lived up there that had 21 children.

As I said, it gets cold in Minnesota.

N

#6 · May 18, 2020, 1:38 pm

@nate-the-surveyor It is very cold up there in the winters. But there is some great fishing holes up there and blissful canoe spots.

#7 · May 18, 2020, 4:48 pm

@stlsurveyor

And lots of mosquitoes too!

#8 · June 30, 2020, 1:47 pm

Received a letter yesterday letting me know I have been approved to take MN exam in October. I've got the MN Land Surveyors Handbook, both Book One and Book Two. Also have Fant, Freeman & Madson Writing Description Book. Anyone else have anything to offer/suggest?

#9 · September 22, 2020, 11:10 pm

TTT - Just a friendly bump to see if any new eyes come across this thread and have anything to offer. About two weeks out and gearing up for the final push. Thanks