Membership Benefits

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Why join RPLS.com?

For nearly thirty years, RPLS.com has been the place land surveyors go to talk shop, work through hard problems, and keep the trade’s knowledge in good hands. That whole archive stays open to everyone — every discussion, current and past, free to read. What membership gives you is a voice in it: ask your own questions, weigh in with hard-won judgment, find work, move gear, and get found by the people looking to hire a surveyor.

It’s also how this place stays standing. RPLS.com is independent and surveyor-run, with no corporate owner and no ad network calling the shots. Your membership is what keeps it that way. Here’s what comes with it.

Note: You don’t need a license to join — RPLS.com is open to everyone in the surveying community.

Talk shop with people who get it

Post and reply on any topic — ask, answer, and be in the thread where today’s problems get solved, not just reading it.
Unwind in the Members’ Lounge, our members-only room for everything that isn’t a survey question.
Opt into Politics & Religion, our members-only room for the spicier debates — on your terms.

Find work, move gear, get hired

Post to the Jobs board when you’re hiring a crew — and browse openings when you’re the one looking.
List equipment in the Marketplace to buy, sell, or trade gear with people who actually know what it’s worth.
Claim your spot in the Pro Directory so property owners, attorneys, and firms searching for a licensed surveyor can find you, see what you do, and reach out.

Keep it independent

Wear a member badge on your profile and posts that says you’re part of keeping this community alive.
Back a site that answers to surveyors, not shareholders — no corporate owner, no algorithm deciding what you see.
Know your dollars stay in the work — servers, security, software, moderation, and keeping the site online.

You get out what you put in

RPLS.com has always run on surveyors showing up for each other. The more you put in — a sharp answer, a hard-won lesson, a heads-up about a tool that died in the field — the more this whole community is worth to everyone in it, you included. Membership isn’t a subscription to content; it’s a seat at the table. Pull up a chair and weigh in.

Message, call, and share files with other members

A private, surveyor-only line to the rest of the community — running on our own servers, with no ads and nothing tracked.

Private one-on-one and group messages — react, reply, and pick a conversation back up right where you left it.
Voice notes and short video messages for when typing won’t cut it, with transcription on request.

One-on-one and group voice and video calls — hop on with a colleague, or pull a few people together for a crew meetup or study session.
Share big files that email chokes on — plats, drawings, PDFs, and photos.
Works right in your browser, on your desktop, tablet or phone, with notifications so you don’t miss a reply.

Prefer to start free?

Reading is free for everyone — every discussion, current and past, no account needed. A free account adds a profile, lets you follow topics, and lets you ask the pros in Ask a Surveyor. Posting, the members-only rooms, and listing yourself come with membership.

Create a free account →

Compare access — Free vs Member

Read everything and browse for free. Membership is your voice — post, reply, the members-only rooms, and a listing in every board.

	Free	Member
Read every discussion, current and past	✓	✓
Profile & member directory	✓	✓
Ask a question in Ask a Surveyor	✓	✓
Browse all listings	✓	✓
Start topics & reply in the forums	—	✓
Access members-only rooms (Members’ Lounge, Politics & Religion)	—	✓
Members’ messenger— private messages, calls & file sharing	—	✓
List yourself in Find a Surveyor	—	✓
Post in Classifieds, Jobs & Want to Buy	—	✓

Reading is free — membership is taking part

Every discussion on RPLS.com, current and past, is free to read for everyone — no account, no paywall. Membership isn’t access to the archive; it’s your voice in it, and what keeps this place independent and surveyor-run.

Become a member

Standard and Sustainer include the same full access — post and reply anywhere, the members-only rooms, and a listing in all four boards. Pick how you pay, or give a little more as a Sustainer. Students, apprentices, and instructors have a rate of their own, below.