Intern | Professional | Certificate of Authorization | 
Historical listing of PSs by License Num.doc
The Board issues and maintains licenses for Surveyor Interns and Professional Surveyors. The Board’s laws and rules also require that firms offering or providing surveying services have a license called a Certificate of Authorization.
Following is general information on how to obtain and renew each type of surveying license. The Board’s laws and rules also contain specific information and these can be accessed by clicking the “Rules/Regs/Standards” tab from the home page.
Surveyor Intern
A Surveyor Intern has demonstrated the proper requirements, and has been admitted to and passed an examination in the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS).
Intern applicants are classed as either students or non-students. A student applicant is one that is verified by a school official as being within 12 months of graduating from a two- (2) or four- (4) year program that meets the requirements of Article 8.D.1. of the Board’s rules. Non-student applicants are all others including those attempting to qualify with four (4) years of acceptable experience.
Student or non-students can choose to submit their applications on-line or on paper forms. Because the primary requirement for students or other applicants with acceptable two- (2) or four- (4) year degrees to be admitted is proof of the degree or pending degree, most of these intern applicants can be conditionally approved and admitted to the FS by staff.
Intern applicants seeking to qualify by experience are interviewed by a Surveying Committee of the Board to determine whether the applicant’s experience is of a satisfactory grade and character. After the interview, the Committee recommends to the Board whether the applicant should be admitted or whether more experience is needed.
Because the FS is developed and administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), approved applicants must also sign up with them. This requires logging onto the NCEES website at www.NCEES.org and providing the requested information and paying a fee. Specific instructions regarding exam admittance and administration will come from NCEES.
In order to insure that everyone that is approved by the Board has also registered with NCEES, the Board has established application cutoff dates for the April and October exam administrations. For the April examination, the cutoff date is January 1 prior, and the cutoff is July 1 for the October administration.
The examinations are scored by NCEES and the results are submitted to the Board usually about 6-8 weeks after administration. The Board will post those passing on its website within 24 hours of receipt and each individual examinee will be notified usually within 2 weeks. Scores are not reported but those that do not pass will be furnished a diagnostic sheet showing how they performed on specific subjects.
An applicant that passes will be given an intern number if proof of graduation, for those qualifying by education, has been received. Those that do not pass have the ability to take the exam two (2) more times (three (3) times total) and then another application must be submitted.
For more information on the FS exam visit www.NCEES.org website.
Licenses are renewed every two (2) years. The Board encourages online renewal of licenses but renewals can also be submitted on paper forms. The online renewal feature is located on the home page and the renewal forms can be retrieved from the Applications/Forms tab also on the home page.
Professional Surveyor
A professional surveyor can be one admitted either through original or comity licensure. Original licensure generally means first licensure, and requires that the applicant demonstrate either graduation from a two- (2) or four- (4) year program meeting the requirements of Article 8.D.1. of the Board’s rules followed by two (2) years of acceptable experience or six years of acceptable experience, and have passed the FS. These applicants, when approved, must take and pass two examinations before licensure – one is a national examination in the Principles and Practice of Surveying and the other is a state-developed examination that tests an applicant’s knowledge of surveying principles specific to Arkansas.
An applicant for comity licensure means that he or she is already licensed in another jurisdiction and seeks to become licensed based on that prior licensure. Arkansas’ rules for this type of licensure generally require an analysis of whether the applicant’s qualifications for licensure would have met our state’s requirements when the original licensure was obtained. A summary of current and prior licensing requirements are included in the “”Rules/Regs/Standards” section. These applicants have generally already passed the national exam and must take only the state specific examination.
Original or comity applicants can choose to submit their applications on-line or on paper forms. Comity applicants with an NCEES record can use information in the record in lieu of submitting it on the Board’s forms. The different applications are processed differently as well. Because original applications require passing an examination, that process is somewhat similar to that for an intern applicant and will be discussed first.
Like the intern applicant seeking to qualify on experience, all original applicants are interviewed by a Surveyor Committee of the Board for the purpose of determining whether each has experience that demonstrates he or she is competent to practice. If recommended by the Survey Committee and approved by the Board, the applicant is notified of the Board’s decision and directed to sign up with NCEES for administration of the Principles and Practice Examination. This requires logging onto the NCEES website at www.NCEES.org and providing the requested information and paying a fee. Specific instructions regarding exam admittance and administration will come from NCEES.
The state specific examination is proctored by Board staff and any arrangements must be made with them to take that examination.
In order to insure that everyone that is approved by the Board has also registered with NCEES, the Board has established application cutoff dates for the April and October exam administrations. For the April examination, the cutoff date is January 1 prior, and the cutoff is July 1 for the October administration. Applicants should take note that all application materials (license and education verifications, if applicable, and references) must be received by the cutoff date so they can be copied and sent to the Board members in advance of their meeting.
The national examination is scored by NCEES and the results are submitted to the Board usually about 6-8 weeks after administration. The Board will post those passing on its website within 24 hours of receipt and each individual examinee will be notified usually within 2 weeks. Scores are not reported but those that do not pass will be furnished a diagnostic sheet showing how they performed on specific subjects.
The state specific examination is developed and scored by a consultant hired by the Board. The results on this exam are usually available at about the same time as the national examination.
An applicant that passes both exams will be given a license number. Those that do not pass have the ability to take the exam two (2) more times (three (3) times total) and then another application must be submitted.
Comity applicants must be approved by the Board at a regular meeting. The Board generally meets on the second Tuesday of every odd-numbered month, and applications are mailed to members 3 weeks prior. As a result, the amount of time needed to process these depends to a great extent on when the completed application is received and when the next regularly scheduled meeting occurs.
An approved comity applicant can often schedule to take the state specific examination at the Board office at some time other than the April or October administration dates if a convenient time can be arranged.
Licenses are renewed every two (2) years. The Board encourages online renewal of licenses but renewals can also be submitted on paper forms. The online renewal feature is located on the home page and the renewal forms can be retrieved from the Applications/Forms tab also on the home page. Professional licensees report continuing education hours when renewing.
Certificate of Authorization
As opposed to an individual license, the Certificate of Authorization (COA) is issued to a firm. As explained in Article 21 of the Board’s rules, a COA is necessary to provide or offer to provide surveying services through a firm.
The requirements to obtain a COA are relatively straightforward, and consist of providing basic information about the firm as well as designating a licensed individual in this state as being responsible for the firm’s surveying activities.
The rules also provide that only firms holding a COA are authorized to use the terms “Survey” or “Surveying” or any other form of those words in their title. If you have questions about this requirement, you are encouraged to call the Board at 501-682-2824.
Licenses are renewed every two (2) years and currently can only be renewed on paper forms. Renewal forms can be retrieved from the Applications/Forms tab also on the home page.