ILLINOIS JURISDICTIONAL LAND SURVEYOR LATEST EXAM
2026/2027 & PRACTICE QUESTIONS ACTUAL QUESTIONS WITH
WELL ELABORATED ANSWERS WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
(100% CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS) CURRENTLY UPDATED
VERSION 2026 EDITION |GUARANTEED PASS A+ (BRAND NEW!)
FULL REVISED ILLINOIS JURISDICTIONAL LAND SURVEYOR
APPROVED TEST
1. A retracement survey in Illinois must primarily rely on which of the
following to reestablish original boundaries?
A) Distances recorded in the original plat
B) Bearing calls as originally measured by magnetic compass
C) Evidence of the original documentation and senior rights
D) GPS coordinates from the current Illinois State Plane Coordinate
System
CORRECT ANSWER: C – Evidence of the original documentation
and senior rights.
Rationale: In Illinois jurisprudence, the hierarchy of evidence for
boundary retracement places original monuments (if found undisturbed)
at the highest priority, followed by senior rights, then distances/angles,
and finally coordinates, per the state’s adoption of the “monument over
measurement” rule.
2. Under the Illinois Plat Act, a subdivision plat must be recorded to be
legally effective. What is the maximum acreage allowed for a minor
subdivision without requiring full planning commission review?
A) 5 acres
B) 10 acres
C) 20 acres
D) 35 acres
CORRECT ANSWER: B – 10 acres.
, Rationale: The Illinois Plat Act (765 ILCS 205) specifies that a minor
subdivision, defined as dividing land into no more than 4 lots with no
new streets, is limited to 10 acres or less to qualify for streamlined
review.
3. A property description reads: “Beginning at a 5/8” iron pin at the NW
corner of Section 22, T3N, R2E, then S 89°59’ W 660.00 ft. to a stone,
then S 00°01’ E 1320.00 ft. to a 5/8” rebar…” The surveyor finds the
stone is missing. What is the proper next step?
A) Replace the stone with a new monument at the computed position
B) Accept adjacent property fences as controlling
C) Locate the stone by its original witness ties and reset documentation
using proportionate measurement
D) Ignore the stone call and rely only on distances
CORRECT ANSWER: C – Locate the stone by its original witness ties
and reset documentation using proportionate measurement.
Rationale: When an original monument is lost, Illinois courts require the
surveyor to reconstruct its position using best available evidence (e.g.,
witness ties, adjoining original monuments) and then apply
proportionate measurement to distribute excess/deficiency.
4. Which of the following is NOT a requirement for a corner record
filing in Illinois under the Illinois Geographic Information System (GIS)
/ Surveyors Act?
A) Name and registration number of the Illinois licensed surveyor
B) Description of monument found or set
C) A full boundary survey of the entire parcel
D) Date of survey and signature of landowner (if applicable)
CORRECT ANSWER: C – A full boundary survey of the entire
parcel.
*Rationale: A corner record is a shorter filing used to document a
monument position, not a complete boundary survey. ILCS 225/345
,(Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989) does not require full
boundary retracement for a corner record. *
5. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) standards require
that for right-of-way surveys, all monuments set must have a cap
stamped with which information?
A) “IDOT” and year
B) Surveyor’s license number and “IL”
C) “Property Corner – Do Not Remove”
D) County name and date of survey
CORRECT ANSWER: B – Surveyor’s license number and “IL”.
Rationale: IDOT’s Bureau of Design and Environment (BDE) Manual,
Chapter 36, mandates that all survey monuments set on IDOT projects
be capped with the surveyor’s IL license number and the letters “IL”.
6. A surveyor is working in the Illinois State Plane Coordinate System,
East Zone. Which projection is used as the mathematical basis for this
zone?
A) Lambert Conformal Conic
B) Transverse Mercator
C) Albers Equal Area
D) Oblique Mercator
CORRECT ANSWER: A – Lambert Conformal Conic.
Rationale: Illinois uses two State Plane zones: East and West, both
based on the Lambert Conformal Conic projection, which minimizes
angular distortion along parallels.
7. In Illinois, the professional land surveyor’s standard of care requires
that a survey be:
A) Guaranteed to be free of all errors
B) Based only on recorded deeds and plats
C) That degree of skill and care ordinarily exercised by competent
, surveyors in the same locality under similar circumstances
D) Approved by the county engineer before release
CORRECT ANSWER: C – That degree of skill and care ordinarily
exercised by competent surveyors in the same locality under similar
circumstances.
Rationale: This is the common law and statutory standard of care for
professionals in Illinois; no survey guarantees absolute accuracy.
8. According to the Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989,
which of the following activities requires a license as a professional land
surveyor?
A) Measuring for a fence layout on a single-family lot for the owner
B) Creating a plat of subdivision for recording
C) Using GPS to locate underground utilities without marking
boundaries
D) Drawing a sketch of existing home improvements
CORRECT ANSWER: B – Creating a plat of subdivision for
recording.
Rationale: Sec. 4 of the Act defines practice as including “determining
the position of boundaries” and preparing subdivision plats for
recording; mere physical measurement without boundary determination
or public record intent may be exempt.
9. The Illinois “Lost Corner” doctrine states that when all evidence of
the original corner is gone, the surveyor should establish the corner by:
A) Placing it at the deed distance from the nearest existing corner
B) Using the average of adjacent property owner’s fence lines
C) Proportioning the distance between two original or fixed corners
along the same line
D) Using the current GPS coordinates of the nearest geodetic control
CORRECT ANSWER: C – Proportioning the distance between two
original or fixed corners along the same line.
2026/2027 & PRACTICE QUESTIONS ACTUAL QUESTIONS WITH
WELL ELABORATED ANSWERS WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
(100% CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS) CURRENTLY UPDATED
VERSION 2026 EDITION |GUARANTEED PASS A+ (BRAND NEW!)
FULL REVISED ILLINOIS JURISDICTIONAL LAND SURVEYOR
APPROVED TEST
1. A retracement survey in Illinois must primarily rely on which of the
following to reestablish original boundaries?
A) Distances recorded in the original plat
B) Bearing calls as originally measured by magnetic compass
C) Evidence of the original documentation and senior rights
D) GPS coordinates from the current Illinois State Plane Coordinate
System
CORRECT ANSWER: C – Evidence of the original documentation
and senior rights.
Rationale: In Illinois jurisprudence, the hierarchy of evidence for
boundary retracement places original monuments (if found undisturbed)
at the highest priority, followed by senior rights, then distances/angles,
and finally coordinates, per the state’s adoption of the “monument over
measurement” rule.
2. Under the Illinois Plat Act, a subdivision plat must be recorded to be
legally effective. What is the maximum acreage allowed for a minor
subdivision without requiring full planning commission review?
A) 5 acres
B) 10 acres
C) 20 acres
D) 35 acres
CORRECT ANSWER: B – 10 acres.
, Rationale: The Illinois Plat Act (765 ILCS 205) specifies that a minor
subdivision, defined as dividing land into no more than 4 lots with no
new streets, is limited to 10 acres or less to qualify for streamlined
review.
3. A property description reads: “Beginning at a 5/8” iron pin at the NW
corner of Section 22, T3N, R2E, then S 89°59’ W 660.00 ft. to a stone,
then S 00°01’ E 1320.00 ft. to a 5/8” rebar…” The surveyor finds the
stone is missing. What is the proper next step?
A) Replace the stone with a new monument at the computed position
B) Accept adjacent property fences as controlling
C) Locate the stone by its original witness ties and reset documentation
using proportionate measurement
D) Ignore the stone call and rely only on distances
CORRECT ANSWER: C – Locate the stone by its original witness ties
and reset documentation using proportionate measurement.
Rationale: When an original monument is lost, Illinois courts require the
surveyor to reconstruct its position using best available evidence (e.g.,
witness ties, adjoining original monuments) and then apply
proportionate measurement to distribute excess/deficiency.
4. Which of the following is NOT a requirement for a corner record
filing in Illinois under the Illinois Geographic Information System (GIS)
/ Surveyors Act?
A) Name and registration number of the Illinois licensed surveyor
B) Description of monument found or set
C) A full boundary survey of the entire parcel
D) Date of survey and signature of landowner (if applicable)
CORRECT ANSWER: C – A full boundary survey of the entire
parcel.
*Rationale: A corner record is a shorter filing used to document a
monument position, not a complete boundary survey. ILCS 225/345
,(Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989) does not require full
boundary retracement for a corner record. *
5. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) standards require
that for right-of-way surveys, all monuments set must have a cap
stamped with which information?
A) “IDOT” and year
B) Surveyor’s license number and “IL”
C) “Property Corner – Do Not Remove”
D) County name and date of survey
CORRECT ANSWER: B – Surveyor’s license number and “IL”.
Rationale: IDOT’s Bureau of Design and Environment (BDE) Manual,
Chapter 36, mandates that all survey monuments set on IDOT projects
be capped with the surveyor’s IL license number and the letters “IL”.
6. A surveyor is working in the Illinois State Plane Coordinate System,
East Zone. Which projection is used as the mathematical basis for this
zone?
A) Lambert Conformal Conic
B) Transverse Mercator
C) Albers Equal Area
D) Oblique Mercator
CORRECT ANSWER: A – Lambert Conformal Conic.
Rationale: Illinois uses two State Plane zones: East and West, both
based on the Lambert Conformal Conic projection, which minimizes
angular distortion along parallels.
7. In Illinois, the professional land surveyor’s standard of care requires
that a survey be:
A) Guaranteed to be free of all errors
B) Based only on recorded deeds and plats
C) That degree of skill and care ordinarily exercised by competent
, surveyors in the same locality under similar circumstances
D) Approved by the county engineer before release
CORRECT ANSWER: C – That degree of skill and care ordinarily
exercised by competent surveyors in the same locality under similar
circumstances.
Rationale: This is the common law and statutory standard of care for
professionals in Illinois; no survey guarantees absolute accuracy.
8. According to the Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989,
which of the following activities requires a license as a professional land
surveyor?
A) Measuring for a fence layout on a single-family lot for the owner
B) Creating a plat of subdivision for recording
C) Using GPS to locate underground utilities without marking
boundaries
D) Drawing a sketch of existing home improvements
CORRECT ANSWER: B – Creating a plat of subdivision for
recording.
Rationale: Sec. 4 of the Act defines practice as including “determining
the position of boundaries” and preparing subdivision plats for
recording; mere physical measurement without boundary determination
or public record intent may be exempt.
9. The Illinois “Lost Corner” doctrine states that when all evidence of
the original corner is gone, the surveyor should establish the corner by:
A) Placing it at the deed distance from the nearest existing corner
B) Using the average of adjacent property owner’s fence lines
C) Proportioning the distance between two original or fixed corners
along the same line
D) Using the current GPS coordinates of the nearest geodetic control
CORRECT ANSWER: C – Proportioning the distance between two
original or fixed corners along the same line.
