SURVEY TYPES & LEGAL PLANS
 
Surveyor’s Real Property Report (SRPR)
A legal survey showing the location of buildings, structures, and visible site features in relation to property boundaries. An SRPR identifies encroachments, rights of way, and approximate locations of easements affecting the property. It is commonly used for real estate transactions, building permits, zoning review, and general property understanding.
 
Plan of Survey (POS)
A signed legal document prepared by a licensed surveyor illustrating property boundaries, dimensions, and observed site features. A Plan of Survey may not include a written report and is typically prepared for legal or design purposes.
 
Reference Plan (R Plan)
A plan deposited in the Land Registry Office showing Parts of land for legal registration. R Plans are used for severances, boundary realignments, easements, road widenings, and land transfers. Draft versions may show extra site detail for review, but deposited plans usually only show boundary information.
 
Subdivision Plan (M Plan)
A legal plan that creates multiple lots or blocks through an approved subdivision process. Once registered, the lots shown on the plan become new legal parcels.
 
Boundary Retracement
A survey to re establish existing property boundaries based on deed descriptions, historical plans, and physical evidence found in the field. The surveyor forms a professional opinion of the true boundary position.
 
Boundary Markout / Lot Line Staking
Setting stakes along a property line and marking found or re established survey monuments. No plan is produced unless requested. This service helps owners visualize boundaries for fencing, landscaping, or general understanding.
 
Legal Boundary Survey
A comprehensive retracement of property boundaries resulting in a signed survey plan showing the surveyor’s opinion on the location of the limits of title.
 
Topographic Plan
A survey that maps ground elevations and visible physical features such as structures, vegetation, driveways, retaining walls, and utilities. Topographic surveys are typically required for design, engineering, site planning, and drainage review.
 
Topographic Sketch
A simplified mapping of grades and features used for conceptual planning.
 
Plan of Survey with Topographic Detail
A topographic survey completed with full legal boundary retracement so that elevations and features are tied precisely to the property limits.
 
As Built Survey
A survey capturing constructed features such as foundations, walls, grading, and utilities after installation to confirm they match design requirements, zoning setbacks, or permit conditions.
 
Vacant Lot Staking
Marking the approximate area of a lot using existing plan information to help visualize the parcel. This is not a legal boundary survey.
 
Lot Grading Plan
A plan illustrating drainage patterns, proposed grades, and stormwater intent. Often required by municipalities for new homes, reconstructions, or additions.
 
Setback Certificate / Zoning Certificate
A survey confirming the distance between structures and property boundaries, usually required for zoning or building permit compliance.
 
Final Grade Certificate
A certificate confirming that final lot grading matches the approved grading plan, often required before occupancy.
 
Crown Lands Plan (CL Plan)
A specialized reference plan used when purchasing or disposing of Crown land. These plans must follow instructions from the Office of the Surveyor General and may require extended review periods.
 
Geodetic Survey
A survey tied to provincial or national control networks to ensure positional consistency across large geographic areas.
 
 
CONSTRUCTION LAYOUT TERMS
 
Construction Layout (Building Layout)
Marking the exact position of proposed structures on the ground based on approved for construction drawings. Includes layout of foundations, walls, columns, gridlines, and elevations.
 
Rough Stake
Preliminary staking of the proposed building location to assist with excavation, blasting, or early site preparation.
 
Footing Pinning
Marking the precise footing corners after excavation, ready for forming and concrete placement.
 
Nails on Footing / Nails on Foundation
Small nails or markers placed on concrete to show foundation wall and structural alignments during construction.
 
Approved for Permit Drawings
Drawings issued for permitting review. They are often preliminary and should not be used for construction layout.
 
Approved for Construction Drawings
Final drawings certified by the designer or engineer for construction. These must be provided for survey layout work. The surveyor is not responsible for errors caused by unapproved drawings.
 
Benchmark (BM) / Temporary Benchmark (TBM)
A marked point with a known elevation used to control vertical measurements during construction or grading.
 
 
PROPERTY & LEGAL TERMS
 
Easement
A legal right allowing another party to use a portion of your property for a specific purpose, such as utilities or access.
 
Right of Way (ROW)
A type of easement permitting passage across land, such as shared driveways or access corridors.
 
Encroachment
A structure or feature that extends over a property boundary onto neighbouring lands or road allowances.
 
Monument / Iron Bar / Survey Bar
Metal markers placed in the ground to represent property corners or points along a boundary.
 
PIN (Property Identification Number)
A unique number assigned to each parcel in the provincial land registration system.
 
Legal Description
A written description of land used in deeds, transfers, and titles. May reference lot, concession, plan number, or parts on a reference plan.
 
Title / Parcel Register
The official record of ownership, rights, and encumbrances associated with a parcel.
 
Coordinate System
A standardized grid such as UTM that defines positions on Earth.
 
Datum
A mathematical model of the Earth used to define coordinates and elevations.
 
Georeferencing
Linking survey measurements to a recognized coordinate system to ensure consistency with mapping, GIS data, and other surveys.
 
UTM Grid (Universal Transverse Mercator)
A common coordinate system that divides the world into zones for consistent mapping.
 
 
UTILITY LOCATES & SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING (SUE)
 
SUE (Subsurface Utility Engineering)
A structured process for identifying and mapping underground utilities using records, surveys, and non destructive testing. Levels include:
QL D: Records only
QL C: Records correlated with visible features
QL B: Field measurement and electronic locating
QL A: Utilities exposed by hydrovac
 
Public Locate (ON1Call)
A free service that marks public utilities such as gas, water, hydro, and telecom before excavation.
 
Private Locate
A locate for privately owned utilities on a property, required before digging or design work.
 
Hydrovac Excavation
A safe excavation method using pressurized water and vacuum to expose buried utilities.
 
Site Service Plan
A drawing showing site utilities such as water, sewer, gas, and electrical routing.
 
 
DIGITAL DELIVERABLES
 
CAD File
A digital drawing file such as DWG or DXF used in AutoCAD and other drafting programs.
 
Point Cloud
A dense 3D dataset captured by laser scanning or photogrammetry to represent structures and terrain.
 
E57 / XYZ / LGS Files
Common file formats for sharing point cloud data with architects, engineers, and designers.
 
GIS Layer / GIS Data
Geospatial information used for mapping and analysis, often provided in shapefiles or geodatabases.
 
Signed PDF Plan
The official deliverable of a legal survey, containing a digital signature and seal.