Washington Land Survey Drafting
Land Survey Drafting in Washington
Land survey drafting in Washington for Professional Land Surveyors. We prepare records of survey, short plats, and topographic maps from your measurements and records, using your template and local format. You direct preparation under contract and sign and seal the final sheets.
Overview
What is Land Survey Drafting in Washington?
We turn your Washington measurements, computations, and record research into CAD maps. You provide the boundary decisions, bearing basis, and monument information; we draft the linework, notes, certificates, and review sheets.
Records may refer to a donation land claim, government lot, or townsite as well as the Willamette Meridian grid. We retain those references and distinguish measured values from deed calls, including the overlaps, hiatuses, and apparent encroachments you identify.
The PLS maintains responsible charge throughout our land survey drafting services, from a record of survey to short plats and topographic maps. WAC 196-25-070 requires a contractual or employment relationship and involvement during preparation. Reviewing a finished map alone does not count as direct supervision.
At a glance
- State planeWashington plane coordinate system, North and South zones
- UnitsU.S. survey feet for NAD 83, as DNR advises
- MeridianWillamette Meridian, shared with Oregon
- Record of survey18 × 24 in., 2 in. left margin, black ink
- RegulatorBRPELS licenses the PLS; DNR sets map rules
- Your roleYou direct each sheet as we draft it, under contract (WAC 196-25-070), then sign, date, and stamp it
What we deliver
What's included in Washington Survey Drafting
Send your map type, field notes, computations, records, and city or county format. We draft to the applicable recording and DNR map requirements under your direction.
Record of Survey Drafting
Records of survey for boundary work with your found/set monument descriptions, bearing basis, adjoining-record ties, and RCW 58.09.080 certificate.
Short Plat & Long Plat Drafting
Short plats and long plats to the local format. Short plats generally cover four lots or fewer, or up to nine where local code allows, as Seattle does. We show the overlaps, hiatuses, and encroachments your survey identifies.
Boundary Line Adjustment Drafting
Boundary line adjustment maps showing your revised shared line without creating a new lot, in the city's or county's required format.
Binding Site Plan & Unit Lot Drafting
Binding site plans and associated records of survey, plus unit lot subdivision plats with the informational notes you supply.
Lot Split Survey Drafting
Residential lot split maps with your approved layout and the RCW 58.17.145 notation restricting further splits, where applicable.
Topographic Map Drafting
Topographic maps with your datum, benchmarks, contour source and interval, intended use, and limit-of-use notes.
Land Corner Record Forms
DNR Land Corner Records from your GLO corner recovery or restoration data where that form applies; property and plat corners use other records.
Condominium Map Drafting
Common interest community survey maps with the surveyor certificate and project data you provide under RCW 64.90.
ALTA/NSPS, Easement, Utility & As-Built Drawings
ALTA/NSPS plats, easement exhibits, utility, as-built, and aerial drawings, with utility sources and accuracy notes supplied by your surveyor.
Why it matters
What Washington's recording rules put on the sheet
BRPELS regulates the PLS; DNR's chapter 332-130 WAC map standards govern drawing content and legibility. We check the record-of-survey format against WAC 332-130-055 and keep the surveyor's decisions and certification with you.
Send the local template and review requirements. Seattle provides an AutoCAD short plat template; Clark County reviews survey maps before recording. We prepare the CAD set and revise to your instructions on agency redlines.
Specify the Washington North (4601) or South (4602) zone. The land description and coordinate note retain the system and zone name.
Supply the datum tag, epoch, combined factors, and control scheme. We show them on the record of survey or accompanying control map.
DNR advises U.S. survey feet for NAD 83 State Plane work during the transition. Tell us the actual units and system; we preserve supplied values and labels.
Where coordinate and PLSS calls conflict, RCW 58.20.210 gives the PLSS call precedence. We carry your tract and projected quarter-quarter references onto the first sheet.
Minor errors require an amended map, not the retired affidavit of minor correction. We cross-reference the original and list the changes you direct.
Each record-of-survey sheet carries the PLS's signed seal and date. The title block names the firm or land surveyor that performed the survey.
Where it applies
Industries We Serve
Surveying Firms
CAD capacity for Washington PLS firms under contract, with the PLS directing the work while each sheet is prepared.
Residential Infill
Short plats, unit lot subdivisions, and lot split maps for surveyors serving infill and middle housing projects.
Commercial & Industrial Development
Binding site plans and associated records of survey for commercial and industrial clients' surveyors.
Condominiums & Associations
Common interest community maps prepared for the responsible licensed surveyor's certification.
Timber & Rural Land
Section, government-lot, and Land Corner Record drawings for rural and forestland surveyors.
Civil Engineering & Septic Design
Topographic base maps for surveyors supporting engineers and septic designers, with the required datum and use limitations.
How it works
Our End-to-End Process
Scope & Standards
You tell us the map type, the recording statute it falls under, the state plane zone and units, and any city or county format that applies.
Data Transfer
Send field data, computations, deeds, prior surveys from the county or DNR archive, and your CAD template and title block.
Drafting
We draft linework, monument callouts, curve data, certificates, and notes in AutoCAD, Civil 3D, or MicroStation.
Quality Check
We check closure, labels, and the recording checklist items against your data, then send PDF check prints for your redlines.
Approval & Delivery
We revise until you approve, then deliver the final AutoCAD DWG and PDF files to you. You sign, seal, and file the map.
Why Arcengine
Why Choose Us
Fixed Price, No Hidden Costs
We set the price before work starts and add no charges later.
Clean, Checked Drawings
Lettering and line weights sized to scan cleanly, with every label checked against your field data before you see the drawing.
Experienced Survey Drafters
Our team has drafted for surveying firms in the U.S. and abroad.
Deadlines Kept
We agree on the deadline with you before work starts, and we meet it.
Open to Feedback
We take your redlines and rework the drawing until it matches what you need.
Your Software & Templates
We work in AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and MicroStation, on your title block and layer standards.
Start with a Pilot Project
Start with a pilot project to check our drafting against your standards.
You Keep Responsible Charge
You direct preparation and make the surveying decisions. We send progress sets and revise to your instructions before your final review and seal.
Explore more
Our Other Services
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Arcengine holds no BRPELS license, registration, or certificate of authorization and offers CAD drafting only. A Washington PLS runs the survey, contracts for and directs preparation, and signs and seals the final sheets. WAC 196-25-070 requires supervision during development; reviewing finished work alone is insufficient. Landowners should hire a Washington PLS.
Yes. We prepare the applicable sheet size and margins, keep lettering and linework legible, and write out the first sheet's land references. You review the map against WAC 332-130-055; the county recording official decides whether to record it.
We use Washington North or South as you specify, with your datum tag, epoch, combined factors, and control scheme. For NAD 83 work, DNR advises U.S. survey feet during the transition. Tell us any different project requirement so the values and labels remain consistent.
Yes. We prepare an amended map with the original recording reference and a list of your changes. A changed lot configuration, easement, or condition may require a new approval process and owner signatures; you and your client arrange those approvals.
Yes. We use Seattle's parcel labels, line weights, areas, and short plat format, or another local template you provide. For Clark County, send the surveyor's review redlines and we revise the CAD sheets for your check before recording submittal.
Project assurance
How your project is handled.
We work from your field data, templates and instructions. You direct, review and approve the drawings.
How we protect project information- In-house delivery
- An Arcengine drafting team handles your work.
- NDA protection
- Project information handled under an NDA.
- E&O insured
- Professional liability insurance in place.
- CAD standards checked
- Drawings checked against your templates and markups.
Get in touch
Land survey drafting in Washington, ready for your seal
Send your field data, computations, records, map type, coordinate basis, and local template. We return DWG and PDF sheets prepared under your contract and direction for review.