Do You Need a Survey Before Installing a Fence?

When a survey is required

• Village of Tiki Island: always. “Prior to the construction of any fence, a survey must be performed by a registered public surveyor, licensed by the state,” showing “the limits of the property, all utility easements and any other easement,” with “all corners of the property or lot” staked (6-301(c)). The permit application then needs a drawing of the fence line (6-302(f)). See fences and gates on Tiki Island.
• City of Galveston: for commercial fences. The fence permit application includes a sample site plan for residential applicants and says, in capitals, that commercial properties “use survey indicating fence location.” Either way, the applicant certifies the owner’s permission and that the fence doesn’t break deed restrictions.
• City of Bayou Vista: plans and specifications go to the building inspector for a permit (3.13.01(G)). The fence article doesn’t name a survey, but its rules are measured from lines you have to know: the property lines, the street-side build line, utility easements and 20 feet from the bulkhead (3.13.02).
• Your HOA may ask for a plot plan or survey with the application; see do I need HOA approval?

Replacing a storm-damaged line fence can bring the rules back in: on Tiki Island a fence along a property line that is more than 50 percent damaged must be replaced to the current article (6-303), and Bayou Vista has the same 50 percent rule (3.13.03).

What a survey gives you, and who can do it

In Texas, locating property boundaries is “professional surveying” (Occupations Code 1071.002(6)), and a person “may not engage in the practice of professional surveying” without a registration or license (1071.251). A registered professional land surveyor signs and seals the work (1071.351). That is why a fence contractor, a neighbor, or the line of an old fence can’t settle where your line is.

The board’s standards say what the surveyor does and delivers:

• Research. The surveyor follows the record: your deed and the adjoining deeds, the original surveyor’s footsteps, and monuments of record (22 TAC 138.85).
• Corners on the ground. The surveyor must “set, or leave as found, an adequate quantity of monuments” at the corners, marked where practical so they trace back to the surveyor (138.87(b), (d)).
• A drawing you can use. It carries the firm name and registration number, the surveyor’s seal and signature and the date surveyed, and it says which monuments were found and which were placed (138.91(d), (e)).

Ask for what the fence needs: the corners staked or flagged, the recorded easements, and the existing fence lines as located if a line is in doubt. In Tiki Island the easements are required on the survey anyway.

When a survey is worth it anyway

• The fence runs on or near a lot line. Posts set in concrete are expensive to move. A fence on the neighbor’s side of the line is on their land, and in Tiki Island and Bayou Vista a fence beyond the property lines is unlawful (6-302(a), 3.13.02(A)). See how close to the property line can I build?
• You can’t find the pins. A surveyor can re-establish corners from the record and set new monuments (22 TAC 138.85, 138.87).
• The old fence looks off, or a neighbor disagrees. A fence left in the wrong place for years can become evidence in a boundary dispute; Texas has 3, 5 and 10 year adverse possession periods (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.024 to 16.026). See who pays for a shared fence.
• There may be an easement. In easements the City of Galveston requires, only fences that allow maintenance access are allowed, and the City can remove others at the owner’s cost (LDR 6.308(F)). The survey or plat shows where they are.

When it may be reasonable to skip: the fence sits well inside the lot (around a pool or patio), or you have a recent sealed survey and can still find its pins, and nobody disputes the line.

Using the survey for the fence

1. Walk the corners with the drawing and find each pin or flag.
2. Bring the survey to the estimate. The fence line, gate openings and any easement setback on the quote should match it.
3. Use it for the permit. Tiki Island needs a drawing of the fence line; the City of Galveston’s site plan asks where the fence goes.
4. Call 811 before any post hole: a survey shows boundaries and recorded easements, not what is buried. See do you need to call 811 before installing a fence?

Survey prices depend on the lot and the research involved, so ask a licensed surveyor for a quote. The Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors licenses them. For fence styles and materials, see privacy fence installation.

Questions we get about this