Q: Can Surveyors Trespass To Do Their Job in Washington dc and Maryland?

A: I’ve never researched the issue, and it might be a fair bar review question, but it would be difficult to imagine a real life settling. Trespass is not presumed when entering on land for a legitimate purpose. The easiest horn book example is the door to door salesman or Jehovah Witness knocking on the front door. They might not be welcome, but unless they’ve been specifically disinvited, they are business invitees, and, as such, the landowner owes them certain duties for their protection. My guess is that the same applies to the surveyor, but, even if you sent the surveyor a no-trespass notice or posted the land, they might be protected. On the other hand, there are certainly settings I can imagine where nobody may enter without prior authorization, and that authorization may require a warrant or another court order. If this is a real life concern, you may need to review the facts and the need with a lawyer in a consult and pay for some research.

A: Generally speaking, a Registered Land Surveyor has a license to do his job. He cannot go into restricted areas and should use good judgment. But that license gives him the right to go most anywhere. The problem is actually that most surveyors do not have a license but work for the guy with the seal stamp.

A: The crime of trespass requires either (1) that the property is posted by signage in a conspicuos location against trespass; or (2) the person allegedly trespassing has previously been specifically warned not to come onto the property, either verbally or in writing, but nevertheless entered "wantonly" against the warning. “Wanton” means extremely reckless, or showing complete disregard for the rights of others. A licensed land surveyor acting in good faith on behalf of an adjacent property owner to perform a property survey, who enters your land either inadvertently or by need to access the location of the boundary marker or to perform the survey, would not meet the defintion of "wanton." If you post your property with clear signage necessarily visible to any person entering the land, then perhaps there is a basis to file criminal charges. However, getting a prosecutor to pursue the criminal charge is another matter, as is proving the surveyor was aware of and saw the sign. To prove a crime there is a requirement of criminal intent, which essentially means the defendant is consciously aware they are committing a crime and does so intentionally or wilfully, or act in reckless disregard of the law. In addition, under Maryland law, if a land surveyor is acting at the bequest or direction of the State or local government, then they have a legal right to enter upon any land in the State to perform their duty, regardless of the wishes of the private property owner, and the courts will enforce that right through court order.