(a) This chapter does not prohibit one or more licensed land surveyors or civil engineers licensed in this state before 1982 (hereinafter called civil engineers) from practicing or offering to practice, within the scope of their licensure, land surveying as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, firm, or corporation (hereinafter called business), if the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) A land surveyor or civil engineer currently licensed in the state is an owner, partner, or officer in charge of the land surveying practice of the business.

Terms Used In California Business and Professions Code 8729

  • board: means any entity listed in Section 101, the entities referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600, the State Bar, the Department of Real Estate, and any other state agency that issues a license, certificate, or registration authorizing a person to engage in a business or profession. See California Business and Professions Code 31
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • license: means license, certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or profession regulated by this code or referred to in Section 1000 or 3600. See California Business and Professions Code 23.7
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Business and Professions Code 21
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs, unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Business and Professions Code 15

(2) All land surveying services are performed by or under the responsible charge of a land surveyor or civil engineer.

(3) If the business name of a California land surveying business contains the name of a person, then that person shall be licensed by the board as a land surveyor or licensed by the board in any year as a civil engineer. Any offer, promotion, or advertisement by the business that contains the name of any individual in the business, other than by use of the name of the individual in the business name, shall clearly and specifically designate the license discipline of each individual named.

(b) An out-of-state business with a branch office in this state shall meet the requirements of subdivision (a) and shall have an owner, partner, or officer who is in charge of the land surveying work in this state, who is licensed in this state, and who is physically present at the branch office in this state on a regular basis. However, the name of the business may contain the name of a person not licensed in this state, if that person is appropriately licensed or registered in another state. Any offer, promotion, or advertisement that contains the name of any individual in the business, other than by use of the name of the individual in the business name, shall clearly and specifically designate the license or registration discipline of each individual named.

(c) The business name of a California land surveying business may be a fictitious name. However, if the fictitious name includes the names of any person, the requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) shall be met.

(d) A person not licensed under this chapter or licensed as a civil engineer in this state before 1982 may also be a partner or an officer of a land surveying business if the conditions of subdivision (a) are satisfied. This section does not permit a person who is not licensed under this chapter or licensed as a civil engineer in this state before 1982 to be the sole owner or office of a land surveying business, unless otherwise exempt under this chapter.

(e) This section shall not prevent the use of the name of any business engaged in rendering land surveying services, including the use by any lawful successor or survivor, that lawfully was in existence on June 1, 1941. However, the business is subject to the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a).

(f) A business engaged in rendering land surveying services may use in its name the name of a deceased or retired person if the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) The person’s name had been used in the name of the business, or a predecessor in interest of the business, before the death or retirement of the person.

(2) The person shall have been an owner, partner, or officer of the business, or an owner, partner, or officer of the predecessor in interest of the business.

(3) The person shall have been licensed as a land surveyor or a civil engineer by the board, if operating a place of business or practice in this state, or by an applicable state board in the event no place of business existed in this state.

(4) The person, if retired, has consented to the use of the name and does not permit the use of the name in the title of another land surveying business in this state during the period of that consent, except that a retired person may use their name as the name of a new or purchased business, if that business is not identical in every respect to that person’s name as used in the former business.

(5) The business shall be subject to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a).

(g) This section does not affect Sections 6731.2 and 8726.1.

(h) A current organization record form shall be filed with the board for all businesses engaged in rendering professional land surveying services.

(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 150, Sec. 3) by Stats. 2022, Ch. 302, Sec. 7. (SB 1120) Effective January 1, 2023. Repealed as of January 1, 2026, by its own provisions. See later operative version, as amended by Sec. 8 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 302.)

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