Who can measure a plot?

Measuring well requires equipment, method and technical responsibility

Anyone can estimate a plot's surface area with a mobile app or an online viewer. But when the measurement will be used for something (a sale, a Catastro file, a GML for the notary or a boundary dispute) a technical measurement is needed: precision equipment, coordinates in the official system and a professional who answers for the work.

The difference is not only precision (centimetres versus metres of error) but traceability: a technical measurement documents how it was measured, with what equipment and with what result, and can be defended before third parties.

Which professionals do this work

In Spain, plot measurement and the associated technical documentation are usually carried out by professionals with competence in surveying, mapping and construction:

• 01Technical engineers and engineers in geomatics and surveying.
• 02Architects and building engineers (aparejadores), especially when the measurement includes buildings.
• 03Other graduates with competence in topographic work according to the type of document and its purpose.

What you should demand when commissioning a measurement

Regardless of the degree, a serious measurement must include:

• 01Fieldwork with precision equipment (GNSS, total station), not a drawing over an aerial photo.
• 02Coordinates in the official reference system (ETRS89, zone 28 in the Canary Islands).
• 03A plan with the measured geometry and a record of how it was obtained.
• 04Identification of the technician responsible for the work.

What if the document is for Catastro, a notary or the Land Registry?

When the document is submitted to a file, the signature of a competent technician is a usual requirement, and the content must meet the specifications of the corresponding procedure. It is worth commissioning it from someone who knows those requirements in advance: redoing a badly conceived job costs more than doing it right from the start.