Free Oklahoma Law and Surveying (OLS) Examination Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Oklahoma Law and Surveying (OLS) Examination practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A center-of-section position is used as control and the Oklahoma surveyor accepts an existing monument there. What record is required?

   1. A. A subdivision plat amendment
   2. B. A mortgage inspection report
   3. C. A Certified Corner Record
   4. D. A control-survey waiver

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The Board manual states, "If the center of the section is used as control in the survey and you monument that position or accept an existing monument at that position, you are required a Certified Corner Record for that position." A CCR is required.

   Reference: INSTRUCTION MANUAL — OAC 245:15-21-2(a) incorporation; CCR Instruction Manual § Center of Section, p. 6

2. 2An Oklahoma boundary survey follows the U.S. Public Land Survey System. What control should the surveyor use for the survey?

   1. A. Original or properly restored corners
   2. B. Calculated deed corners without field recovery
   3. C. County-assessor parcel centroids
   4. D. Unverified occupation corners alone

   Answer: A

   Explanation: OAC 245:15-13-2(c)(8)(A) says, "Surveys based on the United States Public Land Survey System shall be referenced to original or properly restored corners." Therefore the PLSS survey must use original or properly restored corners.

   Reference: Subchapters 245:15-13-1 - 245:15-13-4 — OAC 245:15-13-2(c)(8)(A)

3. 3An unlicensed individual advertises land-surveying services in Oklahoma without an exemption. How does the licensing act treat that offer?

   1. A. Permitted if no fee is quoted
   2. B. Unlawful
   3. C. Permitted until a contract is signed
   4. D. Permitted if a PLS later reviews it

   Answer: B

   Explanation: 59 O.S. § 475.1 states, "It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to practice or to offer to practice ... surveying in this state" unless licensed, authorized, or exempt. The advertisement is an unlawful offer.

   Reference: Section 475.1. — 59 O.S. § 475.1

4. 4Before subdividing a section in an Oklahoma three-mile-method area, which record source must the surveyor obtain?

   1. A. A later private retracement plat
   2. B. A current county road survey
   3. C. The present record-title deed chain
   4. D. Notes of the original survey

   Answer: D

   Explanation: The Oklahoma CCR manual says, "Notes of the original survey must be obtained when surveying in these areas to determine which monuments were set and what procedure was followed in the original survey." The original notes control that inquiry.

   Reference: INSTRUCTION MANUAL — OAC 245:15-21-2(a) incorporation; CCR Instruction Manual § Special Cases, p. 6

5. 5A surveyor prepares an Oklahoma aliquot description. Which principal-meridian entry satisfies the state minimum-standard list?

   1. A. Sixth Principal Meridian only
   2. B. Indian or Cimarron Meridian
   3. C. Fifth Principal Meridian only
   4. D. Louisiana Meridian only

   Answer: B

   Explanation: OAC 245:15-13-2(f)(2) requires an aliquot description to include the "Principal Meridian (Indian or Cimarron)." The Oklahoma description therefore uses Indian or Cimarron Meridian as applicable.

   Reference: Subchapters 245:15-13-1 - 245:15-13-4 — OAC 245:15-13-2(f)(2)

6. 6When ethically marketing professional surveying services to an Oklahoma government client, when may the fee enter the discussion?

   1. A. Before the client evaluates professional qualifications
   2. B. With the first unsolicited statement of interest
   3. C. Only after the client selects the licensee as qualified
   4. D. Only after all surveying services are completed

   Answer: C

   Explanation: OAC 245:15-15-2 defines ethical marketing with "the fee for said services entering into the discussions only after said client has selected licensee as qualified to provide the services required." Fee discussion follows qualification-based selection.

   Reference: Subchapters 245:15-15-1 - 245:15-15-3 — OAC 245:15-15-2

7. 7An Oklahoma survey requires bounding an entire PLSS section. At minimum, for which set does the Board manual require Certified Corner Records?

   1. A. The four quarter-section corners
   2. B. Only the northeast and southwest section corners
   3. C. Only the center and south quarter corner
   4. D. Every sixteenth corner in the section

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The manual states, "If your survey requires that you bound the section, you are required at a minimum to file Certified Corner Records for the four quarter section corners." That four-corner set is the stated minimum.

   Reference: INSTRUCTION MANUAL — OAC 245:15-21-2(a) incorporation; CCR Instruction Manual § Subdivision of Sections, p. 5

8. 8A PLSS retracement has a lost original corner. Which procedural guide does Oklahoma’s minimum-standard rule direct the surveyor to use?

   1. A. Local assessor handbook
   2. B. Subdivision zoning code
   3. C. County road inventory
   4. D. The appropriate BLM Manual of Surveying Instructions

   Answer: D

   Explanation: OAC 245:15-13-2(c)(8)(A) states, "The appropriate Bureau of Land Management Manual of Surveying Instructions shall be used as a guide for the restoration of lost or obliterated corners." That Manual is the prescribed guide.

   Reference: Subchapters 245:15-13-1 - 245:15-13-4 — OAC 245:15-13-2(c)(8)(A)

9. 9An unlicensed marketing director acts for an Oklahoma surveying firm while soliciting professional work. Who does the ethical-marketing rule hold responsible for those actions?

   1. A. Only the individual marketing director
   2. B. The surveying firm represented by the director
   3. C. The prospective government client
   4. D. The procurement officer receiving the solicitation

   Answer: B

   Explanation: OAC 245:15-15-2 provides that when a nonlicensee acts on a firm’s behalf, "the firm shall be held responsible for the actions of the non-licensee." Responsibility rests with the firm.

   Reference: Subchapters 245:15-15-1 - 245:15-15-3 — OAC 245:15-15-2

10. 10An Oklahoma public-land corner requires a Certified Corner Record. What condition applies to reconstruction or rehabilitation of its monument?

    1. A. It must be as permanent as reasonably possible and readily locatable in the future
    2. B. It must use exactly the same material as the missing original monument
    3. C. It need only remain stable through completion of the present project
    4. D. It must prioritize satellite visibility over later physical recovery

    Answer: A

    Explanation: OAC 245:15-21-4 requires the surveyor to reconstruct or rehabilitate the corner "so that it will be as permanent a monument as is reasonably possible to provide and so that it may be located with facility in the future." Permanence and future recovery are both required.

    Reference: Subchapters 245:15-21-6 - 245:15-21-3 — OAC 245:15-21-4