Act No. 238
Public Acts of 2023
Approved by the Governor
November 29, 2023
Filed with the Secretary of State
November 30, 2023
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 13, 2024
state of michigan
102nd Legislature
Regular session of 2023
Introduced by Senators Polehanki, Bayer, Irwin and Geiss
ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 337
AN ACT to amend 1970 PA 132, entitled “An act to provide for the filing of surveys in the office of the register of deeds relative to land divisions; and to prescribe the conditions of the survey,” by amending sections 1, 2, and 3 (MCL 54.211, 54.212, and 54.213), sections 1 and 3 as amended by 2018 PA 193 and section 2 as amended by 1988 PA 24.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 1. (1) If a survey is made to describe a parcel for the division of a parcel or tract under sections 108 to 109b of the land division act, 1967 PA 288, MCL 560.108 to 560.109b, the grantor or lessee shall, at or before the time the property is conveyed or leased, record in the office of the register of deeds in the county in which the land is located a certified true copy of the original survey map that complies with section 3, unless the professional surveyor who prepared the survey has already done so.
(2) If a survey is made to describe a parcel in a conveyance of title or a parcel as created in a lease for a term of 1 year or longer, the grantor or lessor, at or before the time the property is conveyed or leased, shall record with the register of deeds in the county in which the land is located a certified true copy of the original survey map that complies with section 3, unless the professional surveyor who prepared the survey has already done so.
(3) The requirements of this act are in addition to those of the land division act, 1967 PA 288, MCL 560.101 to 560.293. Land platted under that act, land surveyed under section 66 of the condominium act, 1978 PA 59, MCL 559.166, or land previously surveyed and recorded and for which no change in boundary description is made from a previously recorded survey, need not be recorded under this act.
Sec. 2. (1) A certified survey map shall meet the requirements of this section and section 3. A certified survey map must be prepared only by a professional surveyor licensed in this state.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), each corner of the survey shall meet all of the following requirements:
(a) Be monumented in the field with a permanent marker that possesses a magnetic field unless previously monumented with iron stakes.
(b) Be capped with a device legibly showing the last 5 digits of the license number of the professional surveyor placing the monument.
(c) Include both of the following:
(i) Points of intersection of boundary or lot lines with highways, streets, alleys, section lines, and meander lines.
(ii) Corners of the United States Public Land Survey from which the parcel or parcels are described.
(3) If a monument cannot conveniently be set because of a physical obstruction such as pavement, a large rock, a large root, or a utility cable, the following apply:
(a) Subject to subdivision (b), the professional surveyor shall do both of the following:
(i) Establish an alternative monument that is permanent and identifiable, such as a drill hole or an “X” chiseled in concrete.
(ii) Reference the corner by bearing and distance from 2 different monumented corners of the survey.
(b) If compliance with subdivision (a) is not feasible, the professional surveyor shall monument the corner in any practical manner and show its relationship on the certified survey map.
Sec. 3. (1) The certified survey map under sections 1 and 2 must meet all of the following requirements:
(a) Bear the seal and signature of the professional surveyor who surveyed the parcel or parcels.
(b) Be prepared on durable white paper 8-1/2 inches wide and 14 inches long.
(c) Be prepared by computer aided drafting (CAD), typed, lettered, or otherwise reproduced legibly with nonfading ink pursuant to the records reproduction act, 1992 PA 116, MCL 24.401 to 24.406.
(d) Have lines at a scale indicated in writing numerically and by graphic bar scale, and have text of a size readily legible for the line scale selected.
(e) Give a clear, concise description of the land surveyed by bearings and distances, commencing with a corner position marked and established in the United States Public Land Survey, or reestablished by accepted methods.
(f) For land not included in a platted subdivision or condominium, include the exterior boundaries of the land surveyed and divided, together with the line or lines leading to the United States Public Land Survey corner, or corners, from which the land is described.
(g) Define a boundary along a lake or stream by an intermediate traverse line connecting the side boundaries of the parcel.
(h) If a lot in a recorded platted subdivision is surveyed or divided, reference the exterior boundaries of the lot to existing lot corners and the controlling monuments used for that survey.
(i) If the boundary of the parcel follows or parallels a section line, all of the following requirements:
(i) One of the following requirements:
(A) The section line shall be defined at its extremities by corners established in the United States Public Land Survey, by corners reestablished by accepted methods, or by protracted quarter section corners, whether or not the protracted quarter section corners are monumented under the state survey and remonumentation act, 1990 PA 345, MCL 54.261 to 54.279.
(B) Other protracted division lines shown in the United States Public Land Survey shall be defined at their extremities by corners established pursuant to accepted survey methods.
(ii) Each corner of the United States Public Land Survey shall be witnessed under the corner recordation act, 1970 PA 74, MCL 54.201 to 54.210d.
(iii) The certified survey map shall indicate the kind of object, the bearings and distances to the object, and the kind of monument and material of the monument marking the corner.
(j) Define a curved boundary or a curved highway, street, or lot line as follows:
(i) If the curve is contained within the line, by the points of curvature and tangency and compound curvature, central angle, length of arcs, radius, and length and bearing of the long chord.
(ii) If the curve is only partially contained within the line, by the length of arc along the curve, radius, and length and bearing of the short chord.
(iii) If the curve is not regular, by traverse courses and distances.
(k) If an exterior boundary line shows a bearing or length that varies from that recorded in an abutting plat, condominium, or certified survey map, include the following note along the line: “previously recorded as (show bearing or length or both)".
(l) Include all of the following:
(i) The length and bearing of each line.
(ii) The width of the right-of-way of each street, highway, alley, and easement.
(iii) The distance on a boundary or lot line from the point of intersection with an intermediate traverse line to the water’s edge of any inland lake or stream and the date of the survey to the water’s edge.
(iv) A north arrow properly oriented.
(v) A certification by the professional surveyor that the map meets the requirements of this subsection.
(2) The register of deeds shall accept certified survey maps prepared pursuant to this section upon payment of the fee as provided in section 2567(1)(a) of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.2567. The register of deeds shall consecutively number the maps and record them in bound volumes or in a manner adapted to a system of preserving records pursuant to the records reproduction act, 1992 PA 116, MCL 24.401 to 24.406. The maps shall be known as the “certified survey maps of .............. county”, and shall be kept as a part of the land records of the county. The register of deeds shall keep a separate card file or electronic file of the county land records system. The file shall be indexed within the land records system. The file shall specify the unique identifying number or liber and page of the recorded surveys in the bound volume or other record. The specification shall be by the section, township, and range and, if the map is a resurvey within a recorded plat, by the title of the plat.
Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Approved___________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Governor