# Survey Plat

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-plat/575312>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 20, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-plat/575312 "2011-03-20T02:18:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![aquatan2002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@aquatan2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aquatan2002)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-plat/575312/1 "2011-03-20T02:18:46Z")

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I am looking for some help in reading a survey plat that I was just given after house closing. Is there anyone in this message board that I could ask for help, Thanks

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**Author:** ![SurveyorAlpha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@SurveyorAlpha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurveyorAlpha)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-plat/575312/2 "2011-03-20T02:48:47Z")

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I might be able to help.

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**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-plat/575312/3 "2011-03-20T02:55:06Z")

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There’s at least one surveyor and a couple of urban planners who are members here. I’ve done a little work with them but would defer to the pros. It might help if you listed off your questions – you don’t need to list everything at once./ That way we can target specifics.

A couple of useful generalizations: any area given is, of its very nature, an approximation. The external dimensions are vectors, not just lengths … 180.53 feet _in the direction north 50 degrees 13 minutes 21 seconds east_ for example. (“Minutes” and “seconds” are fractions of a degree, not time measurements, in this context.)

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**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-plat/575312/4 "2011-03-20T16:19:23Z")

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can you post a photo of the plat? (it’s usually enough to take a photo with a cell-phone camera, and post it on a site like flicker,then give us the link.)

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**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-plat/575312/5 "2011-03-20T16:31:05Z")

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Yes a photo would help. Or ask your question.

I used to draw these. I assume you are talking about an Impovement Location Certificate. or ILC. That is what generaly comes with a closing. It’s not a true survey per-se. Just a document stating that your impovements do not encroach into easments and/or other property (and visa-versa).

(it is a drawing that some might confuse with a ‘plat’)