Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) Exam
First Time Candidates
If you've been approved by the Board for the PS exam previously, go here.
If you have never taken or been approved for an examination in Ohio regardless if you have taken any exam in any other NCEES jurisdiction you are a first-time Ohio applicant and need to download our application and appropriate instructions.
Passed the FS in Ohio
If you've been approved by the Board for the PS exam previously, go here.
If you passed the FS in Ohio but are not yet approved to take the PS, you do not need to reapply; our instructions detail the steps you need to take to update your existing Ohio application.
Procedure
The qualifications for the PS exam are passing the FS exam and 4 years surveying experience, with at least 2 of those years in boundary surveying under a P.S.
The application fee is $25.00. Make your check payable to Treasurer, State of Ohio. Your notarized application and $25 check must be mailed to the Board and postmarked no later than January 23, 2006. If we don't have an official transcript on file, include your official transcript with your application or a note saying we'll get the transcript directly from your school.
If the Board approves your application, we will mail an approval letter to your current address. If the Board does not approve your application, you will receive a letter explaining why. The last Credential Review Committee meeting for the April exam is February 22, 2006. If you have not received your approval letter by February 23, contact the Board office to find out the status of your exam approval.
ELSES Deadlines
After receiving your approval letter, you will need to go online to the ELSES website and follow the Ohio-specific instructions to complete your registration for an exam. The ELSES deadlines are February 15 for proctoring, March 1 for special accommodations and March 1 for exam registration. There are no exceptions to Board or ELSES deadlines.
ELSES Administration
ELSES now administers our exams. They have all the info on calculators, exam sites, taking the exam in another state, etc.
NCEES Info
NCEES makes the exam questions. They have all the info on the type and number of NCEES exam questions and they sell reference materials, etc.
Ohio 2 Hour Exam
The Board requires PS candidates pass the 6 hour NCEES and Ohio 2 hour exams independently. The Ohio exam consists of 35 multiple choice questions about Ohio specific laws and history plus a legal description which should take you about 15 minutes to complete. Here's some more info: