Al Flim, ALS
Director of Surveys

It is common to find a stamp/signature from the Surveyor General or Director of Surveys (DOS) on plans registered at the Land Titles Office (LTO). However, it’s important to note that they don’t all mean the same thing.
 
“Approved and Confirmed” Stamps
Typically found on township or settlement plans, these stamps were either signed by the Surveyor General or the DOS and were surveyed under Part 2 of the Surveys Act for the purpose of creating surveyed territory. Instructions for these surveys originated from the Surveyor General or DOS office and both the fieldwork and plan preparation were examined rigorously before filing the plans at LTO. Part 2 Approved and Confirmed monuments govern the Alberta township cadastral fabric if found in their original and undisturbed locations, forming the building blocks for subsequent Part 3 surveys. Below are examples of ‘Approved and Confirmed’ stamps.
 
 
“Approved” Stamps
Historically, when the DOS office had significantly more staff, they reviewed not only Part 2 surveys but also Part 3 plans prior to LTO registration. As staffing levels began to decline, this Part 3 plan review function gradually diminished starting in the early 1980s, and had largely ceased by the early 1990s, with some specific exceptions. During the period when DOS staff regularly reviewed Part 3 plans, any errors, questions, or required revisions were communicated to the surveyor through a correction letter. These reviews generally did not include verification of field observations—aside from occasional random inspections—and instead relied on the surveyor’s submissions. Once the DOS was satisfied that a plan met legislative requirements, the “Approved” stamp was applied. An “Approved” stamp does not indicate that the plan is free of errors, nor does it confer Part 2 status on any monuments shown. It simply confirms that the plan met the DOS office’s requirements for registration at that time. Below is an example of a Director of Surveys stamp that only says ‘Approved’.’

 
 
“Approved*” Stamps
As the number of plans submitted for registered at LTO increased, the DOS office was unable to effectively review every plan. According to long-serving DOS staff, an “Approved” stamp marked with an asterisk (*) beside or above the “EX’D” initials (see example below) indicates that the plan received only a cursory review. While no written correspondence could be found to confirm, institutional knowledge suggests that these abbreviated reviews did not include checks on closures, re-establishment methods, or potential errors or omissions. Instead, the plan received the ‘Approved’ stamp with the ‘*’ added to satisfy the LTO registration requirements.

There may be instances where a DOS stamp differs from the examples described above. If you encounter a stamp with an unfamiliar format, we are happy to assist in determining its significance