Council must approve the name of all surveyor’s corporations and surveyor’s partnerships that intend to engage in the practice of land surveying in Alberta.

Council shall not approve if the Council considers the name self-laudatory or misleading to the public. The Council may only approve a name that it considers to be appropriate and that maintains the dignity of the profession.

If the name of the corporation or partnership is similar to an existing or former surveyor’s corporation or surveyor’s partnership, Council may ask if the existing or former surveyor’s corporation or surveyor’s partnership objects to the use of the similar name.

If Council determines that the name of an applicant for a permit or other approval of a name is not or may not be appropriate under which to conduct the practice of surveying, Council shall give the applicant an opportunity to be heard before Council. After hearing the applicant, Council shall approve or refuse to approve the name.

Surveyor’s corporations and surveyor’s partnerships who wish to use a trade name must have the name approved by Council if the trade name uses any words not contained in the official name of the surveyor’s corporation or surveyor’s partnership. See Use of Trade Names.

A surveyor’s corporation that intends to engage in the practice of land surveying must have a permit to practice issued by the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association.

Council will approve a permit to practice to a corporation if the corporation meets the criteria listed below. The criteria varies depending on whether the corporation currently holds an APEGA permit to practice or not.

Council will approve a permit to practice to a corporation that does not currently hold an APEGA permit to practice if:

• its corporate name or the name under which the corporation proposes to engage in the practice of surveying, or both, is appropriate [See “what is an appropriate name?”],

• the ownership of the majority of its voting shares is vested in one or more Canadian land surveyors, or in a corporation or corporations the majority of whose voting shares are vested in one or more Canadian land surveyors,

• a majority of its directors are Canadian land surveyors, unless there are only 2 directors in which case one of them shall be a Canadian land surveyor, and

• it has one or more full time permanent employees who are Alberta land surveyors and who:

o are qualified by training and experience in the fields of surveying in which the corporation intends to engage or offer to engage, and

o will assume personal supervision, direction and control of the practice of surveying in which the corporation engages.

Council will approve a permit to practice to a corporation that currently holds an APEGA permit to practice if:

• its corporate name or the name under which the corporation proposes to engage in the practice of surveying and the practice of engineering is appropriate [See “what is an appropriate name?”],

• the ownership of the majority of its voting shares is vested in one or more Canadian land surveyors and one or more professional engineers, or in a corporation or corporations the majority of whose voting shares are vested in one or more Canadian land surveyors or one or more professional engineers, and the voting shares are distributed to the Canadian land surveyors, or their corporations, and the professional engineers, or their corporations, on a basis which will bear a reasonable relationship to the distribution of the practice of the corporation as between the practice of engineering and any surveying that is under the control of a land surveyor, but

o Canadian land surveyors or their corporations shall hold at least 10% of the voting shares and professional engineers or their corporations shall hold at least a further 10% of the voting shares of the corporation, and

o if the Council is not satisfied as to the distribution of the voting shares between the Canadian land surveyors or their corporations and the professional engineers or their corporations it shall refer the matter to a committee composed of Canadian land surveyors and professional engineers for a decision by that committee,

• a majority of the directors of the corporation are Canadian land surveyors and professional engineers,

• it holds a valid permit from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta to engage in the practice of engineering, and

• it has one or more full time permanent employees who are Alberta land surveyors and who are qualified by training and experience in the fields of land surveying in which the corporation intends to engage or offer to engage, and will assume personal supervision, direction and control of the practice of land surveying in which the corporation engages.

The application to register a head or branch office of a surveyor's corporation can be completed online and then has to be printed for signing. The completed application form should be emailed to the ALSA office.

The application to register a surveyor's partnership is provided as a PDF form which must be printed for completion. The completed application form should be emailed to the ALSA office.

The completed application is reviewed by the Registrar and then provided to Council for approval. Once approval of the application has been granted the applicant will be provided with a letter detailing what items are required to finalize registration of the surveyor's corporation. Upon receipt of the required submissions the registration will be finalized and the applicant will be notified by email of the registration date and permit number for the new surveyor's corporation or surveyor's partnership.

Once Council approves the application for registration as a surveyor’s corporation, the applicant will be required to pay the following fees (plus GST):

Application Fee $550.00

Registration Fee $250.00

Corporate Fees for 2023/2024 Term $1,100.00

The applicant will also be required to:

• Provide a digital permit stamp sample in pdf format for approval by the Registrar

• Provide proof of professional liability insurance coverage

• If a rubber permit stamp is required, contact the ALSA office to order one. The cost is $55.00 plus GST.

Once a corporation has a permit to practice from the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association, it must:

• Submit a corporate renewal to the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association no later than January 31 each year [See Annual Renewal of Permit to Practice];

• Pay the annual corporation dues no later than April 30 each year;

• Notify the ALSA immediately of any changes in contact information (ie: mailing address, email address);

• Notify the ALSA immediately if an Alberta Land Surveyor leaves the employ of the surveyor’s corporation or ceases to take responsibility for a head or branch office.

If a land surveyor licensed in Canada or a surveyor’s corporation (or both) and someone who is not a Canadian land surveyor wishes to enter into partnership as a surveyor’s partnership for the purpose of engaging in the practice of surveying, the Canadian land surveyor or surveyor’s corporation must apply to the Council of the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association for registration of the partnership as a surveyor’s partnership.

An application for registration as a surveyor’s partnership may be granted by Council if it is satisfied that:

• the partnership name is appropriate (see “what is an appropriate name?”)

• the partnership has at least one full-time partner who is a Canadian land surveyor or surveyor’s corporation or a corporation or corporations the majority of whose voting shares are vested in one or more Canadian land surveyor,

• the partnership has an individual who is an Alberta land surveyor and is a partner or full-time employee who will assume personal supervision, direction and control of the practice of surveying in which the partnership engages, and

• a controlling interest of the partnership is vested in one or more Canadian land surveyors or surveyor’s corporations or in a corporation or corporations, the majority of whose voting shares are owned by one or more Canadian land surveyors.

The application to register a surveyor's partnership is provided as a PDF form which must be printed for completion. The completed application form should be emailed to the ALSA office.

Once a completed application is received, it will be reviewed by the registrar and Council will consider the application at its next scheduled meeting.

Once Council approves the application for registration as a surveyor’s partnership, the applicant will be required to pay the following fees (plus GST):

Application Fee $550.00

Registration Fee $250.00

Corporate Fees for 2023/2024 Term $750.00

The applicant will also be required to:

• Provide a digital permit stamp sample in pdf format for approval by the Registrar

• Provide proof of professional liability insurance coverage

• If a rubber permit stamp is required, contact the ALSA office to order one. The cost is $55.00 plus GST.

Once a partnership has a permit to practice from the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association, it must:

• Submit a partnership renewal to the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association no later than January 31 each year [See Annual Renewal of Permit to Practice];

• Pay the annual partnership dues no later than April 30 each year;

• Notify the ALSA immediately of any changes in contact information (ie: mailing address, email address);

• Notify the ALSA immediately if an Alberta Land Surveyor leaves the employ of the surveyor’s partnership or ceases to take responsibility for a head or branch office.

The surveyor’s corporation/surveyor’s partnership permit to practice must be renewed each year.

For surveyor’s partnerships, a blank form is provided yearly (by the first week of December). This form is to be completed and emailed to the ALSA office.

For surveyor’s corporations, a pre-filled in form is provided yearly (by the first week of December). The information contained in the form is derived from the submission the previous year. All information on the form needs to be reviewed and updated if required. If additional space is required, an additional page can be attached. The signed and completed form, and any attachments, should be emailed to the ALSA office. In the event the pre-filled in form is misplaced, a blank form is available for completion as well.

Renewal forms must be received on or before January 31st each year. No fees are due at this time. Failure to submit the renewal form by January 31st each year will result in the registrar issuing a late penalty invoice and a notice to cancel the permit to practice.

If a practitioner wishes to establish a branch office, the practitioner shall obtain the prior approval of Council.

Council shall approve a branch office if Council is satisfied that the office shall be under the direct personal supervision, direction and control of a designated resident Alberta land surveyor who shall be present at the office at all material times, and shall ensure that all surveying or land surveying advice and all services shall be provided by or under the personal supervision, direction and control of the designated resident Alberta Land Surveyor.

An Alberta land surveyor may act as a designated Alberta Land Surveyor for only one business office (whether a primary office or a branch office) at any given time.

To apply for a branch office, complete the online application form. The application fee is $150 plus GST. Once the application form is complete, the registrar will take the application to the next Council meeting for Council’s consideration.

If Council approves the application for a branch office, the $1,000 plus GST fee must be paid before the branch office may operate. If Council does not approve the branch office, the practitioner will be informed of Council’s decision and the reasons why.

The annual fee for a branch office is $1,000 plus GST. The annual fee is due by April 30th of each year. Invoices will be automatically sent out by email no later than March 15th of each year.

If a practitioner wishes to close a branch office, the practitioner must notify the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association office immediately.

If a different Alberta Land Surveyor assumes responsibility for the supervision, direction and control of a branch office, the practitioner must notify the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association office immediately.

Failure to notify the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association office may result in financial penalties to the practitioner in accordance with the bylaws.

A project office, or field office, is a temporary work office established only to provide a convenient work environment for a specific project.

Council approval is not required to establish a project office. There is no fee to the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association for a project office.

A surveyor’s corporation/surveyor’s partnership must not advertise or promote the location or contact information of a project office that could create the impression that it is a branch office when that is not the case. A project office must not be used to solicit work for other clients or other projects.