The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 27: Property

Chapter 017: Filing of Land Plats

• § 1401. Acceptance of survey plats; definition

  (a) Each town clerk shall accept survey plats for filing and maintain files and indices to files of survey plats in accordance with this chapter.

  (b) As used in this chapter:

  (1) “Survey plat” means a map or plan drawn to scale of one or more parcels, tracts, or subdivisions of land, showing, but not limited to, boundaries, corners, markers, monuments, easements, and other rights.

  (2) “Center” means the Vermont Center for Geographic Information.

  (c)(1) Whenever a survey plat that maps the subdivision of a parcel or a change in a parcel boundary is filed for record with a town clerk, the surveyor who created the survey plat shall submit a digital copy of the plat to the Center. The Center shall maintain digital copies of survey plats in a statewide digital repository and make them available to the public.

  (2) The failure of a surveyor to comply with subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not void, alter, or invalidate the subdivision or boundary adjustment and shall not render the title to the property depicted in the survey plat unmarketable.

  (d) The survey plat filed with the town clerk shall be the official plat of record. (Added 1969, No. 235 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, amended 1991, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2019, No. 38, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2020.)

• § 1402. Repealed. 2009, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. May 6, 2010.

• § 1403. Composition of survey plats

  (a) Plats filed in accordance with this chapter shall be on sheets 11 inches by 17 inches or 18 inches by 24 inches in size or 24 inches by 36 inches if the town or city has appropriate storage facilities as determined by the town or city clerk.

  (b) Plats filed in accordance with this chapter shall also conform with the following requirements:

  (1) Each survey plat shall contain an inset locus map clearly indicating the location of the land depicted and a legend of symbols used.

  (2) All lettering and data shall be clearly legible.

  (3) Plat scale ratios shall be sufficient to allow all pertinent survey data to be shown, and each plat shall contain a graphic scale graduated in units of measure used in the body of the plat.

  (4) Each plat sheet shall have a minimum one-half inch margin, except the binder side, which shall have a minimum one and one-half inch margin.

  (5) Each plat sheet shall contain a title area in the lower right-hand corner of the sheet stating the location of the land, scale expressed in engineering units, date of compilation, the name of the record owner as of that date, the land surveyor’s certification as outlined in 26 V.S.A. § 2596, and a certification that the plat conforms with requirements of this section. These certifications shall be accompanied by the responsible land surveyor’s seal, name and number, and signature.

  (6) Each survey plat shall contain a graphical indication of the reference meridian used on the survey plat and a statement describing the basis of bearings referenced on the survey plat.

  (7) When the plat sheet is produced by a reproduction process, the process shall be identified and certified to by the producer in the margin of the plat sheet. Original plat sheets shall be so identified and certified to by the same process.

  (8) The recordable plat materials shall be composed in one of the following processes:

  (A) fixed-line photographic process on stable base polyester film; or

  (B) pigment ink on stable base polyester film or linen tracing cloth.

  (c) Survey plats prepared and dated before July 1, 1992 shall be exempt from the requirements of subdivisions (b)(1)-(6) and (8) of this section, but shall comply with requirements in State law in effect when the plats were prepared and dated.

  (d) Survey plats prepared and dated before any statutory regulation of land plats shall comply with subsection (a) and subdivision (b)(7) of this section.

  (e) Any survey plat exempted by subsection (c) or (d) of this section and revised after July 1, 1992 shall meet all the requirements of this chapter.

  (f) A digital copy of a survey plat filed with the Center pursuant to section 1401 of this chapter shall be submitted in portable document format (PDF). The Board of Land Surveyors, in consultation with the Center, shall have the authority to establish a digital survey standard for digital copies of survey plats. (Added 1969, No. 235 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1991, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1993, No. 62, §§ 1—3; 1995, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(c)(2), eff. May 6, 1996; 2009, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. May 6, 2010; 2011, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 17; 2011, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. July 1, 2013; 2015, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 18; 2019, No. 38, § 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2020.)

• § 1404. Exemptions

  (a) Survey plats prepared and filed by municipal and State government agencies shall be exempt from subdivision 1403(b)(5) of this chapter. Each plat sheet filed under this exemption shall contain a title area in the lower right-hand corner of the sheet stating the location of the land, the scale expressed in engineering units, and the date of compilation. Highway plats or plans filed under this exemption shall also include right-of-way detail sheets and a title sheet.

  (b) Survey plats prepared and filed in accordance with 24 V.S.A. § 4463 shall be exempt from subdivision 1403(b)(5) of this chapter. Survey plats or plans filed under this exemption shall contain a title area, the location of the land, and scale expressed in engineering units. In addition, they shall include inscriptions and data required by zoning and planning boards.

  (c) Survey plats prepared and filed in accordance with chapter 15 of this title shall be exempt from subdivision 1403(b)(5) of this chapter. Each plat sheet filed under this exemption shall contain a title area stating the location of the land, the scale expressed in engineering or architectural units, and the date of compilation. (Added 1969, No. 235 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1991, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2011, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 16; 2013, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 30; 2015, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 19.)

• § 1405. Applicability

  This chapter does not apply to layout plats of highways or other transportation facilities prepared by or for the agency of transportation, other than plats of individual parcels, before that agency issues a right-of-way clearance certificate for a transportation project. When the agency of transportation issues a right-of-way clearance certificate for a transportation project, it also shall file with the appropriate municipal clerk one set of plans that conforms to the requirements of this chapter, with instructions to the clerk to dispose of all previously filed plats for that particular project. (Added 1969, No. 235 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1993, No. 61, § 29, eff. June 3, 1993; 1997, No. 150 (Adj. Sess.), § 18.)

• § 1406. Prohibition

  A town clerk shall not accept any survey plat for filing unless it is in compliance with the requirements of this chapter. (Added 1969, No. 235 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1991, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)