The mission of the Tennessee Board of Examiners for Land Surveyors is to serve the citizens of Tennessee by efficiently and effectively providing a fair, flexible, and positive regulatory environment for consumer service industries. Our goal is to assure that every licensee has met the minimum qualifications prior to being granted a license.

In 1967, the members of the Tennessee Engineering Board decided that the surveyors of Tennessee needed their own regulations. The land surveyor's law, Public Chapter 207, Senate Bill No. 420, was passed on May 1, 1969, and became law when signed by Governor Buford Ellington, on May 7, 1969. The Land Surveyors Board was created to safeguard the life, health and property of the public.

The first law created an A-B classification, which was considered rural and urban surveying. As a result of the surveyors' dissatisfaction with the A-B classification, the law was later changed to the present regulations. The original Rules, Chapter 0820-1, were filed June 6, 1974 and became effective July 6, 1974.