The court may appoint a surveyor to inspect the lands and to make plans in accordance with the prevailing standards and practices of his profession indicating the respective contentions of the parties.
Art. 3692.Appointment of Surveyor By Court; Duties of Surveyor
Book VII. Special Proceedings · Title II. Real Actions · Chapter 2. Boundary Action · Last amended 1978 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 3692 lets the court appoint a surveyor to inspect the disputed land and prepare plans, drawn to the standards and practices the surveying profession follows, that show each party's contentions about where the boundary lies.
Full Text of Art. 3692
Amendment History
Amended by Acts 1977, No. 169, §2, eff. 1/1/1978.
Plain-English Summary
Fixing a boundary is, at its core, a technical question about where a line falls on the ground, and Article 3692 gives the court a way to get expert help answering it. The court may appoint a surveyor to inspect the lands involved in the dispute.
The surveyor's job is not to pick a winner. Article 3692 directs the surveyor to make plans, prepared in accordance with the standards and practices that prevail in the surveying profession, that show the respective contentions of the parties — where each side believes the true boundary runs. Those plans give the court a common, professionally grounded reference point for evaluating conflicting claims rather than relying only on each landowner's own description of the line.
Because the appointment is discretionary, not every boundary action requires a court-appointed surveyor. Parties can, and often do, rely on their own expert surveyors and other evidence, which Article 3693 lets the court weigh alongside anything a court-appointed surveyor produces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the court have to appoint a surveyor in a boundary action?
No. Article 3692 says the court may appoint one; the appointment is discretionary, not mandatory.
What does the court-appointed surveyor do?
Inspects the lands in dispute and prepares plans, following the standards and practices of the surveying profession, that lay out each party's contentions about where the boundary line falls.
Does the surveyor decide who wins the boundary dispute?
No. The surveyor documents each side's position and the physical facts on the ground; the court is the one that weighs that evidence and fixes the boundary under Article 3693.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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