Is Drone Mapping Surveying without License?

Is drone mapping surveying without a license?  A First Amendment lawsuit in North Carolina says surveyors cannot stop drone operators from selling photos and making maps.

Hiring a surveyor is an expensive buisness, but necessary if you want to establish legal property lines.  What if you just want to see what your property looks like, or create a visual map of your property or work place in order to help make decisions about new development or see what type of topography you have?  While previously, you may have had to hire surveyors to make a map, now that information is readily available by using aerial images.  Commonly available commercial drone software is designed to do exactly this: creating orthomosaic maps and 3D images.

Surveyers apparently don’t like the competition. In North Carolina, they’re trying to push drone operators out of business.  “…drone entrepreneurs on the cutting edge are finding a very old industry standing in the way: land surveying. In…