Profession

Surveyor-experts in Belgium: protected title, the Order

Surveyor-expert (géomètre-expert) is a protected title: register of the Order, boundary marking, plans for the deed. No fee scale found; how to check.

Checked on against the sources at the bottom of the page.

In short

“Surveyor-expert” (in French géomètre-expert, in Dutch landmeter-expert) is a protected title and profession, supervised since 1 January 2025 by the Order of Surveyors-Experts under the Act of 27 March 2023. You can call on any independent surveyor-expert registered on the Order’s roll as an active member. The profession covers boundary marking and the plans attached to a notarial deed. On 14 October 2026 the Order’s website showed 29 legal persons, that is, companies, on its roll. The Order’s website is in French and Dutch.

What the surveyor-expert does

According to the Order, a surveyor-expert identifies, measures, delimits and values public or private property, built or unbuilt, and organises its registration. Among the tasks it lists are measuring and boundary marking, topographic surveys, town-planning work, calculation of co-ownership shares, party-wall reports, condition reports (including for rentals) and valuations.

On boundary marking and measuring, the Order says that measuring is compulsory for a partition or an exchange and desirable for a sale or a purchase, that the surveyor-expert draws up a plan annexed to the notarial deed, and that to mark a boundary the surveyor-expert must invite the neighbours to take part, so that the marking is adversarial. See also the notary’s role and fees and buying a home in Belgium.

The title and where to check it

What the rule says. The Order’s website presents the Act of 27 March 2023 protecting the profession and the title of surveyor-expert and creating an Order, which takes over from the former federal councils. Its FAQ tells citizens they can call on any surveyor-expert who is independent and registered on the roll of the Order as an active member. Civil servants and employees must also be on the roll to practise.

Who publishes what. The Order publishes a search tool: “Search for a surveyor-expert”, by surveyor’s name or by postcode and municipality. Results are split into three tabs: independent, civil servant and employee, legal person.

Where to check. Use the Order’s search: landmeter-expert.be/surveyor. Check one professional at a time, by hand.

Terms of use of the register. The Order’s general conditions of use (last updated October 2025) state, word for word (in French, our translation below):

« il vous est strictement interdit de télécharger ou de réutiliser des parties substantielles du Site, ou d’en télécharger ou d’en réutiliser systématiquement ou régulièrement des parties moins substantielles. » — “you are strictly forbidden to download or reuse substantial parts of the Site, or to download or reuse less substantial parts of it systematically or regularly.”

« Ce Site et son contenu […] sont protégés par le droit d’auteur et/ou d’autres droits de propriété intellectuelle (marques, bases de données, etc.) et ne peuvent pas être copiés, reproduits, distribués, utilisés, adaptés et/ou traduits, en tout ou en partie, sauf autorisation écrite et préalable de l’Ordre et/ou du titulaire de droit concerné. » — “This Site and its content […] are protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property rights (trademarks, databases, etc.) and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, used, adapted and/or translated, in whole or in part, without the prior written authorisation of the Order and/or the relevant right holder.”

Payotte therefore copies nothing from the roll, and you should check by hand, one professional at a time.

What it costs

The Order’s pages we read give no fee scale. Do not assume the price is the same everywhere, and ask for a written quotation, specifying what it includes (travel, boundary markers, plan, formalities).

In a dispute, the Order’s FAQ says you can lodge a complaint with the Order of Surveyors-Experts, which passes it to the relevant executive chamber; these chambers’ powers are limited to professional-conduct matters, and civil and criminal action remain possible. No figure is given here: compare two quotations from registered professionals.

How Payotte chooses the firm

Payotte selects one surveying firm per municipality, on a published scoring grid based only on public data:

  • only companies are selected; because the title belongs to a person, the listing names no surveyor;
  • a neutral name, with no first name or surname;
  • the title is displayed on the firm’s own website; the listing reads “declared title, checkable with” the Order and sends you to its search page, without copying the roll;
  • at most 3 listings per enterprise number;
  • the selection is free for the firm and never paid for, and Payotte does not present itself as a guarantor of any registration: you check it yourself.

Questions to ask

  • Are you registered on the Order’s roll as an active member? Is your company on the list of legal persons?
  • Can you give me a written quotation and say what it includes?
  • What could make the cost rise (boundary markers not found, neighbours absent)?
  • Will my neighbours be invited to the boundary marking, and will I receive a copy of the plan?
  • Will the plan be usable for the notarial deed?
  • What can I do if I disagree with the invoice?

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone call themselves a surveyor-expert?

No. The title is protected and supervised by the Order, which keeps the roll.

Can I use a surveyor-expert from another region or province?

Yes. The Order says you can call on any independent surveyor-expert registered on its roll as an active member.

Is a survey compulsory when I buy land?

According to the Order, measuring is compulsory for a partition or an exchange and desirable for a sale or a purchase. Ask your notary for advice.

Can a boundary be marked without my neighbours?

No. The surveyor-expert in charge is required to invite the neighbours.

Where can I complain about a surveyor-expert?

To the Order of Surveyors-Experts, whose executive chambers deal with professional-conduct aspects. Civil and criminal action remains possible. Write to the surveyor-expert first.

Did the Order replace earlier bodies?

Yes. The Order’s site says the Order was set up on 1 January 2025 under the Act of 27 March 2023, and its page on registration refers to the roll of the former federal council of surveyors-experts, which preceded it.

Sources