Surveyor's Office

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  1. Responsibilities
  2. Online Forms
  3. FAQ's


Annexation Descriptions 
Maintains annexation descriptions for each city and town.
Legal Survey Book 
Maintains a legal survey record book for all legal surveys within the County. A legal survey is a survey prepared by a licensed land surveyor with notice to all adjoining landowners to resolve property disputes.
Section Corner Perpetuation 
Must keep and maintain a corner record book showing original government section corners. The Surveyor must check and reference at least 5% of all corners shown in the Corner Record Book and establish, locate, and reference at least 5% of all original corners each year.
Maintains files of completed surveys in the County, making them available to surveyors for research. These are filed by Section, Township, and Range.
State Plane Coordinates 
There are over 1,800 Section Corners, and Quarter Section Corners in St. Joseph County that have been updated with State Plane Coordinates using Global Positioning Satellites (GPS).
County Addressing 
Responsible for assigning residential and commercial addresses to all unincorporated areas of St. Joseph County.
Certification to Alcoholic Beverage Commission 
Prior to the Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Commission issuing a new Alcoholic Beverage Permit to an establishment in St. Joseph County, the Surveyor must certify the permit location.
Area Plan Commission member 
  • As a member of the Plan Commission; the surveyor attends the monthly meeting and makes decisions on rezoning matters. 
  • As a member of the Plat Committee; the surveyor reviews and acts on every subdivision proposed in St. Joseph County and the towns (exceptions: Mishawaka, South Bend, Indian Village, Roseland, and Walkerton).
Drainage Board 
Serves as an "Ex-Officio Member" of the Drainage Board. Their role is to oversee construction on all tile and open ditches and answer complaints about drainage problems.