California Land Surveyors Association

What California Land Surveyors Association does

The California Land Surveyors Association (CLSA) is a nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1966 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, that represents licensed land surveyors, photogrammetrists, civil engineers authorized for land surveying, land surveyors-in-training, students, affiliate professionals, and supporting companies throughout California. CLSA structures membership into seven tiers (Corporate $270/year, CE Corporate $270/year, Associate $135/year, Affiliate $135/year, Student $27/year, Out-of-State $135/year, Sustaining $540/year) plus a $25 entrance/reinstatement fee, with all members joining through 19-21 local chapters that elect directors to the state Board of Directors.

CLSA monetizes through three primary streams: recurring membership dues, conference and event programming (annual Joint Conference, Cal Poly Pomona Geomatics Conference, Women Surveyors Summit, plus chapter-level meetings), and publication sales through the CLSA Online Store (California Surveyor magazine, CLSA eNews, and 2026 Annual Publications). The technology stack is deliberately modest: MemberClicks handles membership management, events, store, and email; a phpBB forum (forums.californiasurveyors.org, 4,141 registered members and 43,605 posts) supports peer discussion; and a member-clicks-hosted LMS (clsa.mclms.net) delivers webinars and recorded professional development content. Strategic differentiation rests on regulatory positioning: CLSA is the principal professional body interfacing with the BPELSG, the Western Federation of Professional Surveyors, and the National Society of Professional Surveyors.

Name

California Land Surveyors Association

Legal name

California Land Surveyors Association

Website

https://californiasurveyors.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

California Land Surveyors Association is a Sacramento-based nonprofit founded in 1966 that represents licensed land surveyors, students, and affiliates across California through tiered memberships, 19 local chapters, conferences, publications, and regulatory advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues collected from multiple membership grades including Corporate, CE Corporate, Associate, Affiliate, Student, Out-of-State, and Sustaining members. Entrance/reinstatement fee of $25 additional.
2. Conferences and Events: Annual conferences providing technical and business programs with exhibits of surveying and computing technology. Events include conferences, chapter meetings, and specialized summits like the Women Surveyors Summit.
3. Publications and Store: Sale of annual publications and forms through the CLSA Online Store. Publications include the California Surveyor magazine and various surveying-related documents and resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The California Land Surveyors Association (CLSA) is a nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1966 that represents land surveyors across California. It provides membership services, continuing education, professional publications, an annual conference and workshops, legislative advocacy, and a chapter-based networking structure for licensed land surveying professionals.

Product overview

The California Land Surveyors Association (CLSA) operates as a professional membership organization rather than a software product company. Its core offerings consist of membership services with multiple tiers, professional publications (California Surveyor magazine and CLSA eNews), educational programs and conferences (including the Cal Poly Pomona Geomatics Conference, Women Surveyors Summit, and annual Joint Conference), professional development resources including webinars and a forum platform, an Education Foundation with scholarship programs, a Find a Surveyor public directory, and a network of 21 local chapters across California. The association also operates an online store for publications and provides monument preservation resources. The organization uses MemberClicks for membership management and phpBB for its online forums.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CLSA Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• Awarded nearly $50,000 in scholarships to land surveying students in January 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Western Federation of Professional Surveyors (WFPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCLSA is an active member of the Western Federation of Professional Surveyors, a federation composed of associations throughout the western United States that addresses regional issues affecting land surveyors.
• National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough institutional affiliation with NSPS, CLSA is represented at the national level. This affiliation provides members with access to national resources, standards, and advocacy.
• Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists (BPELSG)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCLSA maintains a formal liaison relationship with BPELSG, the state regulatory board. This relationship enables CLSA to monitor and shape national, state and local laws and regulations affecting the surveying profession.
• Future Surveyors FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFuture Surveyors Foundation hosts the Women Surveyors Summit, a 'for women, by women' event to support and promote diversity in the land surveying profession. This is the 7th annual summit, scheduled for September 17-20, 2026 in San Diego.
• Cal Poly PomonamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCLSA partners with Cal Poly Pomona to host the annual Geomatics Conference, offering students, professionals, and educators opportunities to connect, collaborate, and gain insights into surveying practices, licensing pathways, and the future of the profession.
• Silver LegacyminorOthersSilver Legacy in Reno, Nevada serves as the venue for the 2027 Joint Conference scheduled for April 3-6, 2027.
• Hyatt Place Sacramento AirportminorOthersHyatt Place Sacramento Airport serves as the venue for the November 7, 2026 Board of Directors Meeting.
• The Westgate Hotel, San DiegominorOthersThe Westgate Hotel at 1055 Second Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101 serves as the venue for the Women Surveyors Summit 2026.
• Affinity PartnersminorOthersCLSA provides professional liability insurance programs and other business services and discounts through Affinity Partners available to members.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Texas Society of Professional Surveyors (TSPS): The largest state-level professional association for surveyors in Texas with a comparable chapter-based structure, continuing education programs, conferences, and legislative advocacy mission.
• Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors: State-level professional association serving Michigan's licensed surveyors with comparable membership tiers, educational programming, and advocacy services.
• National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS): The national professional society for land surveyors in the United States. CLSA holds an institutional affiliation with NSPS for national-level representation, making it the most directly comparable organization in the same professional category.
• Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors (PSLS): Pennsylvania's statewide professional society for land surveyors delivering membership services, conferences, certification support, and legislative representation analogous to CLSA's offerings.
• Florida Surveying and Mapping Society (FSMS): Statewide professional association for Florida surveyors offering membership tiers, continuing education, conferences, and a legislative program. Directly mirrors CLSA's service model in a different state geography.
• Western Federation of Professional Surveyors (WFPS): A regional federation of state surveying associations across the western U.S. of which CLSA is an active member. Operates in the same membership-association model for land surveyors and shares overlapping leadership and advocacy.
• New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors (NYSAPLS): New York's statewide professional membership association for licensed land surveyors. Provides the same combination of continuing education, advocacy, publications, and regional chapter engagement as CLSA.

Broad incumbents

• American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS): A larger national professional society covering photogrammetry, remote sensing, and GIS—adjacent disciplines to land surveying. Relevant overlap because CLSA's Photogrammetric license-holders are also members, and ASPRS provides competing CE programming.
• Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA): A broader professional association for GIS and geospatial information professionals with an overlapping but wider membership scope than CLSA. Comparable in operating a multi-tier membership model with conferences and certifications.

Emerging players

• GIS Certification Institute (GISCI): A nonprofit organization providing geospatial certification and continuing education to surveying and GIS professionals. Adjacent to CLSA's CE mission and increasingly relevant as surveying and GIS professions converge technologically.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/california-land-surveyors-association
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/california-land-surveyors-association
• Xx.com/calandsurveyors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about California Land Surveyors Association