The location certificate is a document made up of a report and a plan in which the land surveyor expresses his professional opinion regarding a property’s current situation and condition. He provides the “health status” of a property with respect to the ownership, the cadaster as well as the bylaws and regulations involved. This certificate is usually required in a real estate transaction and could be requested by a creditor, a notary, a lawyer, a real estate agent, an appraiser or a municipality. It could be requested either by the seller or the buyer. This document, which is private and confidential, is delivered exclusively to the client and the designated parties. Furthermore, the location certificate cannot by any means be used to engage in construction work on property lines or to establish property lines. Such actions would require a staking or a layout. The location certificate is ruled by the Regulation respecting standards of practice for location certificates (RLRQ, c. A-23, r.10) and overseen by the Ordre des arpenteurs-géomètres du Québec.