What Happens When Texas Adopts
A Practical Look at Day-One Changes
Texas's adoption of the modernized NSRS will be a formal, announced event, not a quiet software update. This guide walks through what practitioners can expect leading up to and immediately following that transition date, based on TSRC's current roadmap and NGS's published guidance. Specifics will be confirmed as adoption approaches; this is a practical preview, not a final procedure.
Before the Transition Date
Texas's transition date will be published with advance notice, giving practitioners, agencies, and vendors time to prepare rather than adopting without warning. In the lead-up, TSRC will coordinate practitioner and agency readiness directly, so check TSRC's guidance documents and mailing list for updates as the date approaches.
At Transition
When Texas formally adopts, TSRC will publish the legal definition for Texas Coordinate Systems (TCS) under its authority granted by Texas Natural Resources Code § 21.0711. This is the moment the modernized system becomes an official Texas coordinate system, alongside the existing Texas Coordinate System of 1927 and 1983.
How Existing Data Transitions to the Modernized System
NGS's Blueprint for the Modernized NSRS describes three methods for bringing existing survey data into the modernized system, in order of accuracy:
Resurvey
Return to the field and collect new observations, relying on geodetic control that has coordinates in the new datum. Most accurate.
Readjust
Using existing observations, recompute new coordinates based on geodetic control that has been defined in the new datum. More accurate than transforming, less accurate than resurveying.
Transform
Take finished products that have coordinates in the old datum and use transformation software to estimate coordinates in the new datum. Least accurate of the three, but often the only feasible option.
For most practitioners, transformation through NCAT will be the practical path. NGS recommends running your data through NCAT now, using current datums (NAD 83 (2011) Epoch 2010.0, NAVD 88), so your metadata is in order before NCAT is updated to transform directly into the modernized system at its first reference epoch of 2020.00.
What This Means for Your Practice
Check your software and equipment settings. As covered in Mind Your Feet and Get Ready for Modernization, confirm your data collectors and CAD software are set to the correct datum, reference frame, and unit of measure and don't rely on default templates.
Label everything. Every deliverable should identify datum, epoch, zone, unit of measure, and control source. This matters more, not less, once three systems coexist.
Confirm your readiness. TSRC is coordinating directly with equipment and software vendors ahead of adoption, but it's worth confirming your specific tools support the modernized system before you rely on them for a live project. If you have questions on your specific workflow, contact TSRC, we are here to help.
Boundary retracement is not affected the same way. See Follow the Monuments for how the datum shift and foot deprecation do (and don't) affect legal boundary work specifically.
After Adoption
TSRC's role doesn't end at the transition date. TSRC will continue maintaining the state's spatial reference system, providing training and tools, and conducting the ongoing geodetic research and data collection required under its statutory mission.