SM Chapters establish long-standing policies, standards, instructions, and general procedures with Bureau-wide applicability.

SM Handbooks establish detailed procedures that supplement policy in SM chapters.

Instructional Memoranda are temporary policies and general procedures that will be incorporated into an SM chapter in the future.

Email gs-a_survey_manual_feedback@usgs.gov with questions and comments regarding USGS Directives or this site.

Effective October 1, 2024:

The Survey Manual is undergoing updates to reflect the following organizational changes: 

The Office of Administration (OA) is now the “Office of Administrative Services” (OAS), including the Office of Acquisition and Grants (OAG), the Office of Management Services (OMS), and the Office of Human Capital (OHC/HR).  The Office of Budget, Planning, and Integration (BPI) is now the “Office of Budget, Finance, and Analysis” (BFA), and is adding the Office of Accounting and Financial Management (OAFM) and the Office of Policy and Analysis (OPA), which were previously offices under OA.