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How a CAD plan’s layers are named: V, four characters and hyphens

Last reviewed: September 7, 2026 — VerifiedOGPe

In short

Rule 2.8.5 of Joint Regulation No. 9473 explains how the layers of plans submitted to the permit system are named and composed. The layers come from the A/E/C CAD Standard, which rests on the National CAD Standard, and to that format six local layers were added to address matters such as the Maritime Terrestrial Zone boundary and the barrio limits. A layer’s name is made of segments separated by hyphens and organized hierarchically: four fields, two mandatory — the Discipline Identifier and the Major Group — and two optional — the Minor Group and the Status — though status is not used in this standard. The Discipline Identifier is one character for this standard’s purposes, and it is the letter V, for surveying. The Major Group is four characters identifying a major system within the project, and the Minor Group another four detailing it: V-ROAD-CNTR means road centerlines within the surveying discipline, and with a second minor group, V-ROAD-CNTR-IDEN, the annotations on those lines. All fields carry exclusively alphanumeric characters and letters go in capitals. There are two layer types: graphic element layers — points, lines or polygons — and annotation layers. And a rule often broken: elements must be in separate layers, so a layer must not hold several geometry types at once.

External link

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What is it?

It is Rule 2.8.5 of Chapter 2.8 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, within the Plan Drawing Standard. It governs something invisible on paper but decisive in the system: what the CAD file’s layers are called and what may live inside each. Whether the plan can be read automatically and cross-referenced with the geographic information systems depends on it.

Who can do it?

It applies to the plans certified by authorized professionals submitted to the permit system — segregation, lotification, registration, urbanization and area rectification — prepared by surveyors or licensed engineers on the Permanent Surveying Registry.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Where the layers come from

    The layers used in this standard come from the A/E/C CAD Standard, so their nomenclature and composition share its format and content; that standard rests in turn on the National CAD Standard’s recommendations and its AIA CAD Layer Guidelines. Under the same format six additional layers were created to address local matters such as the Maritime Terrestrial Zone boundary and the barrio limits.

  2. Step 2: Four fields, two mandatory

    Layer names are made of several segments or fields separated by hyphens and organized hierarchically, each containing a preset code identifying and describing the content. Per the A/E/C CAD Standard and the NCS, there are four fields: two mandatory — the Discipline Identifier and the Major Group — and two optional — the Minor Group and the Status. The status code is not used in this standard.

  3. Step 3: The letter V

    The Discipline Identifier indicates the theme of the layer’s content and consists of two characters: the first the discipline, the second a subcategory; both in capitals, the first mandatory and the second optional. For this standard’s purposes only the mandatory character is used, specifically the one for the surveying discipline, identified by the letter V. The standard’s table gives the mandatory codes: G for General, H for hazardous materials, V for survey and mapping, B for geotechnical, C for civil, L for landscape, S for structural, A for architectural, I for interiors, F for fire protection, P for plumbing, M for mechanical, E for electrical and T for telecommunications.

  4. Step 4: Major group and minor group

    The Major Group is a four-character field identifying a major system within a project or drawing: boundary points, parcel limits and accesses are examples. The Minor Group also consists of four characters and its purpose is to define the major group in greater detail: V-ROAD-CNTR means Survey (V), Roads (ROAD) and Centerlines (CNTR), that is, road centerlines within the surveying discipline. And to detail further there is a second minor group of four more characters: V-ROAD-CNTR-IDEN is the annotations on road centerlines.

  5. Step 5: What is not touched

    The seventeen fundamental elements defined by the standard have specific layers assigned in which they must be drawn, and those layers must not be altered in their nomenclature. If a new layer must be included because some element matches none of the preset layers, it may be done, but only where that element belongs to none of the layers provided, and following the adopted naming format and drawing specifications. All fields must contain exclusively alphanumeric characters and letters must be written in capitals.

  6. Step 6: Two layer types

    Layers hold two data types: those with graphic elements and those with annotations. Graphic elements are objects represented by geometric shapes made of points, lines or polygons modelling what was documented in the field — rights of way as polygons, conservation easements as polygons, control stations as points. Annotation layers hold texts and symbols complementing the graphic elements: names of adjoining parcel owners, dimensions, scale. Most annotation layers sit under the General Discipline Identifier, while graphic elements group across the other disciplines.

  7. Step 7: One geometry per layer

    It is the rule that produces the most rejections and fits in one sentence: the composition of graphic element layers matches the geometry type of the data represented — points, lines or polygons — and these elements must be in separate layers, so a layer must not hold several geometry types at once. The Regulation itself gives the example: a layer holding linear elements such as streets or topographic contour lines must not also hold polygon geometry such as parcels or structures.

  8. Step 8: The seed file’s group filters

    The seed file has group filters holding layers grouped by discipline, by the standard’s fundamental elements and by the agency for which the information may be relevant. The filters are: All Used Layers, with every layer on the list, including the A/E/C CAD Standard’s and the local ones; General-All; Survey-All; Survey_OGPe, with the surveying layers related to OGPe; Survey_OGPe_AsBuilt, with the "as built" ones; and Survey-DRNA, with those related to DRNA. A note on the source: the table describes Survey-All with the same text as General-All.

  9. Step 9: Street names

    For the street names appearing in the drawing, the professional must use the block identified as "Nombre de Calle" in the symbol library already included in the seed file. That block, when placed in the drawing, automatically asks for the street name. A note on the source: right after this section the chapter prints a section titled "Section 2.8.5.2 Layers Assigned to the Fundamental Elements", repeating a number already used for the mandatory fields.

Where to do it

The layers are worked inside the seed file the Planning Board makes downloadable on its portal, and the finished file is submitted through the SUI together with the plan in PDF and the Control Station Certification. The full list of layers and the tables of layers assigned to the fundamental elements are in Chapter 2.8 itself.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

The quick way to read a layer name is left to right: first the discipline, which in these plans is always V for surveying; then the four-character major group saying which system it is; and then, if needed, one or two minor groups of four characters each refining it. So V-ROAD-CNTR is road centerlines and V-ROAD-CNTR-IDEN is the annotations on those lines. It all goes in capitals and only with alphanumeric characters, and the status field is not used. What costs the most to fix later is mixing geometries: if a layer carries lines, it cannot also carry polygons, so streets and contour lines go apart from parcels and structures. Nor is what comes in the seed file renamed or reorganized; the only freedom is creating a new layer where the element fits none of the presets, and even then it must be named in the same format. For streets, the text is not typed by hand: the "Nombre de Calle" block from the symbol library is used, which asks for the name when placed. And it is worth remembering why all this exists: the chapter warns that non-compliance may make the system reject the information or delay the case’s evaluation.

Common mistakes

  • Naming layers with one’s own format instead of the standard’s hyphen-separated segments.
  • Omitting either of the two mandatory fields: the Discipline Identifier or the Major Group.
  • Using the Discipline Identifier’s second character, when this standard employs only the mandatory one.
  • Writing the fields in lower case or with non-alphanumeric characters.
  • Using the Status field, which the standard does not employ.
  • Renaming or altering the layers assigned to the fundamental elements.
  • Creating new layers for elements that do belong to one of the layers provided.
  • Mixing lines and polygons in the same layer, such as streets alongside parcels or structures.
  • Mixing annotations with graphic elements in the same layer.
  • Typing street names by hand instead of using the "Nombre de Calle" block from the symbol library.

Frequently asked questions

What does V-ROAD-CNTR mean on a plan?

Survey (V), Roads (ROAD) and Centerlines (CNTR): road centerlines within the surveying discipline. With a second minor group, V-ROAD-CNTR-IDEN is the annotations on those centerlines.

Which name fields are mandatory?

The Discipline Identifier and the Major Group. The Minor Group and the Status are optional, and status is not used in this standard.

May I put lines and polygons in the same layer?

No. Elements must be in separate layers, so a layer must not hold several geometry types at once: a layer with streets or contour lines must not hold parcels or structures.

May I create a layer that is not in the seed file?

Only where the element belongs to none of the layers provided, and the new layer must follow the standard’s naming format and drawing specifications.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 7, 2026

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