What is the difference between NAD 83 and the new NATRF2022 datum?

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We keep hearing about the National Spatial Reference System modernization. What should we prepare for?

Asked October 25, 2026

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NGS is modernizing the National Spatial Reference System, which will replace NAD 83 and NAVD 88 [1].

  • New frames: the North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (NATRF2022) and related frames for other plates will replace NAD 83 for horizontal positions.
  • New heights: NAVD 88 will be replaced by a geopotential datum (NAPGD2022) based on a gravimetric geoid.
  • New projections: State Plane Coordinate System 2022 (SPCS2022) brings updated zones, including low-distortion options in many states.
  • Time matters: coordinates will be time-dependent (epochs), because plates move.

How to prepare:

  • Record the datum, realization, epoch and geoid on every project.
  • Keep raw observations, so data can be transformed later.
  • Watch NGS guidance and your state's adoption of SPCS2022.
  • Confirm the foot definition: the U.S. survey foot is being retired in favor of the international foot [2].

Sources

  1. When Survey Elevations Disagree, Check the Datum Before Changing Grades
  2. Grid Distance vs. Ground Distance: How Combined Scale Factors Connect Them

General information only. Answers here are not a survey or legal advice, and no one here can tell you where your boundary is. For your property, hire a licensed land surveyor in your state; for legal questions, a real-estate attorney.

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