Site levels in AutoCAD: open LiDAR contours and spot levels

Files to use: DXF. Written for: AutoCAD 2025 help.

Steps

Open the DXF directly (File › Open, set the file type to DXF). It opens in metres at its real coordinates.
Type ZOOM then E (Extents) to see the site.
Save it as a DWG. To bring it into your own drawing at the right place, use XATTACH with insertion point 0,0,0, scale 1 and rotation 0. Your drawing must also be in metres on British National Grid.
To check a contour's height, select it and look at Elevation in the Properties palette.

Good to know

If your drawing uses a local site grid rather than British National Grid, you'll need to move the levels onto your grid yourself; we can't know your local origin.

Coordinates, units and heights

Units are metres. Plan positions are real Ordnance Survey British National Grid coordinates (EPSG:27700), so a point at easting 324630, northing 639730 sits at exactly those coordinates in your drawing.
Heights are metres above Ordnance Datum Newlyn, as in the LiDAR. Each contour line is drawn at its own height, and each spot level is a 3D point with a text label beside it.
The layers are listed in SOURCE_AND_ACCURACY.txt, along with the survey date and the accuracy note. Keep it with the drawing.

Vendor help: Autodesk AutoCAD help: About attaching and detaching referenced drawings (xrefs). If your version's menus differ, follow the vendor's page.

Try it with a real sample first

Real public LiDAR for a small patch of ground at the edge of Peebles (Scottish Public Sector LiDAR Phase 3, 0.5 m). It's a sample area, not a real plot for sale. Free to download, no account needed.

Scottish Government LiDAR, tested to ±0.14 m typical on open ground (95% within ±0.28 m), shown with the date the survey was flown. Good for feasibility and early design; for setting out and detailed design, commission a measured survey. When you need a surveyor.

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