A geodetic surveying method includes deriving surface information for an object and geodetically accurate individual point measuring to at least one reference point. A position reference to an external coordinate system may also be provided by the at least one reference point. The method may also include aligning measurement radiation on the at least one reference point. The method may also include determining at least one direction to the reference point in an internal coordinate system. A method for reference point-independent scanning is also disclosed for deriving the surface information, the method may comprise scanning by continuously changing the alignment of the measurement radiation, determining a respective distance and a respective alignment of the measurement radiation emitted for a distance measurement for scanning points lying within the specified scanning region, and producing a point cloud representing the surface information and having the scanning points, in the internal coordinate system.