Surface photovoltage (SPV) measurements may provide an effective method for determining; electrical properties of silicon on insulator (SOI) surfaces, In the experimental parr of this work the use of the non-contact SPV-based method of surface charge profiling (SCP) in the monitoring of surface charges is explored, it was demonstrated that application of this method is constrained by the interactions between charges on the Si surface and at the interface between the Si active layer and buried oxide (box), These interactions are subsequently modeled and related to the SCP measurements. It is demonstrated that at a given doping level, the thickness of the active layer and density of charge associated with the box are factors predetermining the effectiveness of this method in SOI surface characterization. Through modeling, the SOI substrate parameter space for which the SCP method can yield useful information is defined.