Published: 2015-07-08
Key Benefits:
(a) An application for licensure as a professional engineer or certification as an engineer-in-training shall be made to the board on the prescribed form, with all statements made therein under oath, and shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed by this chapter. An application for licensure as a professional engineer shall specify, additionally, the branch of engineering in which the applicant desires licensure.
(b) The board may authorize an organization specified by the board pursuant to Section 6754 to receive directly from applicants payment of the examination fees charged by that organization as payment for examination materials and services.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 415, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 2011.)
(a) The applicant for certification as an engineer-in-training shall comply with all of the following:
(1) Not have committed acts or crimes constituting grounds for denial of registration under Section 480.
(2) Successfully pass the first division of the examination. The applicant shall be eligible to sit for the first division of the examination after satisfactory completion of three years or more of postsecondary engineering education, three years or more of engineering experience, or a combination of postsecondary education and experience in engineering totaling three years.
The board need not verify the applicant’s eligibility other than to require the applicant to sign a statement of eligibility on the application form.
(b) The applicant for registration as a professional engineer shall comply with all of the following:
(1) Not have committed acts or crimes constituting grounds for denial of registration under Section 480.
(2) Furnish evidence of six years or more of qualifying experience in engineering work satisfactory to the board evidencing that the applicant is competent to practice the character of engineering in the branch for which he or she is applying for registration, and successfully pass the second division of the examination.
(3) The applicant for the second division of the examination shall successfully pass the first division examination or shall be exempt therefrom.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 415, Sec. 11. Effective January 1, 2011.)
The board may consider the professional experience and education acquired by applicants outside the United States which in the opinion of the board is equivalent to the minimum requirements of the board established by regulation for professional experience and education in this state.
(Added by Stats. 1968, Ch. 895.)
The board shall by rule establish the criteria to be used for approving curricula of schools of engineering.
(Added by Stats. 1957, Ch. 2084.)
An applicant for registration as a civil engineer must have gained his experience under the direction of a civil engineer legally qualified to practice.
(Amended by Stats. 1971, Ch. 92.)
With respect to applicants for licensure as professional engineers, the board:
(a) Shall give credit as qualifying experience of four years, for graduation with an engineering degree from a college or university the curriculum of which has been approved by the board.
(b) May at its discretion give credit as qualifying experience up to a maximum of two years, for graduation with an engineering degree from a nonapproved engineering curriculum or graduation with an engineering technology degree in an approved engineering technology curriculum.
(c) May at its discretion give credit as qualifying experience of up to one-half year, for each year of successfully completed postsecondary study in an engineering curriculum up to a maximum of four years credit. A year of study shall be at least 32 semester units or 48 quarter units.
(d) May at its discretion give credit as qualifying experience not in excess of five years, for a postgraduate degree in a school of engineering with a board approved undergraduate or postgraduate curriculum.
(e) May at its discretion give credit as qualifying experience for engineering teaching, not in excess of one year, if of a character satisfactory to the board.
The sum of qualifying experience credit for subdivision (a) to (e), inclusive, shall not exceed five years.
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 658, Sec. 102. Effective January 1, 2007.)
All applicants shall be given equal credit for engineering experience in the armed forces of United States as with any other comparable engineering experience.
(Added by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1709.)
Examination for licensure shall be held at such times and places as the board shall determine.
The second division of the examination for all branches specified in Section 6732 shall be administered at least once each year.
Work of the board relating to examination and licensure may be divided into committees as the board shall direct. The scope of examinations and the methods of procedure may be prescribed by board rule.
The board may make arrangements with a public or private organization to conduct the examination. The board may contract with a public or private organization for materials or services related to the examination.
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 658, Sec. 103. Effective January 1, 2007.)
(a) Examination duration and composition shall be designed to conform to the following general principle: The first division of the examination shall test the applicant’s knowledge of appropriate fundamental engineering subjects, including mathematics and the basic sciences; the second division of the examination shall test the applicant’s ability to apply his or her knowledge and experience and to assume responsible charge in the professional practice of the branch of engineering in which the applicant is being examined.
(b) The applicant for the second division of the examination shall have successfully passed the first division examination or shall be exempt therefrom.
(c) The board may by rule provide for a waiver of the first division of the examination for applicants whose education and experience qualifications substantially exceed the requirements of Section 6751.
(d) The board may by rule provide for a waiver of the second division of the examination for persons eminently qualified for registration in this state by virtue of their standing in the engineering community, their years of experience, and those other qualifications as the board deems appropriate.
(Amended by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1134, Sec. 5.)
(a) The second division of the examination for registration as a professional engineer shall include questions to test the applicant’s knowledge of state laws and the board’s rules and regulations regulating the practice of professional engineering. The board shall administer the test on state laws and board rules regulating the practice of engineering in this state as a separate part of the second division of the examination for registration as a professional engineer.
(b) On and after April 1, 1988, the second division of the examination for registration as a civil engineer shall also include questions to test the applicant’s knowledge of seismic principles and engineering surveying principles as defined in Section 6731.1. No registration for a civil engineer shall be issued by the board on or after January 1, 1988, to any applicant unless he or she has successfully completed questions to test his or her knowledge of seismic principles and engineering surveying principles.
The board shall administer the questions to test the applicant’s knowledge of seismic principles and engineering surveying principles as a separate part of the second division of the examination for registration as a civil engineer.
It is the intent of the Legislature that this section confirm the authority of the board to issue registrations prior to April 1, 1988, to applicants based on examinations not testing the applicant’s knowledge of seismic principles and engineering surveying principles as defined in Section 6731.1.
(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 657, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2006.)
(a) An applicant for certification as an engineer-in-training shall, upon making a passing grade in that division of the examination prescribed in Section 6755, relating to fundamental engineering subjects, be issued a certificate as an engineer-in-training. A renewal or other fee, other than the application and examination fees, may not be charged for this certification. The certificate shall become invalid when the holder has qualified as a professional engineer as provided in Section 6762.
(b) An engineer-in-training certificate does not authorize the holder thereof to practice or offer to practice civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering work, in his or her own right, or to use the titles specified in Sections 6732, 6736, and 6736.1.
(c) It is unlawful for anyone other than the holder of a valid engineer-in-training certificate issued under this chapter to use the title of “engineer-in-training” or any abbreviation of that title.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 415, Sec. 12. Effective January 1, 2011.)
Applicants who profess to be qualified in more than one branch of engineering shall be required to file an application for each branch in which they wish to be registered.
(Amended by Stats. 1975, Ch. 896.)
An applicant failing in an examination may be examined again upon filing a new application and the payment of the fee fixed by this chapter.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 415, Sec. 13. Effective January 1, 2011.)
The board, upon application therefor, on its prescribed form, and the payment of the fee fixed by this chapter, may issue a certificate of registration as a professional engineer, without written examination, to any person holding a certificate of registration issued to him or her by any state or country when the applicant’s qualifications meet the requirements of this chapter and rules established by the board. The board shall not require a comity applicant to meet any requirement not required of California applicants. For purposes of this section, equivalent second division examinations shall be written examinations prepared by or administered by a state or territory either by single or combined branch at the level generally administered by the board to persons who passed or were exempted from the first division examination. Applicants who have passed an equivalent second division combined branch or a single branch examination in a branch not recognized for registration in California shall be registered in the branch in which their experience and education indicate the closest relationship.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 400, Sec. 11. Effective January 1, 2015.)
Any applicant who has passed the second division examination and has otherwise qualified hereunder as a professional engineer, shall have a certificate of registration issued to him or her as a professional engineer in the particular branch for which he or she is found qualified.
(Amended by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1134, Sec. 8.)
(a) The board shall issue, upon application and payment of the fee established by Section 6799, a retired license (registration), to an engineer who has been licensed by the board for a minimum of 5 years within California and a minimum of 20 years within the United States or territory of the United States, and who holds a license that is not suspended, revoked, or otherwise disciplined, or subject to pending discipline under this chapter.
(b) The holder of a retired license issued pursuant to this section shall not engage in any activity for which an active engineer’s license is required. An engineer holding a retired license shall be permitted to use the titles “retired professional engineer,” “professional engineer, retired,” or either of those titles with the licensee’s branch designation inserted for the word “professional” for example, “retired civil engineer” or “civil engineer, retired.”
(c) The holder of a retired license shall not be required to renew that license.
(d) In order for the holder of a retired license issued pursuant to this section to restore his or her license to active status, he or she shall pass the second division examination that is required for initial licensure with the board.
(Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 983, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2000.)
Application for authority to use the title “structural engineer,” “soil engineer,” “soils engineer,” or “geotechnical engineer” shall be made to the board on forms prescribed by it and shall be accompanied by the fee fixed by this chapter.
An applicant for authority to use the title “structural engineer,” “soil engineer,” “soils engineer,” or “geotechnical engineer” who has passed the examination prescribed by the board, or an applicant for authority to use the title “soil engineer,” “soils engineer,” or “geotechnical engineer” whose application is submitted prior to July 1, 1986, and who has otherwise demonstrated that he or she is qualified, shall have a certificate of authority issued to him or her.
For purposes of this chapter, an authority to use the title “structural engineer,” “soil engineer,” “soils engineer,” or “geotechnical engineer” is an identification of competence and specialization in a subspecialty of civil engineering and necessitates education or experience in addition to that required for registration as a civil engineer.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 415, Sec. 15. Effective January 1, 2011.)
An applicant to use the title “structural engineer” shall have successfully passed a written examination for structural engineering that is administered by a nationally recognized entity approved by the board.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 448, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2012.)
If an applicant for registration as a professional engineer or certification as an engineer-in-training, or for authorization to use the title “structural engineer” or “soil engineer,” is found by the board to lack the qualifications required for admission to the examination for such registration, certification, or authorization, the board may, in accordance with the provisions of Section 158 of this code, refund to him or her one-half of the amount of his or her application fee.
(Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1356, Sec. 3.)
Each professional engineer licensed under this chapter shall, upon licensure, obtain a seal or stamp of a design authorized by the board bearing the licensee’s name, number of his or her certificate or authority, the legend “professional engineer” and the designation of the particular branch or authority in which he or she is licensed.
(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 368, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2010.)
A duplicate certificate of registration to replace one lost, destroyed, or mutilated may be issued subject to the rules and regulations of the board. The duplicate certificate fee fixed by this chapter shall be charged.
(Added by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1709.)
An unsuspended, unrevoked and unexpired certificate and endorsement of registry made under this chapter, is presumptive evidence in all courts and places that the person named therein is legally registered.
(Added by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1709.)