The licensing or registration of engineers in the United States and its jurisdictions has been a key goal of NSPE since its founding in 1934. Further it is a subject about which NSPE's founder Dr. D.B. Steinman, a world-reknowned bridge designer, wrote often and at length. This Position Statement is made to expand and detail the thinking which undergirds NSPE's Professional Policy No. 152, Licensure and Qualifications to Practice,
Engineering Licensure
"Licensure as a professional engineer" is the statutory process through which a person meets the legal requirements sufficient to be permitted by law to practice engineering in that jurisdiction. Licensing and registration are the terms used, often interchangeably, in the state statutes to establish these requirements.
State licensure laws for design professionals are predicated upon and justified only as a means to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. The public interest is best served by the licensure of all qualified individuals within the engineering profession.
Licensure Law
NSPE endorses enactment of uniform licensure laws in all jurisdictions. The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) has developed Model Laws as guides for use by engineering licensure (registration) boards and legislatures in the interest of achieving uniform laws for the licensure of engineers in all jurisdictions.
NSPE endorses the NCEES Model Law definitions of the "practice of engineering" and the "practice of land surveying" and encourages enactment of Model Law provisions.
NSPE endorses and supports the concept of licensure of engineers only as a "Professional Engineer" and opposes licensure status by designated branches or specialties.
Qualifications
NSPE encourages the adoption of the following provisions in all jurisdictions:
| a. |
Establish the bachelor's degree in engineering from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology/Engineering Accreditation Commission (ABET/EAC) or one assessed by ABET/EAC as substantially comparable, as the minimum educational requirement for licensure.
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| b. |
Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles of Practice examinations as prepared and administered by NCEES. NSPE encourages all eligible students to take and pass the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering examination prior to graduation. |
| c. |
Obtain at least four years of professional experience after the degree described above, with experience credit allowed for graduate study of engineering or teaching of advanced engineering subjects in an ABET/EAC-accredited engineering curriculum. |
| d. |
Permit a nonlicensed individual who holds both an ABET/EAC-accredited undergraduate degree or its equivalent and a Ph.D. from an engineering program that is ABET/EAC accredited at the undergraduate level, to be excused from taking the Fundamentals of Engineering examination. |
| e. |
Engineering faculty who hold an ABET/EAC accredited undergraduate degree, or hold a Ph.D. in engineering from an institution that offers an ABET/EAC accredited undergraduate degree should be excused from taking the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. |
Licensure Boards
Appointment of public members to licensure boards is supported in recognition of their many valuable contributions to nontechnical aspects of the licensing process; however, the public interest is best protected when a majority of the board are licensed professional engineers. Both the evaluation of technical qualifications of applicants and evaluation of professional practice should be made only by those members of the board who are licensed professional engineers.
Licensing Fees
NSPE supports adequate fees by the states to cover the cost of examination, periodic license renewal, administration, and effective enforcement of the licensure act. Fees for licensed professionals should support the full cost of administering the licensing program, but should not become a source of general taxation.
Since many engineers maintain licenses in multiple jurisdictions, but only infrequently need them for active practice in all jurisdictions, NSPE supports an inactive status license at a reduced fee for those not actively performing work in a jurisdiction. Provisions for returning to active status should include a reasonable fee structure and demonstration of continuing competence or active practice in another jurisdiction.
Engineering Practice
The National Society of Professional Engineers is vitally interested in the concerns of engineers to practice engineering within their technical competence for the continued betterment of society. Such practice is subject to disciplinary control by and through the state boards of engineering licensure and by the appropriate committees on engineering conduct.
As to the relationship between the engineer and other design professionals on building projects, it is the prerogative of the client to select and designate the prime professional. Professionals so retained should perform only those services for which they are competent and should utilize the services of other qualified professionals as required to provide a proper and complete professional service to the client, consistent with applicable law. The various design professions should remain separate but continue to cooperate and work together in a joint effort of service for the good of the public.
Engineers in Education
The National Society of Professional Engineers recognizes the responsibility of engineering faculty in formulating curricula and teaching students to prepare them for the practice of engineering. To fulfill this responsibility as it relates to the public health, safety, and welfare, engineering faculty teaching advanced engineering subjects should be licensed professional engineers. An engineering educator who heads an engineering department or division or who is dean of an engineering college should be a licensed professional engineer at the time of appointment.
This practice should be mandatory in engineering school administration and a part of the criteria for accrediting engineering programs as administered by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
All engineering institutions are urged to properly identify the licensed professional engineer faculty members as "PE" in the catalog of the school and in other publications where names of faculty appear.
Engineers in Research
Individuals performing applied engineering research which meets the definition of the practice of engineering should be licensed professional engineers.
Exemptions
The National Society of Professional Engineers believes strongly that state engineering licensure laws should apply to all individuals who practice engineering as defined in the NCEES Model Law. All employers are urged to promote professional licensure of all qualified individuals and to utilize licensed professional engineers in performing engineering work. NSPE will assist and cooperate with employers in the development of programs which encourage the licensure of qualified employees.
Land Surveying
The model law for licensure of land surveyors as prepared by NCEES is endorsed. Cadastral and topographic surveying and mensuration and the preparation of maps, plats, and profiles depicting topography, property boundaries, and the location of certain other surface features is within their appropriate area of practice. Accordingly, NSPE supports land surveyors having the lead or primary role for the preparation and certification of documents pertaining to such work, consistent with state law.
Certification Programs
Following licensure as a professional engineer, individuals may voluntarily have their expertise in a specified field of engineering recognized through an appropriate specialty certification program. Such certification must not imply that other licensed professional engineers are less qualified for practice in a particular field of specialty. Professional engineering licensure is the only qualification for engineering practice. NSPE and its state societies will actively oppose attempts to enact any local, state or federal legislation or rule that would mandate certification in lieu of or beyond licensure as a legal requirement for the performance of engineering services.
Professional Engineer Intern
To more adequately reflect the educational achievement of candidates for licensure and their progression toward professional engineer status, NSPE supports the use of the title Professional Engineer Intern (PEI), formerly Engineer in Training (EIT), and will exercise its influence to secure appropriate changes in the statutes and literature of the profession to include the new title.
Enforcement
NSPE and its state societies should take an active role in assisting state licensure (registration) boards in the enforcement and disciplinary provisions assigned by statute.