Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, the environment and other interests of the general publicOntario Professional Engineers Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 28 and R.R.O. Regulation 941: General and to define the licensure process through which an engineer becomes licensed to practice engineering and to provide professional services and products to the public.
As with many other professions and activities, engineering is often a restricted activity.New York Article 145 §7201. Definition of practice of engineering. The practice of the profession of engineering is defined as performing professional service such as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, design or supervision of construction or operation in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, works, or projects wherein the safeguarding of life, health and property is concerned, when such service or work requires the application of engineering principles and data. Relatedly, jurisdictions that license according to particular engineering discipline define the boundaries of each discipline carefully so that practitioners understand what they are competent to do.
A licensed engineer takes legal responsibility for engineering work, product or projects (typically via a seal or stamp on the relevant design documentation) as far as the local engineering legislation is concerned. Regulations require that only a licensed engineer can sign, seal or stamp technical documentation such as reports, plans, engineering drawings and calculations for study estimate or valuation or carry out design analysis, repair, servicing, maintenance or supervision of engineering work, process or project. In cases where public safety, property or welfare is concerned, licensed engineers are trusted by the government and the public to perform the task in a competent manner. In various parts of the world, licensed engineers may use a protected title such as professional engineer, chartered engineer, or simply engineer.
Legislative intent It is illegal for a practicing engineer to jeopardize public safety in any way.California Professional Engineers Act, Article 2, 6710.1 This means that an engineer must adhere to the highest level of technical and moral conduct reasonable or suffer litigation if an engineering system fails causing harm to the public, including maintenance technicians. Breaches of engineering law are often sufficient grounds for enforcement measures, which may include the suspension or loss of license and financial penalties. They may also include imprisonment, should gross negligence be shown to have been a factor in loss of human life.
An engineering licence provides the public with the assurance that qualified persons are doing or overseeing engineering work. An unlicensed worker or manager has no specific liability, as this is borne by the employer through tort law or engineering legislation, and there is no regulatory authority to enforce acceptable engineering practice in relation to the work.No Author Listed, FINAL REPORT Repeal of the Industrial Exception Data Gathering and Analysis Research Project, Professional Engineers Ontario, January 2017.
In cases of gross negligence, an engineering firm may not be considered vicariously liable for an individual engineer's offence.
Licensure and regulation Becoming a licensed engineer is a process that varies around the world but generally requires a four-year engineering degree and four years of engineering experience. In some regions, use of the term "engineer" is regulated, in others it is not. Where engineering is a regulated profession, there are specific procedures and requirements for obtaining a registration, charter or license to practice engineering. These are obtained from the government or a charter-granting authority acting on its behalf and engineers are subject to regulation by these bodies. (pp. 6–7) In addition to licensure, there are voluntary certification programs for various disciplines which involve examinations accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards.
Due to occupational closure, licensed engineers enjoy significant influence over their regulation. They are often the authors of the pertinent codes of ethics used by some of these organizations. Engineers in private practice most often find themselves in traditional professional-client relationships in their practice. Engineers employed in government service and government-run industry are on the other side of that relationship. Despite the different focus, engineers in industry and private practice face similar ethical issues and reach similar conclusions. One American engineering society, the National Society of Professional Engineers, has sought to extend a single professional license and code of ethics for all engineers, regardless of practice area or employment sector.Layton (1986). pp. 238–239.
Asia People's Republic of China China has two parallel systems for evaluating professional engineers, one as part of the "Professional Title" and the other as part of the "Occupation Qualification".
Under the "Professional Title" system, engineers are divided into Assistant Engineer, Engineer, and Senior Engineer. Professional titles are awarded based on educational background, work experience, performance, participation in training programs, and awards received.
Under the "Occupation Qualification" system, engineers are classified by their specific profession, such as "Registered Architect," "Registered Structural Engineer," "Registered Civil Engineer," "Registered Electrical Engineer," "Registered Public Equipment Engineer," etc. To obtain a registered engineer title, in addition to having a certain amount of work experience in a specific profession, one must pass a series of specific exams organized by the government.
Registered engineers must pass two levels of rigorous exams. Whether design documents or drawings need to be signed by registered engineers depends on provinces or cities.
To qualify, candidates must complete two levels of exams. The first level is an 8-hour close-book basic knowledge exam, covering courses of undergraduate engineering degrees. After passing this exam, participants can take the second-level professional exam the following year. This professional exam is divided into multiple disciplines, such as structural, architectural, electrical, and mechanical. It tests candidates' ability to understand and apply relevant codes and standards. The exam is conducted over a weekend, with each day featuring a 6-hour session. The first day's exam focuses on code requirements, while the second day's exam involves questions about actual engineering cases, requiring references to equations and performing calculations.
South Korea In South Korea, engineering credentials are primarily structured through the national technical qualification system under the National Technical Qualifications Act, which classifies technical qualifications into five grades: professional engineer, master craftsman, engineer, industrial engineer, and craftsman. Within this hierarchy, the professional engineer (, gisulsa) is the grade most analogous to a professional engineering licence in other jurisdictions, because it is separately governed by the Professional Engineers Act, which defines professional engineers' duties, permits the establishment of registered professional engineer offices, and requires registered practitioners to sign and seal designs and reports prepared in the course of practice.
Unlike jurisdictions that rely on a single broad P.E. title, South Korea divides the professional engineer grade into a large number of field-specific categories. Q-Net lists 84 professional engineer categories overall, including information-technology fields such as Professional Engineer Information Management and Professional Engineer Computer System Application.
Eligibility is experience-based and examination-centered. According to Q-Net, candidates typically qualify for the professional engineer examination through combinations of lower-tier qualifications, academic credentials, and substantial work experience; the examination process itself consists of a written examination followed by an interview. This differs from some U.S. licensure models, in which state boards or NCEES records may require professional references as part of the licensing process.
The examinations are also selective. For example, Q-Net reports that in 2024 the written-examination pass rate was 3.4% for Professional Engineer Information Management and 13.0% for Professional Engineer Computer System Application; the corresponding interview pass rates were 76.7% and 71.4%, respectively.
Iran In Iran, registration or licensure of professional engineers and engineering practice is governed by Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (Iran). For standardization, FE and PE exams are written and graded by a central organization, the National Organization for Examination and Training (NOET) which is known as Sanjesh in Persian.
Requirements for licensing are as follows:
Graduate from accredited four-year college or university program with a degree in engineering (e.g., Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Complete a standard Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) written examination, which tests applicants on breadth of understanding of basic engineering principles and, optionally, some elements of an engineering speciality. Accumulate a certain amount of engineering experience requirement is at least four years. Complete a written Principles and Practice in Engineering (PE) examination, which tests the applicant's knowledge and skills in their chosen engineering discipline (civil, electrical, industrial, mechanical, computer, etc.), as well as engineering ethics.
Pakistan In Pakistan, engineering education and profession is regulated by the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) via PEC Act 1976. PEC is a federal government organization. Any person with an engineering degree (BE/BS/BSc Engineering) from PEC accredited universities/institutes is legally allowed to register with the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) as a Registered engineer (RE). Previously, every engineering graduate registered with the PEC and at least five years of relevant work experience was eligible for the title of professional engineer (PE) without any exam. To improve the quality of engineering profession, this two-tier system has been enhanced via PEC CPD Bye-Laws 2008. This system was realistically implemented starting 10 July 2010. Graduate engineers now enroll and practice as registered engineer (RE) in their general discipline of work. After at least five years of relevant work experience and accumulation of at least 17 CPD (Continued Professional Development) points, they may attempt the Engineering Practice Examination (EPE) conducted by the PEC. EPE is held by PEC biennially in major cities across the country. Those who pass the EPE are given the prestigious title of professional engineer (PE) in their specialized discipline of work.
To improve the quality of engineering services, engineers with professional engineer (PE) status are also required to engage in CPD activities in order to be able to retain their PE license. CPD points are awarded for various developmental activities such as formal education (e.g. Postgraduate diploma, master or PhD), on-job experience, participating in conferences/workshops as audience, speaker or organizer, publications in technical journals, part-time teaching activities, serving as guest lecturer (other than full-time teaching) and serving as external examiner for master/PhD thesis.