California Code of Regulations
Title 16 - Professional and Vocational Regulations
Division 5 - Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Article 2 - Applications
Section 424 - Experience Requirements-Professional Engineers

Universal Citation: 16 CA Code of Regs 424

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024

(a) The engineering branches and title authorities described in Section 404, herein, overlap and some activities are common to two or more engineering branches and title authorities. The minimum number of years of qualifying experience in such overlapping engineering branches and title authorities may be used in securing licensure in any applicable engineering branch or title authority but cannot be used more than once. The only exception to this is experience credit for education. Qualifying education entitles a candidate to experience credit, and this experience credit may be used again even though it has already been used to qualify for another examination.

(b) An applicant for licensure as a professional engineer shall be granted credit towards the experience requirement, as stated in subdivision (a), for the following education curriculum:

(1) Four (4) years experience credit for graduation from an approved engineering curriculum.

(2) Two (2) years experience credit for graduation from a non-approved engineering curriculum or from an approved engineering technology curriculum.

(3) Five (5) years of experience credit for graduation from an approved cooperative work-study engineering curriculum.

(4) Five (5) years of experience credit for graduation from an approved post-graduate engineering curriculum.

(5) One-half ( 1/2) year of education credit for each year of study completed in an approved engineering curriculum that did not result in the awarding of a baccalaureate degree, except that the maximum of such experience shall be two (2) years.

"Life Experience Degrees" are not acceptable and will not be counted towards the education credit.

The additional actual work experience required to meet the six (6) years of experience requirement shall have been gained after graduation, except for cooperative work study experience and post-graduate education.

The sum of qualifying experience credit for education and engineering teaching experience shall not exceed five years.

(c) Qualifying experience is that experience satisfactory to the Board which has been gained while performing engineering tasks under the responsible charge of a person legally qualified to practice in an applicant's branch of engineering.

(1) For the purposes of this section, "legally qualified" means having an appropriate license as a professional engineer; or by being an employee of the Federal Government; or, except for civil engineers, by virtue of being an employee of a manufacturing, mining, public utility, research and development, or other industrial corporation; or, except for civil engineers, by holding an appropriate license as a contractor.

(2) Qualifying experience shall be computed on an actual time worked basis, but not to exceed forty hours per week.

(3) Applied engineering research is an engineering task for the purposes of determining qualifying experience.

(d) Computation of qualifying experience for licensure as a professional engineer or for authority to use the title "structural engineer" or "geotechnical engineer" shall be to the date of filing of the application; or it shall be to the final filing date announced for the examination if the application is filed within a period of thirty (30) days preceding the final filing date announced for such examination.

1. Amendment filed 8-15-63; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 63, No. 13).
2. New subsection (c) filed 1-19-72; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 72, No. 4).
3. Amendment filed 7-27-73: effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 73, No. 30).
4. Amendment filed 8-10-83; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 83, No. 33).
5. Amendment of subsections (a)-(e) and NOTE filed 12-17-90; operative 12-17-90 pursuant to Government Code section 11346.2(d) (Register 91, No. 6).
6. Amendment of subsection (b) filed 5-8-92; operative 6-8-92 (Register 92, No. 19).
7. Amendment of subsections (b) and (c) filed 12-5-94; operative 1-4-95 (Register 94, No. 49).
8. Amendment of subsection (d) filed 8-25-98; operative 9-24-98 (Register 98, No. 35).
9. Change without regulatory effect amending section and NOTE filed 4-19-99 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 99, No. 17).
10. Amendment of section heading and subsection (a), repealer of subsection (d), subsection relettering, amendment of newly designated subsection (d) and amendment of NOTE filed 1-25-2001; operative 2-24-2001 (Register 2001, No. 4).
11. Amendment of subsections (a) and (b), new subsections (b)(1)-(5) and amendment of subsections (c)-(c)(1) and NOTE filed 4-11-2011; operative 5-11-2011 (Register 2011, No. 15).

Note: Authority cited: Section 6716, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 6751, 6751.2, 6751.5, 6752, 6753 and 6753.5, Business and Professions Code.

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