CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 6750-6766
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
SECTION 6750-6766
6750. (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.
6751. (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.
6751.2. 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.
6751.5. The board shall by rule establish the criteria to be used
for approving curricula of schools of engineering.
6752. An applicant for registration as a civil engineer must have
gained his experience under the direction of a civil engineer legally
qualified to practice.
6753. 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.
6753.5. All applicants shall be given equal credit for engineering
experience in the armed forces of United States as with any other
comparable engineering experience.
6754. 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.
6755. (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.
6755.1. (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.
6756. (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.
6757. 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.
6758. 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.
6759. 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 eight-hour 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.
6760. A temporary authorization to practice engineering in a branch
defined by this chapter may be granted for a specific project, upon
application and payment of the fee prescribed in Section 6799, for a
period not to exceed 180 consecutive days, if the applicant complies
with all of the following:
(a) The applicant maintains no place of business in this state.
(b) The applicant is legally qualified to practice the branch of
engineering in which he or she is seeking the temporary authorization
in the state or country where he or she maintains a place of
business.
(c) (1) The applicant, if applying for a temporary authorization
to practice civil engineering, demonstrates by means of an individual
appearance before the board satisfactory evidence of his or her
knowledge of the application of seismic forces in the design of
structures or adequate knowledge in any of the other phases of civil
engineering as related to the specific project for which the
temporary authorization is requested.
(2) The applicant, if applying for a temporary authorization to
practice engineering in a branch defined by this chapter other than
civil engineering, demonstrates by means of an individual appearance
before the board, satisfactory evidence of his or her knowledge in
the branch of professional engineering in which the applicant
proposes to practice under the temporary authorization as related to
the specific project for which the temporary authorization is
requested.
(d) The applicant takes and passes the examination in the state
laws and board rules described in Section 6755.1.
(e) The applicant notifies the board in writing of his or her
intention to practice, stating the approximate date he or she intends
to commence the specific project and the approximate duration of the
specific project, which shall not exceed 180 consecutive days from
the commencement date of the specific project.
Upon completion of the requirements, the executive officer, on the
direction of the board, shall issue a temporary authorization to the
applicant.
6762. 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.
6762.5. (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.
6763. 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.
6763.1. An applicant to use the title "structural engineer" shall
have successfully passed a written examination that incorporates a
national examination for structural engineering by a nationally
recognized entity approved by the board, if available, and a
supplemental California specific examination. The California specific
examination shall test the applicant's knowledge of state laws,
rules, and regulations, and of seismicity and structural engineering
unique to practice in this state. The board shall use the national
examination on or before December 31, 2004.
6763.5. 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.
6764. 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.
6765. 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.
6766. 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.