General Information
The District of Columbia Board of Professional Engineering regulates the licensing and practice of professional engineers and land surveyors and protects the public by upholding the District of Columbia’s Professional Engineers municipal regulations.
With the consent of the Council of the District of Columbia, the Mayor appoints the members of the Board to serve three-year terms. The Board consists of seven members. Four members must have a valid DC professional engineer license from any discipline, two members must have a valid DC land surveyor license, and one member must be a consumer member. Excluding the consumer member, each Board member must have been actively engaged in the practice of engineering or land surveying in the District of Columbia for at least five years preceding his or her appointment. Four members of the Board constitute a quorum.
The Board is on recess in April and December. The Board meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at 11a.m. at the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection located at 1100 4th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024. Due to the public health emergency, all board meetings are currently being held virtually.
Board meeting minutes are available at www.open-dc.gov.
Applicant
The District of Columbia Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors is established to “determine the scope of practice, the requirements which an applicant must meet for initial licensure and for renewal of the same, including any continuing education requirements, and shall determine the appropriate level of regulation. The Board is governed by the Non-Health Related Occupations and Professions Licensure Act of 1998, effective April 20, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-261; D. C. Official Code § 47-2853.01 et seq. (2001).
The Board consists of seven members who reside in the District of Columbia and are appointed by the Mayor. Four members must each hold a license as a professional engineer – licensed in various disciplines and two members must be licensed land surveyors and one member of the public.
The Board meets the fourth Thursday of each month at 11 a.m. at the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection located at 1100 4th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board meetings are being held virtually and are open to the public. To access information from previous meetings, please visit open-dc.gov.
Apply for License
Items Needed for Application
All Applicants
- One 2”x2” passport-style photo (.jpeg format)
- Un-expired government-issued ID (e.g., driver’s license)
- Debit or credit card to pay application, exam, or license fees
Professional Engineer
Examination
- Education
- Undergraduate Engineering Degree from an Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology(EAC/ABET)
- If the Applicant has a foreign degree or a degree from a non EAC/ABET college/university an evaluation is needed.
- Board Approved Services:
- NCEES (ncees.org)
- Educational Perspectives (edperspective.org)
- Applicants must request a Subject Analysis Evaluation report for Professional Engineers
- SpanTran (spantran.com)
- Applicants should request a General Evaluation plus Comprehensive Course Analysis for Engineers.
- The Board does not accept Technology Degrees
- Experience
- 4 years of progressive experience in the engineering field
- Experience must have been gained under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer, if the experience was not gained under a licensed engineer an explanation must be provided.
- Teaching experience must be engineering or engineering related at the collegiate level. Course description is required.
- Master’s Degree in engineering followed by a Baccalaureate Degree in engineering may be used as (1) one years’ experience. If Ph.D in engineering is completed under the same conditions 2 (two) years ‘total experience may be credited.
- Documents
- Formal copy of college/university transcripts OR a formal copy of an academic evaluation must be sent from the school/evaluation service to the Board.
- Unofficial transcripts will not be accepted
- Verification of the Fundamentals Examination (FE). This is a requirement for examination and will not be waived in lieu of work experience.
- Transcripts can be sent electronically or via mail to the following address: [email protected]
Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection
1100 4th Street, SW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20024
Attn: Avis Pearson
Endorsement
- Education- same as Examination, see above.
- Experience- same as Examination, see above.
- Documents
- If the Applicant has established NCEES Credentialing Record to include verified college transcripts and/or academic evaluation, employment verification and professional references –the Applicant must contact NCEES and request that this Record be sent to the Board
- **When completing the online application the “Endorsement with NCEES” Application Type should be selected.
- Unofficial transcripts will not be accepted
- Verification of the Fundamentals Examination (FE). ** This exam requirement for licensure and will not be waived in lieu of work or professional experience.
- If the Applicant does not have a NCEES Credentialing Record all formal transcripts/evaluations must be sent from the college/university or evaluation service to the Board. This information can be sent electronically to [email protected] or mailed to:
Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection
OPLD
1100 4th Street, SW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20024
Attn: Avis Pearson
Land Surveyor
Examination
- Education
- Undergraduate Degree must be a Land Surveyor degree from an Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology(EAC/ABET),the Applied Science Accreditation Commission of ABET (TAC/ABET) collectively the ABET Commissions at the time the applicant received the degree.
- If the Applicant has a foreign degree or a degree from a non EAC/ABET college/university an evaluation is needed.
- Documents
- Formal copy of college/university transcripts OR a formal copy of an academic evaluation must be sent from the school/evaluation service to the Board.
- Unofficial transcripts will not be accepted
- Verification of the Fundamentals of Land Surveying (FLS).
- After successful passing the FLS and meeting the education requirements the Applicant is eligible to apply for the Land Surveyor Intern Certification
- Transcripts can be sent electronically to [email protected] or via mail to the following address:
Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection
1100 4th Street, SW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20024
Attn: Avis Pearson
Endorsement
- Education
- Undergraduate Engineering Degree from an Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology (EAC/ABET), the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC)
- If the Applicant has a foreign degree or a degree from a non EAC/ABET college/university an evaluation is needed from one of the Board approved services.
- Experience
- 4 years of progressive experience in the engineering field
- Experience must have been gained under the supervision of a licensed professional Land Surveyor, if the experience was not gained under a licensed engineer an explanation must be provided.
- Teaching experience, to be creditable, must be obtained in responsible charge of work related to property conveyance and/or boundary line determination.
- Documents
- Documentation of the FLS and the PLS. If the Applicant has established NCEES Credentialing Record to include verified college transcripts and/or academic evaluation, employment verification and professional references – the Applicant must contact NCEES and request that this Record be sent to the Board
- **When completing the online application the “Endorsement with NCEES” Application Type should be selected.
- Unofficial transcripts will not be accepted.
- If the Applicant does not have a NCEES Credentialing Record, all formal transcripts/evaluations must be sent from the college/university or evaluation service to the Board. This information can be sent electronically to [email protected] or mailed to:
Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection
OPL
1100 4th Street, SW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20024
Attn: Avis Pearson
Examination
When Exam Applicants are approved by the Board to test, the applicant must register for the exam with the National Council on Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). To schedule an exam, visit ncees.org/engineering/#district-of-columbia.
Fees
Land Surveyor
- Application $65.00
- License $120.00 (up to 2 years)
- Renewal $155.00 (up to 2 years)
- Late Renewal Fee $50.00
- Reinstated License $155.00 (up to 2 years)
- Inactive Status $155.00
- Land Surveyor Intern $120.00
- Duplicate License $30.00
- Verification of Records $30.00
Professional Engineer
- Application $65.00
- Exam $250.00
- License $120.00 (up to 2 years)
- Renewal $155.00 (up to 2 years)
- Late Renewal Fee $50.00
- Reinstated License $155.00 (up to 2 years)
- Inactive Status $155.00
- Engineer in Training Certificate $120.00
- Duplicate License $30.00
- Verification of Records $30.00
Professional Organizations/Resources
Engineers
- National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) ncees.org
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) asce.org
- National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) nspe.org
- Society of Women Engineers (SWE) swe.org
- Society of Hispanic Engineers (SHPE) shpe.org
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) nsbe.org
Land Surveyor
- District of Columbia Association of Land Surveyors (DCALS) dcals.org
- National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) nsps.us.com.
Licensee
License Renewal
Expiration Date: August 31; Renewal Year: Even
Submit an application for renewal of an occupational or professional license.
Consumer
Calendar
Meeting Dates
-
April (Recess)
-
Thursday, May 25, 2023
-
Thursday, June 22, 2023
-
Thursday, July 27, 2023
-
August (Recess)
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Thursday, September 28, 2023
-
Thursday, October 26, 2023
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Thursday, November 16, 2023
-
December (Recess)
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