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When a Professional Engineer may be "especially qualified in Structural Engineering"
Prior to April 7, 2011:
| Method | Base Exam | Structural Exam(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Method - by examination in Idaho and by Comity | NCEES "Base" Discipline PE Exam (such as Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, etc.) | NCEES SE-I and SE-II |
| Alternate 1* by Comity | NCEES "Base" Discipline PE Exam (such as Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, etc.) | NCEES SE-II and the newer Western States-III or the older Western States 16 hr (see Newsletter #29, October 1999) |
| Alternate 2* by Comity | No Base Examination | NCEES SE-I and SE-II (or Western States 16 hr) and 8 yrs or more in SE practice |
After April 7, 2011:
By passing the NCEES Structural Engineering Examination (16 Hr)* Information on this exam can be found at http://ncees.org/engineering/se/
*Note: The Board may waive prescriptive education or examination requirements under IC 54-1219
Re-exam under revised NCEES Structural Exam (1 Exam, 2 modules, 1 grade)
Under the revised examination procedures, the Board at its April 7-8, 2011 meeting, set a policy regarding re-examinations and the requirements in Idaho Code 54-1214 which comes into effect when a candidate failing all or part of an examination for the second time or more. Since the structural examination is now one exam, the Board ruled that an applicant may receive a non-passing grade on either module more than twice without requiring additional education or experience, but the first time they have not received a passing grade on the entire exam twice, it would require 1 year and 8 credits and after they have not received a passing grade on the entire exam three or more times, it would require 3 years and 12 credits. The entire exam must be passed within a five-year time period after passage of the first module.
Board Clarifies Position on Professional Engineer Especially Qualified in Structural Engineering from Newsletter #43 of April 2009
In approximately 1988 the Board adopted use of a 16 hour examination for use in licensing a professional engineer especially qualified in structural engineering. The Administrative Rules adopted by the Board in conjunction with that process required that the person first be licensed as a professional engineer in Idaho, that they have an additional two years of experience in structural engineering, and that they take and pass a 16 hour examination approved by the Board. At that time the Board used the "California" or "Western States" 16 hour structural examination. Some time later, the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) developed the eight hour Structural I and the eight hour Structural II exams which were adopted by the Board. These examinations were intended to be used in conjunction with one another, but some jurisdictions began using the Structural I examination alone for initial licensure without the need to first pass a "base discipline" exam such as civil engineering and without the need to pass the Structural II exam. This has caused some problems with comity, since Idaho will not license a professional engineer by examination on the basis of passage of the NCEES Structural I exam alone. The NCEES Structural I and Structural II exams are undergoing change, and will soon be administered as a single 16 hour exam given in two days. Meanwhile, the Idaho Board has adopted a clarification of its policy in regard to licensing a professional engineer especially qualified in structural engineering. The Board policy is that individuals applying for licensure by examination must first take and pass a "base" discipline (such as civil), followed by an additional 2 years of experience in structural engineering, followed by passage of 16 hours of Structural Engineering exam. For comity applicants, if they have passed the NCEES Structural I and Structural II, they can be licensed as a Professional Engineer especially qualified in civil engineering, but in order to be licensed as a Professional Engineer especially qualified in structural engineering they must have passed a base discipline as well as the NCEES Structural I and Structural II. However, if a comity applicant for Professional Engineer especially qualified in Structural Engineering has been licensed as a structural engineer for eight years in another jurisdiction, the Board may waive the requirement of passage of the base discipline exam.
During the Board meeting held November 16-18, 2009, the Board also accepted the 8 hr Structural III given in the states of CA, WA and OR, when combined with the NCEES Structural II exam, to meet the requirement.See Newsletter 45
* Note: The Board revisited this policy when NCEES adopted the changes to the structural engineering exam and now simply requires the passage of the new NCEES Structural Exam offered first in Oct 2011.
Structural Engineering Q&A's:
If I want to practice structural engineering, what qualifications do I need to have?
If I want to practice structural engineering, what qualifications do I need to have?
IDAPA 24.32.01.101, Rules of Professional Responsibility, Section 101, states in pertinent part:
"01. Assignments In Field Of Competence. A Licensee shall undertake to perform assignments only
when qualified by education or experience in the specific technical field involved, however, a Licensee, as the prime
professional, may accept an assignment requiring education or experience outside of his own field of competence, but
his services are restricted to those phases of the project in which the Licensee is qualified. All other phases of such
project shall be performed by qualified associates, consultants or employees. For projects encompassing one (1) or
more disciplines beyond the Licensee's competence, a Licensee may sign and seal the cover sheet for the total project
only when the Licensee has first determined that all elements of the project have been prepared, signed and sealed by
others who are competent, licensed and qualified to perform such services."
So a civil engineer who is competent in structural engineering may practice structural engineering.
If the engineer wants to be especially qualified in structural engineering, like being especially qualified in the other disciplines, an engineer would have to
take and pass the NCEES Structural Exam. Then their license would say "especially qualified in Structural Engineering" and they would be so listed in our Roster.
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I have recently met the requirements of being especially qualified in Structural Engineering in another state that I'm licensed in. Can I get my Idaho License Certificate modified to indicate this qualification?
We can add the SE designation to your current license if the Board approves your request. You will need to send a letter to the Board requesting the addition of the SE designation to your license based on the explanation you provide. You will also need to request a verification from the jurisdiction where you qualified for the SE license by taking and passing the 16 hours of NCEES Structural Examination. The Board will review your request at their next available meeting date.(top)