License Requirements For Professional Engineers Ontario

 Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), founded June 14, 1922, is the licensing authority, and it regulates professional engineering in the Canadian province. The regulating body works under the authority of the Professional Engineers Act to for providing service and protection to the public by setting and upholding high-level academic, experience, and professional practice criteria for the profession of engineering.

If you are planning to work as an engineer in this province, then you must know that the professional individuals who are given licenses by PEO are the only people, by law, who are allowed to take up and assume responsibility for engineering work in Ontario. You will be called a professional engineer (P.Eng) only if you have been licensed by the authority.

Having told you the importance of the license and PEO, we are moving to tell you about the requirements for P.Eng.

License requirements for P.Eng (Professional Engineers Ontario):

The following the criteria you need to meet to attain a license as a professional engineer in Ontario:

1.    Your age must be 18.

2.    You must have good character.

3.    You have to fulfill the academic requirement:

For the fulfillment of PEO’s academic requirements for the professional engineer license, P.Eng, the candidate must have a bachelor’s degree from an engineering program that is recognized by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) or equal academic qualifications.

In the case of any candidate’s engineering programs are not accredited by CEAB, Professional Engineers Ontario or PEO will evaluate the academic background to decide whether it is equal to the academic qualifications in the discipline of engineering or not.

4.    You need to pass the NPPE:

The full form of NPPE is the National Professional Practice Examination, which is a 3-hour, closed-book, online exam on ethics, engineering law, professional practice, and professional liability. A capable candidate may write the NPPE anytime (within the period of the time limit given by PEO) as they attain 48 months of engineering work experience needed for licensure. To cut the time for licensure, a candidate is told and encouraged to write the NPPE early in the time limit offered by PEO.

This exam is conducted five times a year: February, June, April, September, and November. Remote proctoring is used, which allows the candidate to write the exam from their home.

Special accommodations can be arranged for the applicant with a demonstrated need. You can contact the Professional Engineers Ontario or PEO Exam Centre for information related to special accommodation requests. The center will send a registration notice to the applicant when they are ready to write the exam.

This exam confirms the knowledge of professionalism, law, and ethics.

5.    You have to meet the experience criteria:

As per Ontario law, you need to have four years of engineering work experience to attain a professional engineering license. A minimum of one year of your experience has to be attained in a Canadian jurisdiction. It ensures that you have enough exposure to the country’s engineering legislation, codes, regulations, and technical criteria.

PEO assesses the engineering experience of an applicant taking the account the below-given quality standards:

·      Practical experience

·      Theory application

·      Engineering management

·      Idea and knowledge of the social implications of engineering

·      Communication Skills

You must show at least 48 months of experience that can be verified and accepted to become licensed. The experience must have been attained after completing your undergraduate engineering degree.