LICENSING

THE P.ENG. LICENSING

PROCESS, simplified
By NICOLE AXWORTHY & MICHAEL MASTROMATTEO

As one of the most important functions delegated by the province to PEO, the licensing of
professional engineers requires applicants to have obtained appropriate education and experience
(under the supervision of a licence holder), fulfilled examination requirements, and be of good
character. How long it might take an applicant to become licensed depends on how many of the
requirements the applicant has met prior to applying. Here’s a simplified look at the licensing process,
which is being continuously refined to make it more streamlined and transparent to applicants,
while maintaining the profession’s high standards of admission in the public interest.

www.peo.on.ca ENGINEERING DIMENSIONS 39

PEO LICENSING Model
1
CEAB applicants
academic assessment

2
Non-CEAB applicants
academic assessment

3
Exempt from
technical exams

4
Assign exam ERC interview
program

Pass exam program

5
Does not meet minimum
academic requirements

1. Applicants who have graduated from an engineering pro-
gram accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation
Board (CEAB) have satisfied the first step of the licensing
process–the academic requirements. They may advance to
#6–writing the Professional Practice Exam (PPE). About 60
per cent of PEO applicants are CEAB graduates.
2. The academic qualifications of applicants who have
graduated from programs not accredited by the CEAB must
be individually assessed by PEO’s Academic Requirements
Committee (ARC) as to whether they meet the equivalent
educational qualifications to a CEAB-accredited program
for licensing. As a result of this assessment, these applicants
advance to #3, #4, or #5.

40 ENGINEERING DIMENSIONS JULY/AUGUST 2016

 6 7 8
Professional P.Eng. licence
Experience assessment
Practice Exam

ERC interview

3. Based on the ARC’s assessment, about 33 per cent of non-CEAB applicants are exempted
from having to write any of PEO’s technical examinations. These applicants meet PEO’s
syllabus for their engineering discipline and typically hold a postgraduate engineering degree
from a Canadian university with accredited engineering programs, or a bachelor of engineering
degree from a university recognized in the Engineers Canada mutual recognition agreement
known as The Washington Accord. The Washington Accord recognizes that the engineering
program accreditation processes of the signatories are substantially equivalent, and program
graduates are assessed by the ARC to determine if they are eligible for exemption. Exempt
applicants advance to #6–writing the PPE.

4. Applicants who do not meet all of PEO’s academic requirements through #1 or #3 are
assigned a program of technical exams. These exams allow them to demonstrate whether they
have an equivalent academic background and knowledge to that required for licensing. The
minimum academic requirement to enter PEO’s technical exam program is graduation from
a three-year engineering technology program or a three-year university science program in a
relevant field. PEO has two examination program streams: confirmatory or specific.
Applicants who are assigned a confirmatory program normally have a non-CEAB bachelor
of engineering degree and meet the PEO syllabus for their specific engineering discipline. They
are assigned four exams to demonstrate that the content of their engineering studies is at an

www.peo.on.ca ENGINEERING DIMENSIONS 41


equivalent level to a CEAB-accredited engineering program. Applicants
assigned to a confirmatory exam program who have more than five years
of engineering experience may be referred to the Experience Require-
ments Committee (ERC) for an “outcomes” assessment interview to
confirm if their knowledge, skills, ability to apply engineering principles
and level of judgment warrant waiving the confirmatory exams.
Applicants who do not have a bachelor of engineering degree but
meet PEO’s minimum academic requirements are assigned a specific
exam program to remedy identified deficiencies compared to the
PEO syllabus. This exam program may comprise up to 18 exams and
includes basic, technical and complementary exams, plus an engineering
report. Applicants assigned a specific exam program who have at least
10 years of engineering experience may have their experience assessed
through an ERC interview to determine if some or all of the assigned
exams may be waived, with the exception of the basic studies exam and
engineering report.
In 2015, ERC interviewed more than 1000 applicants, 55 per cent
of whom were assigned confirmatory exams and 3 per cent of whom
required specific exams.
Technical exams are offered twice each year at 50 centres located
throughout Canada. Applicants may also contact PEO to arrange to
write exams outside Canada. Currently, applicants may take up to eight
years to write technical exams. Once applicants pass the exams assigned
to them, they advance to #6.
5. A few applicants assessed by the ARC do not meet the minimum
academic requirements to move forward with licensing and their appli-
cations are terminated.
42 ENGINEERING DIMENSIONS JULY/AUGUST 2016
6. The next step is successful completion of the
PPE, a three-hour, closed-book exam that covers
ethics, professional practice, engineering law and
professional liability. All applicants must pass the
PPE within two years of being assessed as meeting
the academic requirements for licensing. The PPE
is offered three times a year at 50 centres located
throughout Canada. Applicants may also contact
PEO to arrange to write the exam outside Canada.
In 2014, more than 4000 applicants wrote the PPE
at more than 30 locations in seven countries.
If an applicant fails the PPE three times, his or
her application is closed.
If applicants have already satisfied the academic
requirements and acquired the required 48 months
of engineering experience when they apply, they may
write the PPE right away.
7. All applicants are required to obtain 48 months
of acceptable, verifiable engineering experience, at
least 12 months of which must be completed in a
Canadian jurisdiction under a licensed professional
engineer. Up to 12 months of experience may be
acquired after completing half of a CEAB degree or
equivalent educational qualifications.
PEO assesses engineering experience against five,
quality-based criteria: application of theory, practical
experience, management of engineering, communi-
cation skills, and awareness of the social implications
of engineering. Applicants must submit an experi-
ence summary and completed referee questionnaires
for review and, if necessary, are scheduled for an
experiential knowledge interview with the ERC.
8. Once applicants have satisfied all the licensure
requirements, been approved by the registrar, and
paid the applicable registration fees, they are licensed
as professional engineers. In 2015, PEO issued 2448
engineering licences, the second highest one-year
total on record.