All firms, including sole practitioners, in the private and public sector that engage in the practice of professional engineering or geoscience as part of their operations require a Permit to Practice. This includes advice or services provided internally by an Engineers and Geoscientists BC professional registrant to another employee or individual acting on the firm’s behalf as per the OSPG Information Bulletin.
Firms that are regulated include (but are not limited to):
- Consulting firms;
- Natural resources, high tech, and other firms engaged in engineering or geoscience work;
- Local government (including municipalities and similar entities);
- Manufacturers (includes fabricators, processing plants, mills, maintenance facilities, or any other firm utilizing engineers and/or geoscientists in any part of their operations);
- Ministries, Crown Corporations, and agencies named in the regulation; and
- Sole practitioners (an individual who practices on their own and is either incorporated or unincorporated).
Sole practitioners working on their own, either incorporated or unincorporated, are required to have a Permit to Practice. Engineers and Geoscientists BC recognizes the duality of being considered both an individual registrant and a firm registrant and accordingly, sole practitioners are provided a discounted annual fee, simplified engineering and geoscience templates for their Professional Practice Management Plan and are not eligible for individual audits, rather, just a firm audit. In these ways Engineers and Geoscientists BC has reduced the requirements for sole practitioners which is proportionate to the size of their company.
A Permit to Practice is required for any and all engineering or geoscience work in BC regardless of if the work is minimal (e.g., if an individual registrant is semi-retired and only working on a few projects) or for a specific client.
If you are unsure whether your firm requires a Permit to Practice, please complete the Permit to Practice Applicability Review Form, and submit the form to [email protected].