Frequently Asked Questions

• 1. I am a registrant with another Engineering/Geoscience Canadian body, how do I become registered with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia?

  Being a current registrant or licensee with another Canadian Association/Ordre allows you to more easily gain registration with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia. Becoming a registrant or licensee with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia does not affect your status with other Canadian Associations/Ordre.

  More information and links to our online application can be found on our website.

• 2. What address and to whom do I direct my academic documents?

  Official transcripts should be sent directly to the Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia office addressed to the Registration Department.  

  The address of our office is 200-4010 Regent Street, Burnaby BC V5C 6N2. 

• 3. I have completed my degree outside of Canada, how do I have my degree evaluated for registration with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia?

  To apply for registration you are required to have the equivalent of graduation from a four year full time bachelors program in applied science, engineering, geoscience, science or technology.

  If you do not meet the minimum academic requirements for P.Eng./P.Geo.,  you may meet the requirements for P.L.Eng. or P.L.Geo. 

  In Canada there are no accredited geoscience degrees recognized by Geoscience Canada.  All applicants applying in geoscience are evaluated against the appropriate syllabus when they submit an application and fee to Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia.

  In Canada there are accredited engineering degrees recognized by Engineers Canada. Engineering degrees are also evaluated by Engineers and Geoscientists BC as either accredited or non-accredited. Detailed evaluations are completed once an application and fee are received by Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia.

  You may be granted exemption from examinations if:

  • You have an undergraduate engineering degree recognized by an engineering accreditation body that has a Mutual Recognition Agreement with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia: Washington Accord (Must be in the list of signatories) and Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur (CTI) France.
  • You have an undergraduate engineering degree and an approved postgraduate engineering degree in the same discipline as that of your undergraduate engineering degree.
  • You have an undergraduate engineering degree and at least five years of engineering experience or you have graduated from an ECSA-accredited program (South Africa) prior to 1999. The decision to grant a reduction or an exemption is based on the results of a one-hour interview held at the office.
  • You have an undergraduate degree or equivalent in applied science, engineering, geoscience, science or technology; and have written and passed the U.S. Fundamentals of Engineering and the Principles and Practice of Engineering exams in the discipline of registration for which you are applying. You will be required to have the State Board you passed the exam with to send confirmation to Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia you have passed this exam.
  • You have an undergraduate or post graduate engineering degree from a program on our list of Non-Accredited Reputable International Programs.

  We offer a self-assessment tool for engineer applicants on our website. Based on academic and experience background the tool will determine whether an applicant should pursue a career in applied science technologist/technician field or as a professional engineer.         

• 4. I am not sure whether to register as a Trainee first or apply for Professional Registration directly. What are my options?

  If you have a minimum of 4 years of professional work experience in engineering (to apply for P.Eng.) or in geoscience (to apply for P.Geo.) you are permitted to apply for professional licensure.  It is not a requirement that you apply as a trainee (EIT or GIT) first.

  If you apply for professional registration you will need to have met the academic, experience, Law and Ethics and PPE requirements before you are registered. If you apply for trainee status you will be registered once you meet the academic requirements.

  Visit our Professional Registration page for more information about applying for registration.

  To learn more about applying for the Trainee (EIT or GIT) program, please visit our website.

• 5. What document do I need to submit and how do I certify my citizenship?

  This document requirement can be fullfilled with either a birth certificate, Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident card or the photo page of your current passport certified as a true copy.

  To have a copy certified, make a photocopy of your document (citizenship card, birth certificate or current passport) and ask a P.Eng., P.Geo., P.E., or Notary Public to sign and stamp it as a "true copy of the original".

• 6. I have completed/will be completing the Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice in BC Online Seminar. Am I still required to complete the Professional Practice Examination?

  Yes, the Professional Practice Examination (PPE) and the Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice in BC Online Seminar both need to be completed  in order to obtain your professional membership.  Also, completing the online seminar will not automatically register you to write the PPE, you will need to register to write the exam via our webpage.

  Although the Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice in BC Online Seminar may be helpful in preparing for the exam, it is not meant to replace the recommended study materials.The examination is based on this material and it should be reviewed prior to challenging the exam.

• 7. I have applied for the Professional Practice Examination with my preferred date, time and location. When will I receive my confirmed date, time, and location from your exam provider?

  The exam provider will be in touch with you approximately a month prior to your exam sitting.

  The email sent to you will contain instructions regarding your examination and a confirmed date, time, and location.  Please check your spam and junk folders before contacting Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia to inquire about your letter.

  A best effort is made to match you with your preferred exam date, time and location however this is not guaranteed. If you have questions or concerns about the time or date of your exam you should contact the exam provider directly.

• 8. I am using the Competency Assessment System to report my work experience, my Validator hasn’t received the email notification, what should I do?

  Notifications can be resent by going to the Competency Assessment System and requesting that the notification be resent. Please note this page is meant to assist validators when requesting links be resent, if you are an applicant requesting a link be resent to your validator you must enter their email address on this page.

  Validators should check their email Spam folder to ensure their notification email has not been filtered.

  If the Validator still cannot find their notification email after you have resent it and they have checked their Spam folder, send a request to [email protected] with the name of the validator and your request.

• 9. I am using the Competency Assessment System to report my work experience and my Validator wants me to make edits but I can’t make any changes. What should I do?

  Please send an email to [email protected] with your full legal name, system ID, and provide the specific competency number.

  We can unlock it on our side so you can make changes. Once you are done making changes you will need to submit the competed competency to your validator for review.

• 10. I am using the Competency Assessment System to report my work experience, and I want to add a new Validator but the system will not allow me to add his/her name. How can I have the name added?

  Please send an email to [email protected] and provide the full legal name of the Validator and their current email address and we will add the validator to your list. 

• 11. I am applying for GIT/P.Geo. and I completed a degree outside of Canada that does not completely match the required courses on the syllabus, how do I fill out these documents?

  The checklist should be completed to the best of your ability. Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia will accept an addendum that will need to accompany your checklist that can include, courses you have completed that do not cover areas outlined on the checklist, information on any courses you feel cover more than one of the required topics and any further information regarding your program structure if it differs from the equivalent Canadian degree.

  If you have completed degrees or courses in multiple academic institutions you will need to send all transcripts claimed against the syllabus requirements to Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia as part of your application process. 

• 12. I am required to submit a Self-Evaluation Checklist for my GIT/P.Geo application. However, the syllabi or educational institution course equivalency list that I need is not provided. How can I ensure that I meet this requirement and complete a Self-Evaluation Checklist correctly?

  Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia has developed institution-specific course equivalency lists for BC universities. Course codes are subject to change so if you have completed a course that is equivalent but has a different course code please add this information to your completed syllabus. A course can only be used once on the checklist. At this time, only equivalency lists for the disciplines of geology and environmental geoscience have been developed.

  If you attended a post-secondary institution outside of BC or are a geophysics applicant, please use one of the checklists listed under General Syllabi and Geophysics Syllabus. Checklists assist in the academic review of your application. The course code for each corresponding topic on the list must match what is listed on your transcript(s).  A course can only be used once on the checklist.   

• 13. When I applied for registration in Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia I paid an application fee. Did that fee include the annual fee for the year?

  The annual registration fee is not included in your application fee. Once you are registered you will be invoiced for a one time registration/licensing fee and an annual fee to maintain your registration. As an Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia registration runs on the calendar year and your annual registration is prorated to the month of registration. Complete fee information is available on our Fee Schedule. 

• 14. I am doing engineering work and there are no professional engineers or professional geoscientists to supervise my work. What can I do to comply?

  Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia recognizes that the availability of professional supervisors is industry, project and company-dependant and is sympathetic when applicants for professional registration have difficulty finding appropriate professional supervisors for their engineering or geoscience work. In order to comply with the Professional Governance Act and to obtain acceptable experience for registration, you should:

  1. Ask your employer to engage the services of a BC registered professional engineer (or geoscientist) in your discipline to provide regular oversight and to take professional responsibility for your work.  This will be a definite asset when counting your experience towards registration.  It also allows your employer to comply with the Professional Governance Act,
  2. Consider asking for supervision from BC registered professional engineers (or geoscientist) who are affiliated with your employer and who either have detailed knowledge of your work, or can review your work on a regular basis. This can include branches of your company in other provinces, research associates in academia, subsidiaries, etc,
  3. Seek out the support of professional engineer (or geoscientist) clients or colleagues who have a detailed knowledge of your work and ask them to act as referees,
  4. Consider asking for a secondment (i.e., a temporary transfer to another job) with an affiliated company, or a client that has registered professional engineers (or geoscientists) who can supervise your work, and/or
  5. Seek new professionally-supervised employment as soon as the opportunity arises.
• 15. What is the Accredited Employer Program?

  Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia has partnered with engineering companies that employ engineers-in-training (EITs), and have work environments where EITs are able to satisfy the 34 key competencies in the Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia Competency Framework to develop the Accredited Employer Program.

  Employers are responsible for developing an internal EIT training program and applying to Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia to have it accredited. EITs participating in the program have their application expedited through the low-risk pathway to professional registration based on their employers’ recommendation.

  P.Eng. applicants who wish to be considered for the program and would like be fast-tracked must be employed by and enroll through an accredited employer. To be eligible, applicants must also hold or have held an EIT registration with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia and have been working on engineering projects with the accredited employer for a minimum of 2 years. If your company is not accredited, have your employer contact Leila Lagroix for more information.

  More information about the program and the list of current accredited employer partners can be found on our website.

• 16. I am a former registrant, how do I reinstate my status with Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia?

  Former registrants can choose to reinstate their status as a trainee or non-practising registrant (registrants without practice rights) or to reinstate their practice rights (registrants with practice rights). Information can be found on Reinstatement of Status.

• 17. I can’t find my question on this list

  All application requirements and guidelines can be reviewed via our Apply for Registration or Reinstatement page.

  Specific questions regarding the registration process can be emailed to [email protected]. 

  Other FAQ information can be found at:

  • Professional Practice FAQ
  • Professional Governance Act FAQ