July/August 2019

PE Report
Florida Approves Early Examination and Increases Licensure Mobility

In June, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that will allow for early taking of the PE exam and improve licensure mobility.

The legislation (S.B. 616/H.B. 827) revises the prerequisites for an individual to take the PE exam and establishes other standards of practice and responsibility rules. Licensure candidates will be allowed to take the PE exam prior to gaining four years of engineering experience. The candidate will not, however, be eligible to earn a PE license before gaining the required experience.

In 2005, Nevada became the first state to allow the early taking of the PE exam. The following states have followed suit: Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana,  New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

The legislation eases licensing mobility by allowing an individual with an out-of-state PE license who has not taken the FE exam to be able to practice in Florida if they have been licensed for 10 years (reduced from 15 years) and have 15 years of continuous engineering experience (down from 20). An individual who has not taken the PE exam but is licensed in another state can qualify for licensure in Florida if he or she has maintained the license for 20 years (reduced from 25) and have 25 years of experience (reduced from 30).

A pathway to licensure for individuals who graduated from approved engineering technology programs prior to July 1979 is also provided by the legislation. The individual must take the standard examinations and have at least six years of engineering experience that indicates competence to be in responsible charge of engineering.

For business licensing, engineers will no longer have to obtain a certificate of authorization for their engineering firm, and out-of-state firms will be allowed to obtain temporary registration.

The legislation also addresses the responsibilities of a PE who serves as a “successor engineer” on a project. It defines “successor engineer” as a licensed engineer who is using or relying upon the work, findings, or recommendations of the engineer who previously sealed pertinent documents. If this individual wants to reuse documents previously sealed by another licensed engineer, he or she will assume full professional and legal responsibility for the work by signing and sealing the documents. The documents will be treated as if they were the successor’s original work, and the predecessor will be released from any professional responsibility or civil liability.