Spring 2023

NSPE Now
New Resource Focuses On PE Signature/Stamp Process

The NSPE Committee on Policy and Advocacy has released the "What a PE Says with their Signature and Stamp: A Source for Professional Engineers" document to provide a general awareness of the professional engineer signature and stamp process and best practices and lessons learned. This resource is intended to provide guidance for individuals who may now be required to provide a PE sign/stamp by their respective state (s) and for individuals and firms that wish to voluntarily incorporate a PE sign/stamp process. This document is also for individuals and firms that seek to establish a demonstrable process for professional and not general liability, which may impact insurance coverage decisions.

Learning Objectives

Inform the reader of the purpose of PE signature and stamping process to:

• Protect public health, safety, and welfare;
• Reflect responsible charge of a signing PE on contents of work product and expected involvement;
• Emphasize importance in following work as stamped/signed by PE, or working with PE to modify accordingly;
• Provide potential benefit to a company/corporation regarding liability in future challenges on design and construction;
• Collect and share to a larger audience a process that is traditionally institutional knowledge;
• Guide engineering-related technical personnel (such as those that support "exempt" industry) from "ground-floor" (no process) to a successful PE sign/stamp process; and
• Identify the value and importance of the PE sign/stamp process to other stakeholders such as technical personnel, licensed and nonlicensed engineers, other nonengineering team members, and management and companies/corporations.

Access the "What a PE Says with their Signature and Stamp: A Source for Professional Engineers" document on the NSPE website advocacy page in the advocacy tools section.