Letter to the Editor

Pathways for U.S. licensing of Canadian engineers

Engineers Canada was pleased to see a plain-language article describing the process and potential benefits for Canadian engineers seeking licensure in the U.S. (‘U.S. licensing of Canadian engineers’ by Todd Busch, Canadian Consulting Engineer, July/August 2022).

While we might avoid using the term “balkanized” to describe either Canadian provincial regulators or U.S. state boards (as the term suggests a hostile relationship among peers that we don’t feel exists), we would agree that, similar to Canada, each state has its own licensure and registration system, jurisdictional requirements may vary and an engineer must become licensed in each jurisdiction in which they wish to practice.

To add further benefit to the article, we would point out there are additional pathways available to Canadian engineers seeking to be licensed in certain U.S. jurisdictions. Though Engineers Canada is not a licensing body, it is signatory to mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with the states of Texas and Nevada which, to verifying degrees, have proved successful at providing mobility between our two countries and facilitating the licensure of Canadian professional engineers in the U.S.

The agreement with Texas was developed pursuant to the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—since replaced by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)—to provide temporary licensure for Canadian professional engineers.

The agreement with Nevada builds upon the work of the International Engineering Alliance’s (IEA’s) International Professional Engineers Agreement (IPEA) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Engineers Agreement (APEC-EA). Engineers Canada is a member of both IPEA and APEC-EA, which are intended to help streamline the review of professional credentials for engineers wishing to practise in another member country.

Each member country maintains a national register, listing all of those engineers who meet the international standard of professional competence, a standard that is higher than either the American and Canadian standards for initial licensure. Being on the Canadian register facilitates licensure in Nevada for experienced engineers.

We would be happy to see additional agreements established with other states or at the national level to enhance the recognition of qualified engineers.

Finally, we feel it would be worth pointing out that once a PE is licensed in a particular U.S. jurisdiction, their National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) record can be used to reduce the amount of information that needs to be re-uploaded and resubmitted if and when an engineer wishes to become licensed in additional U.S. jurisdictions, making it even easier for PEs to be mobile within jurisdictions (a process they refer to as “comity”). Jurisdictional acceptance of NCEES records is presented on the NCEES website.

Generally, we applaud the content and intent of the July/August Canadian Consulting Engineer article and hope it will provide continuing benefit for readers well into the future. Gerard McDonald, P.Eng. CEO, Engineers Canada