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What is USCIEP?

The United States Council for International Engineering Practice (USCIEP) is a division of NCEES. It was created in response to the increasingly global nature of the engineering profession. Although technology has helped make the world more interconnected, legal barriers exist for engineers who work on international projects. USCIEP has three primary purposes:

1. To provide NCEES Member Boards with information about international engineering organizations and licensing bodies in other countries and to offer assistance when needed.

2. To maintain an international registry of U.S.-based professional engineers. This international registry facilitates (but does not guarantee) the recognition of qualified and experienced professional engineers by international authorities.

3. To work with international licensing bodies interested in obtaining and administering NCEES examinations.

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Requirements for Admission to the USCIEP International Registry

GENERAL

For admission to the USCIEP International Registry, candidates must have been assessed for independent practice by and be licensed in one or more jurisdictions of the United States through a process substantially consistent with provisions of the NCEES Model Law. Further, the applicant must establish an NCEES Record, which will provide confirmation of satisfactory assessment by the jurisdiction that granted the initial engineering license. An engineer must be in good standing with all U.S. state and territorial licensing boards.

An individual must also meet all of the following criteria:

• Be a graduate of a recognized engineering education program
• Have taken and passed one of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) assessment examinations recognized by USCIEP
• Have taken and passed one of the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) assessment examinations recognized by USCIEP
• Have no prior sanctions resulting in a suspension or revocation by any jurisdiction of the engineering practice license
• Be a citizen of the United States of America

Further, eligibility for admission to the USCIEP Registry is based upon satisfying the additional assessment requirements described below and upon complying with ongoing requirements for continuing professional education and professional conduct.

Recognized Engineering Education Programs
A graduate of an engineering program accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, Inc. (EAC/ABET) is considered to have met the academic qualification requirement for admission to the USCIEP Registry.

A graduate of an appropriate engineering program accredited under an accreditation system recognized by ABET, Inc., through a mutual recognition agreement as being substantially equivalent to the accreditation program requirements of EAC/ABET is considered to have met the academic qualification requirements for admission to the USCIEP Registry.

For admission to the USCIEP Registry, there are no alternatives to the academic standards prescribed above.

ASSESSMENT OF QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE

Seven Years of Qualifying Experience (Post Graduation)
Candidates must demonstrate a record of seven years of qualifying experience, two of which are in responsible charge of significant engineering work. In most jurisdictions, at least four years of such qualifying experience will have been obtained at the time of initial registration as a Professional Engineer. The standards for assessing qualifying experience under this requirement will be the same standards applicable to qualifying experience necessary for licensure.

Candidates will be considered to have been in responsible charge of significant engineering work when they have completed one of the following:

• Planned, designed, coordinated, and executed a small project
• Undertaken part of a large project based on an understanding of the whole project
• Undertaken novel or complex work responsibility

Continuing Professional Development

Candidates for admittance to the USCIEP Registry must meet minimum CPC standards as a condition for remaining on the Registry. For registrants who comply with the CPC requirements of a jurisdiction in which they are licensed, those jurisdictional standards will be accepted as being satisfactory to the USCIEP Monitoring Committee. Where registrants have no statutory obligation for CPC, they are required to comply with standards of the NCEES CPC Guidelines as a condition for continued listing on the USCIEP Registry. The CPC Guidelines are available online at www.ncees.org/introduction/about_ncees.

Codes of Professional Conduct
Professional Engineers are obligated by jurisdictional laws to comply with Codes (Rules) of Professional Conduct adopted by the jurisdictions in which they are licensed to practice. Engineers seeking admittance to the USCIEP Registry are required, as part of their application, to submit a sworn statement attesting to any sanctions they may have received for violation of the Code or other provisions of the applicable licensing laws. A reaffirmation is required at each renewal of the registration certificate.

A suspension or revocation of one’s license to practice engineering constitutes just cause for removal from the USCIEP Registry.

DECLARATION OF ENGINEERING DISCIPLINE
Most of the jurisdictions within the United States grant a generic (nondiscipline specific) license and rely upon the individual’s ethical obligation to practice only within one’s area of professional competence. Some jurisdictions, however, do license engineers under discipline-specific titles of recognition. For purposes of the USCIEP Registry, there is no restriction placed upon the discipline-specific competencies to be admitted. Each candidate, however, is required to declare an area of expertise from one of the nine engineering disciplines listed below:

• Chemical
• Civil
• Electrical
• Environmental
• Geotechnical
• Industrial
• Mechanical
• Mining
• Structural

A candidate for admittance to the USCIEP Registry may declare more than one area of expertise. For multiple declarations, the work-experience profile will be expected to reflect appropriate qualifying experience for each discipline-specific area in which expertise is claimed.

A candidate may also provide optional specialty practice information as subcategory listings to supplement the engineering discipline declarations. Although the subcategory listings would be secondary information for purposes of the Registry, that information would be available for presentation upon inquiry to the Registry. For each subcategory declared by a candidate, the experience profile data submitted as part of the application must validate each specialty practice area listed.

REGISTRATION CERTIFICATES AND RECORDS VERIFICATION
Candidates who are admitted will receive a certificate attesting to their recognition by the USCIEP International Registry. Upon request by a registrant and payment of the prescribed processing fee, the registrant’s records will be furnished to the designated jurisdictional authority in the foreign country to which application for recognition is made. USCIEP will also assist the registrant in resolving questions that might arise in those nations with which USCIEP has a mutual recognition agreement.

FEES
The fees are as follows:

• Application Fee $50.00
• Transmittal Fee for USCIEP/International Registry $90.00 (Includes cost of overseas transmittal by normal delivery mail services; expedited service arrangements will be extra)
• All fees are NONREFUNDABLE.

APPLICATION FORMS
Only individuals with an active NCEES Record are eligible to apply to the USCIEP International Registry. If you would like to apply to the USCIEP International Registry, you will be required to make application to the NCEES Council Records Program and establish a Council Record. You will not be able to apply to the USCIEP International Registry unless you have been assigned an NCEES Council Record number.

If you are an NCEES Council Record holder and would like to apply for admission to the USCIEP International Registry, click here to login to your Council Record.

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International Engineering Organizations

Two international organizations—the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Engineer Coordinating Committee and the Engineers Mobility Forum (EMF)—have established two decentralized international registries with the goal of improving international mobility.
Each country operates its own section of the registry and writes its own "assessment statement," a document that describes the admission requirements for the registry in that country. The APEC and EMF registries will list engineers from the APEC and EMF member countries who meet minimum qualifications for licensure. The minimum standards include engineering education requirements, professional experience, compliance with home jurisdiction requirements, having a verified record of responsible charge, and demonstrating a commitment to continuing education.

APEC Countries (pdf)

Members of the agreement have full rights of participation in the agreement; each operates either a national section of the APEC Engineer register or a national section of a combined APEC Engineer/International Professional Engineer (IntPE) register; registrants on these national sections may receive credit when seeking registration or licensure in the jurisdiction of another member.

Requirements and eligibility information (also called Assessment Statements) for the APEC countries are available here.

EMF Countries (pdf)

Members have full rights of participation in the agreement; each operates a national section of the International Professional Engineer (IntPE) register; registrants on these national sections may receive credit when seeking registration or licensure in the jurisdiction of another member.
Requirements and eligibility information (also called Credit Documents) for the following EMF countries are available here.

Persons with NCEES Member Boards who would like additional information may contact Sherrie Holcomb at sholcomb@ncees.org.

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International Licensing Bodies

Currently NCEES has contracted with the following international licensing bodies to allow NCEES examinations to be offered at sites maintained by these organizations:

Japan PE/FE Examiners Council (JPEC)

American University in Cairo (AUC)

The Korean Professional Engineer Association (KPEA)

The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologist and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA)

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick (APEGNB)

For additional information on obtaining NCEES examinations for administration, please contact Sherrie Holcomb at sholcomb@ncees.org.