Professional Licensing - Kentucky
Kentucky State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors

Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

(Unofficial WWW Version)

  1. A person shall qualify for licensure as a professional engineer by meeting the requirements set forth in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection.

    1. A person shall qualify if he or she has:

      1. Graduated from an engineering program of four (4) years or more accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology or any engineering program deemed equivalent by the board;

      2. Four (4) or more additional years of progressive experience in engineering projects or teaching of a grade and character which indicates to the board that the applicant is competent to practice engineering; and

      3. A passing score on:

        1. The Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination; and

        2. The Fundamentals of Engineering Examination. The board may allow students enrolled in the final year of an undergraduate engineering program to take this examination. Upon passing the examination the applicant shall be designated an engineer in training

    2. If an instructor in an engineering program accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology or an engineering program deemed equivalent by the board is not eligible for the exemption under subsection (2) of this section, the instructor shall have four (4) years from the date of hire to qualify for licensure by showing that he or she has:

      1. Graduated from an engineering program of four (4) years or more accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, or an engineering program deemed equivalent by the board;

      2. Four (4) or more additional years of progressive experience in engineering projects or teaching of a grade and character which indicates to the board that the applicant is competent to practice engineering;

      3. Passed the Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination; and

      4. Either passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination or graduated from a board-approved doctoral engineering degree program.



  2. For the purpose of teaching engineering design courses only, an instructor who, on the effective date of this Act, holds a tenured or tenure-track position in an engineering program defined in subsection (4)(a)3. of Section 1 of this Act shall be exempt from the licensure requirements of Section 3 of this Act for the period that instructor is continuously employed by the institution offering that program. However, an instructor may apply and shall qualify for licensure as a professional engineer during this exempt period if he or she:

    1. Has graduated from an engineering program of four (4) years or more accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology or an engineering program deemed equivalent by the board;

    2. Has graduated from a board-approved doctoral engineering degree program, with an additional three (3) years or more of progressive experience in engineering projects or teaching of a grade and character which indicate to the board that the applicant is competent to practice engineering; and

    3. Has passed the Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination.

  3. A person shall qualify for licensure as a professional land surveyor if he or she has:
    1. Passed the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Examination and is thereby designated a land surveyor in training according to the conditions set forth in paragraph (c) of this subsection;

    2. Passed the Principles and Practice of Land Surveying Examination; and

    3. Met one (1) of the following requirements


      1. Graduation from a board-approved program in land surveying from a college or university followed by not less than four (4) years of progressive experience under the direct supervision of a practicing professional land surveyor.

        1. The experience required by the provisions of this subparagraph shall indicate that the applicant was in charge of the accuracy and correctness of the land surveying work being performed;

        2. Work experience acquired as part of the education requirement shall not be construed as experience; and

        3. Applicants shall be eligible to take the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Examination during their final year in the program;



      2. Graduation from a four (4) year program other than land surveying accredited by one of the Commissions of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, followed by not less than six (6) years of practical experience in land surveying under the direct supervision of a practicing professional land surveyor.

        a. Four (4) years of the experience required by this subparagraph shall indicate that the applicant was in charge of the accuracy and correctness of the land surveying work being performed;

        b. Work experience acquired as a part of the education requirements shall not be construed as experience; and

        c. Applicants shall be eligible to take the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Examination upon completion of two (2) years of land surveying experience following graduation from the program;

      3. Graduation from a two (2) year board-approved program in land surveying followed by not less than six (6) years of progressive experience under the direct supervision of a practicing professional land surveyor.

        a. The experience required by this subparagraph shall indicate that the applicant was in charge of the accuracy and correctness of the land surveying work being performed;

        b. Work experience acquired as a part of the education requirement shall not be construed as experience; and

        c. Applicants shall be eligible to take the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Examination upon completion of two (2) years land surveying experience following graduation from the program



      4. Until June 30, 2001, eight (8) or more years of progressive active experience in the practice of land surveying under the direct supervision of a practicing professional land surveyor, and passing scores on the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Examination the Principles and Practice of Land Surveying Examination; or

      5. Effective July 1, 2001, graduation from high school, or the equivalent, followed by not less than ten (10) years of progressive experience under the direct supervision of a practicing professional land surveyor and passing scores on the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Examination and the Principles and Practice of Land Surveying Examination. Six (6) years of the experience required by this subparagraph shall indicate that the applicant was in charge of the accuracy and correctness of the land surveying work performed. Applicants shall be eligible to take the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Examination upon completion of four (4) years of land surveying experience



  4. As it may apply to the experience qualifications for engineers or land surveyors:

    1. Teaching land surveying courses at the postsecondary level may earn an applicant a maximum credit of two (2) years' experience;

    2. The board may grant up to one (1) year of engineering experience credit for satisfactory graduate study in engineering and up to one (1) year of land surveying experience credit for satisfactory graduate study in land surveying;

    3. The satisfactory completion of each year as a full-time student of a board-approved program in civil engineering or land surveying without graduation, may[shall] be considered as equivalent to one (1) year of experience required by subsection (3)(c)3., 4., and

    4. of this section;

      (d) Graduation from a program other than as provided in subsection (3)(c)1., 2., and 3. of this section from a college or university of recognized standing may be considered as equivalent to two (2) years of experience required by subsection (3)(c)3., 4., and 5 of this section;

    5. No applicant shall receive credit for more than four (4) years of experience based on undergraduate educational qualifications.



  5. The execution as a contractor of work designed by a professional[an] engineer or the supervision of the construction of that work as a foreman or superintendent may be considered experience in the practice of engineering.

  6. Any person having the necessary qualifications prescribed in subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section shall be eligible to apply for licensure, even if the applicant is not practicing the profession at the time of application.
    Section 1. KRS 322.050 is amended to read as follows:

To be eligible for licensure, an applicant shall be of good character and reputation. No applicant shall be eligible who:

  1. Has been convicted of any felony involving moral turpitude, fraud, or deceit;

  2. Engages in conduct likely to deceive or defraud the public; or

  3. Is adjudged mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Larry Perkins
Executive Director
Kentucky Engineering Center, 160 Democrat Dr.
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
800-573-2680 & 2681

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