Frequently Asked Questions about Professional Practice
Guideline - Use
of Professional Engineer's Seal
Q1.
What is Professional Engineers Ontario?
A. Professional Engineers Ontario is the body empowered by the Ontario legislature through the Professional Engineers Act to regulate the practice of professional engineering and govern its members.
Q2.
What is the practice of professional engineering?
A.
The definition of professional engineering given in section 1 of the Professional
Engineers Act sets out the criteria that must be met to determine whether an
act is within the practice of professional engineering.
- Is it an act of designing, composing, evaluating, advising, reporting,
directing or supervising?
- Does it involve the safeguarding of life, health, property or the
public welfare?
- Does it require the application of engineering principles?
If what you do meets all three tests, and you are not a natural scientist, then you are practising professional engineering. The definition applies to all situations where this particular combination of intellectual activity, societal protection and methodology exists regardless of whether the position is in industry, government or consulting.
Q3.
Who can practice professional engineering?
A.
In most situations only a professional engineer can practice professional
engineering in Ontario. According to the Act "professional engineer" means
a person who is granted a licence or a temporary licence by Professional
Engineers Ontario. PEO can also issue a limited licence to an individual who, as a result of 10 or more years of specialized experience, has developed competence in a clearly defined area of professional engineering. Holders of limited licences are able to practice only within a narrowly defined area of professional engineering. Unlicenced individuals, such as technologists and technicians, are able to do any of the tasks normally reserved for professional engineers only if they are working under the supervision of a P. Eng.
Q4.
When do I need to use my seal?
A.
Section 53 of Regulation 941 of the Professional Engineers Act states
that "[e]very
holder of a licence, temporary licence or limited licence who provides
to the public a service that is within the practice of professional
engineering shall sign, date and affix the holder's seal to every final drawing,
specification,
plan, report or other document prepared or checked by the holder
as part of the service before it is issued."
Q5.
What does "providing services to the public" mean? Who is the
public?
A.
The term "providing professional engineering services to the public" is
used in conjunction with two specific regulatory issues mentioned
in the Professional Engineers Act: the sealing of engineering documents
and the
need for a Certificate of Authorization. A P. Eng. is providing professional engineering services when s/he undertakes any of the activities considered to be within the practice of professional engineering for the benefit of an employer or 'the public'. For the purposes of all regulatory directives regarding engineering practice 'the public' is considered to be anyone other than him/herself or the professional engineer's employer. Therefore, a P. Eng. is providing professional engineering services to the public when the work is done for the benefit of an individual, corporation, government or other entity that is not the engineer's employer. Work
done by a professional engineer solely for the employer's use within
the employer's domain is not considered to be work done for the public
even
if the employer is a public institution such as provincial or municipal
governments, school boards, or crown corporations. However, if the
work involves the practice of professional engineering it must be done
by or
supervised by a P. Eng. even if it is solely for the employer's benefit.
The only exception to this is the so-called "industrial exemption" described
in Section 12(3) of the Act.
Q6.
What is the "industrial exemption"?
A.
Section 12(3) of the Professional Engineers Act lists the allowed
exceptions to the requirement for professional engineering to be
done solely by licenced
professional engineers. The first of these exceptions allows non-licenced
persons to do such work when the act relates to production machinery
or a production process in manufacturing in one's employer's facilities.
In other words, an industrial facility does not need to employ or
retain a professional engineer for the purpose of designing or
evaluating production
equipment and processes or for supervising its use. However, the exemption is not a permit for non-licenced persons to assume total control over design of production equipment and process. Other legislation imposes requirements for a professional engineer to be involved in aspects of the work. For instance, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Regulation for Industrial Facilities requires all new or modified production equipment to be reviewed by a professional engineer to confirm its compliance with all health and safety standards prior to use. Non-engineers can design the equipment or process but a P. Eng. must attest that it is safe to use. There is similar legislation specifying that professional engineers design electrical systems, buildings or other structures, and pressure vessels. The exemption does not pertain to persons designing, evaluating, commissioning or otherwise practicing engineering in relation to production equipment and facilities for someone other than their employer. Custom equipment builders and others must have the design done by professional engineers.
Q7.
What kinds of documents are supposed to be sealed?
A. Any final documents of an engineering nature such as drawings, specifications, reports, studies, etc., should be sealed. Ideally, all final drawings within an engineering branch should be signed and sealed by the design engineer for that branch and the approving or supervising engineer, but if only one signature and seal is used, it should be that of the approving engineer. Final drawings that cross disciplines should be sealed by each engineer in charge of the respective branches and the approving one. Final specifications prepared by the approving engineer must be sealed on the cover of the bound document. Because of the risk of sealed originals being copied and distributed without the engineer's knowledge, seals should not be applied to original master documents, only to copies. Drawings provided solely for your employer's use within the employer's domain do not need to be sealed (though if the work involves the practice of professional engineering it would have to be done by a P. Eng. or under a P. Eng.'s supervision).
Q8.
What documents should not be sealed?
A. Draft or uncompleted documents and documents of a non-engineering nature (business correspondence, sales brochures, passport and birth certificate applications, etc.) should not be sealed. Generally, preliminary documents should be not be sealed. However in some cases, such as when a client wishes to proceed with a portion of the work before the final drawings have been completed, this may be necessary. An
example would be where an owner wants to commence construction of
a building's foundation and obtains a permit limited to this work. In such
cases, the
design engineer must be careful when sealing the foundation part
of the work. The engineer should try to limit the extent to which their
seal is
to be relied upon, and the extent to which they take responsibility
for the content of the work. One way to do this would be by marking the
documents "preliminary" and/or "not for construction," to
indicate that construction can't proceed without further written
approval of the design engineer.
Q9.
Can I use my PEO seal to seal Statutory Declarations and other legal
documents.
A. Certain types of legal documents are required to be sealed. However, the professional engineer's seal is not appropriate for these purposes. Contracts and other legal business documents are sealed with a corporate seal if the business entity is a corporation. If not, signatures suffice. Professional seals are not to be used for this purpose. Certain documents, such as statutory declarations, must be sealed by a Commissioner for taking affidavits or a Notary Public in order to be valid. A Commissioner for taking affidavits is a person, such as a lawyer, MPP, municipal official or court official who is authorized to administer oaths or take affidavits. Notaries public are regulated by the Notaries Act. Persons, other than barristers and solicitors, wishing to be appointed as notaries must have their qualifications examined by a Superior Court judge. Only persons certified by a judge will be considered for the position and, if selected, are appointed by the Attorney General. Passport
applications, birth certificate applications and other documents
that identify professional engineers as suitable guarantors require only
the guarantor's
signature followed by the "P. Eng." designation.
Q10.
Can the seal be used in logos, advertising or on business cards?
A.
No. PEO members are not permitted to use, or refer to, their professional seals
in company logos, advertising or other promotional materials.
Q11.
What should be included in the seal?
A. The engineer's signature and the date the document was sealed, hand written within or beside the stamp, must always be included. Initials alone are not acceptable.
Q12.
What should be done if changes need to be made to a drawing or other
document?
A. Changes made to a sealed document that are within the practice of professional engineering can only be made by a P.Eng. The changes must be sealed, signed and dated by the P.Eng. responsible for the changes. Annotations should be made to specify exactly what changes the professional engineer made. It's
important to note that the engineer responsible for the changes would be
subject to the discipline provisions of the Act (Sections 24 and 28), should
any complaints about the changes be made to PEO. The Code of Ethics (Section
77 of the Regulations) requires that the second engineer notify the professional
engineer who originally sealed the documents of the changes that have been
made.
Q13. How should I handle engineering drawings for which I'm responsible
that include changes given to me by a third party not under my direction?
A. Known as " as-built drawings," these should not be sealed. Seals
should be applied only in those cases where you or your delegate have visited
the site, reviewed the project during construction, and have verified every
change in detail. The changes must be clearly marked on the drawings and
a note referencing the original sealed drawings should be attached. These
documents are referred to as “record drawings” to distinguish
them from “as-built drawings”.
Record drawings verified in detail by the engineer and issued to a
third party must be sealed.
Q14. What is current PEO policy with
respect to the sealing of electronic drawings? Can I scan
a P.Eng. seal and signature and place it
on an electronic drawing?
A. PEO policy on
matters related to electronic documents is provided in the Guideline for
the Use of a Professional Engineer’s
Seal. Professional engineers are allowed to scan or otherwise create
electronic facsimiles of
their seals and signatures and apply these to electronic documents.
Professional engineers who do so should consider use of appropriate
security measures,
since an electronic drawing with a seal and signature could be changed
without the engineer's knowledge and a third party would still expect
that the engineer
is responsible for the entire content of the document.
Q15.
Does sealing a document increase an engineer's civil liability?
A.
According to lawyer William Black of McCarthy Tetrault, the "signing
or sealing of documents by engineers ... has absolutely nothing to do with
the question of liability for negligence. Engineers are liable because
they prepared the drawings or because they supervised or approved them,
and not because they signed or sealed them." Nevertheless,
the seal is important because it implies a commitment to the standards
of the profession and signifies to the public that a particular P.Eng.
has accepted professional responsibility for the document. Should
any errors be found, the engineer who seals the document is answerable
to PEO, their
client and any agency relying on them.
Q16.
I am moving out of Ontario and do not intend to maintain my PEO licence.
Can I keep my seal?
A. The seal is the property of Professional Engineers Ontario and must be returned when one leaves the association.
Q17.
What is the penalty for misuse of a seal?
A. Anyone who illegally uses an engineering seal may be found guilty of an offence under Section 40 of the Act and may be fined up to a maximum of $10,000 for a first offence, and $25,000 for any subsequent offence. Police may also lay fraud or forgery charges. These offences are usually carried out by non-engineers without the knowledge or consent of the engineer in question. This is why engineers should store their seal in a secure place.
Q18.
Do I need professional liability insurance?
A. The Professional Engineers Act requires a Certificate of Authorization (C of A) holder to either have professional liability insurance or agree to compulsory disclosure. This is an undertaking to provide each client with a letter stating that the holder does not have insurance. The Act does provide an exemption for engineering businesses that provide engineering services that may involve pollution, nuclear, aviation or shipping hazards. However these firms must have insurance or provide compulsory disclosure for services provided in other than these named areas of practice. Normally
employee engineers working for Certificate of Authorization holders
that have professional liability insurance are covered by the employer's
policy.
Engineers working for these firms, especially if they are named on
the C of A as taking responsibility for the engineering activities, should
review their exposure to liability with the firm’s insurer. If you
work for a Certificate of Authorization holding firm that does not
have professional liability coverage you should investigate how a lawsuit
against
the firm might affect you. Other employee engineers should check
with their employer's insurance company to see if they are covered for
professional
negligence or errors and omissions.
Q19.
I am a Certificate of Authorization holder. The Professional Engineers
Act gives me the option to forego insurance as long as I disclose to
my clients that I have none. Does this eliminate my risk of being sued?
A.
No.
Q20.
Does PEO have some type of affinity agreement for reduced premiums with
insurance companies providing professional liability insurance?
A.
PEO does not have any arrangement with insurance companies for these products.
Q21.
I’d like to go into business on my own. What do I need to do?
A.
Any entity (sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation) that offers or
provides professional engineering services to the public must have a Certificate
of Authorization. This requirement is stipulated in Section 12(2) of the Professional
Engineers Act.
Q22. What is the Certificate of Authorization?
A. The Certificate of Authorization is a legal instrument issued by PEO which grants a privilege to the holder to provide professional engineering services to the public. To obtain a Certificate of Authorization the entity must have at least one professional engineer with at least five years of experience since graduation who will take responsibility for the entity's engineering activities. The engineer does not need to be a full-time employee of the entity but must provide supervision adequate for the responsibility assumed. The entity must also either acquire professional liability insurance or agree to compulsory disclosure. The Certificate of Authorization is valid for no longer than one year. The Certificate of Authorization is renewed annually as long as the holder complies with the provisions of the Professional Engineers Act.
Q23.
Why do I need a Certificate of Authorization if I already have my P.
Eng. licence?
A.
Section 12 (2) of the Professional Engineers Act stipulates that every entity
(sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation) that offers or provides
professional engineering services to the public requires a Certificate of Authorization.
While the licence entitles an individual to practice as a professional engineer,
the Certificate is required to provide PEO with a means for governing the activities
of entities. A sole proprietorship is a business entity and is distinct from
the individual practitioner.
Q24.
I provide engineering services to other companies; not to the public? Do
I need a Certificate of Authorization?
A. "Public" does not mean public institutions or society in general; it means an entity (business, individual, government, charity) that is at an "arm's-length" relationship
to the engineer and could rightly be called a client. If
an employer utilizes engineers to provide engineering services within the
employer's domain only, then the employer does not need a Certificate of
Authorization. If however, the employer (government, manufacturer, consulting
firm or engineer working as a sole proprietor) provides engineering services
outside the employer's domain (i.e. to the public) then the employer requires
a C of A.
Q25.
Why do I need a Certificate of Authorization if I am not sealing drawings?
A. The Professional Engineers Act stipulates that an entity requires a Certificate of Authorization if it is providing engineering services to the public. These services may not necessarily involve the production of drawings. Professional engineers may provide advice about technology, review construction, perform health and safety audits, give opinions about mineral properties, or provide expert testimony. Though none of these activities involve the preparation of drawings, each is an act of providing engineering services and, therefore, the entity requires a Certificate of Authorization. However,
if you provide engineering services you should ask yourself this question:
why are you not sealing documents that you provide to a client or other
external body? Section 53 of the Professional Engineers Act governs the
requirement for sealing of documents. You are required to seal all drawings
and other documents provided as part of engineering services done for an
external entity, regardless of whether or not there is other legislation
(such as the Building Code Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, or
Regulation for Industrial Facilities) that specifically requires a engineer's
seal. In order words, any document of an engineering nature prepared for
a client or as part of the work done for a client (this includes drawings
for custom equipment) must be sealed.
Q26.
There is large scale non-compliance with the Act in Ontario. Why should
I get a Certificate of Authorization when I know my competitors don't
have one and PEO is not enforcing the Act?
A. PEO has an active enforcement policy that investigates and prosecutes all reported violations of the Professional Engineers Act. If your competition is providing engineering services to the public but does not have a Certificate of Authorization then that entity is in violation of the Act. Notify the PEO's Enforcement department if you encounter this situation.
Q27.
I'm listed on my employer's Certificate of Authorization. What should
I do if I leave that firm?
A.
Notify PEO in writing immediately about your change of employment status.
Q28.
If I am the only P. Eng. listed on a firm's Certificate of Authorization,
what happens when I resign?
A.
The Certificate of Authorization will be suspended for a period of 90 days
at which time if no suitable P. Eng. has been found by the firm to replace
you, the Certificate will be revoked.
Q29.
I'm retired but I've been asked to work occasionally for my former employer.
Do I need a Certificate of Authorization?
A. This depends on whether you plan to work as an independent contractor or as a contract employee. Both arrangements have benefits for you and your employer but there are significant differences in taxation, compensation and professional responsibility. You should discuss with your former employer which arrangement to use prior to coming to an agreement on how you will provide services. PEO has published guidelines on both. Since an independent contractor is a sole proprietorship you will require a Certificate of Authorization if you decide to make this arrangement. PEO reminds professional engineers registered as retired and are paying reduced fees that they are not entitled to practice professional engineering either for payment or as a volunteer.
Q30.
I offer my engineering expertise as a volunteer. If I receive no payment
for these services, why do I need a Certificate of Authorization?
A. The Professional Engineers Act makes no distinction between providing professional engineering services for a fee or on a volunteer basis. The individual or volunteer organization providing professional engineering services will need a Certificate of Authorization. You should also remember that providing services as a volunteer does not make one immune to liability. Since either the client or a third party affected by the work can bring a lawsuit against the engineer or the volunteer organization, volunteers are urged to investigate their need for professional liability insurance.
Q31.
I’ve been in business for 20 years and have a storeroom full
of drawings, correspondence and specifications. How long do I have
to keep my project files? What kind of files should I keep?
A. There is no legal requirement stipulating how long documents must be retained. The documents belong to the person who created them and that person is at liberty to do with them as s/he sees fit. The most pressing reason for keeping documents is the possibility of future legal action. At present there is essentially no period of limitation so it is possible that someone can bring legal action against an engineer many years after a project is completed. Since document retention is really a matter of legal protection, you should discuss the matter with your insurance provider.
Q32.
I've just left a consulting firm that has downsized and changed owners.
Should I keep any drawings and other documents and for how long? And
what are my obligations to previous clients?
A.
If you were not an owner of the consulting firm then you do not need to keep
drawings or other documents. In fact, you should return those you do have to
the firm or ask their permission if you want to keep some documents. Generally,
since you were an employee, you do not have any contractual obligations
to previous clients. For instance, you do not need to answer questions
about ongoing or past projects. You can provide assistance if you wish
and if it is compatible with legal and ethical obligations to your past
employer. Your professional obligations to the client, however, continue
even after leaving employment.
Q33.
I’ve been asked to do a review of another engineer's work. What
are my obligations to that engineer?
A.
Obligations of one engineer to another are described in the Code
of Ethics, Section 77 of Regulation 941. Peer review is covered
in subsection 77(7)
(ii) which states that a practitioner shall "not accept an engagement to review the work of another practitioner for the same employer except with the knowledge of the other practitioner or except where the connection of the other practitioner with the work has been terminated".
In other words, if the P. Eng. who did the work is still involved
with the project, the reviewing engineer must inform the first engineer
that
his or her work is being reviewed. It is best to do this in writing.
Q34. Do you need to be licensed to working in the field of engineering in Ontario?
A As with medicine and law, you require a licence to do certain engineering work within the province of Ontario. However, not everyone working in engineering requires a licence. Whether you require a licence depends on the type of engineering work you are doing, and the level of responsibility you have. The ability to practise engineering in Ontario is regulated by the Ontario Professional Engineers Act and its regulations, which outline who requires a licence, how to obtain a licence, and when a licence may be revoked. The Act is administered by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), a self-governing organization that grants licences to qualified individuals, disciplines licence holders who are found guilty of incompetence or misconduct, and enforces compliance with the licensing requirements of the Act. You require a licence if:
- Your work requires you to design, compose, evaluate, advise, report, direct or supervise; and
- The work will safeguard life, health, property or the public welfare; and
- The work requires the application of engineering principles.
You are not required to be licensed if, for example:
- Your work is strictly related to research, testing, or inspection; or
- There is no risk to life, health, property or the public welfare if your work is performed incorrectly; or
- The work is strictly scientific in nature.
There are also other exceptions to licensure in the Act:
- You do not need to be licensed to do professional engineering if a licensed Ontario professional engineer takes responsibility for your work.
- You do not need a licence to design tools and dies.
Any question regarding the need for a licence in a particular situation should be directed to PEO at enforcement@peo.on.ca. |
