Report Unlicensed Individuals or Companies

PEO’s Unlicensed Practice Enforcement team seeks compliance, which may include legal action against individuals or entities who practise engineering without a licence or offer engineering services without holding a Certificate of Authorization (C of A).

File a Report

If you suspect that a person or a company is practising engineering and may not be licensed, you can contact PEO's Unlicensed Practice Enforcement: 416-224-1100 Ext. 1444 or [email protected]

File a Report

PEO Unlicensed Practice Enforcement

Sections 39 and 40 of the Professional Engineers Act give PEO the authority to take enforcement action. Section 40(1) sets maximum fines for individuals and firms practising without the necessary licences (P.Eng., and/or C of A). These fines are $25,000 for a first offence and $50,000 for each subsequent offence. Section 40(2) authorizes fines of up to $10,000 for a first offence and $25,000 for each subsequent offence, for people who:

use the title "professional engineer" or an abbreviation or variation as an occupational designation;
use a term, title or description that will lead to the belief that the person may engage in the practice of professional engineering; or
use a seal that will lead to the belief that the person is a professional engineer.

Section 40(3) states similar requirements for those entities that do not have a C of A.

Cases Closed (2024): 445
Open Case Median: 63 days
Sent to external counsel for prosecution (2024): 14

What we do

The Regulatory Compliance department administers the PEA, ensuring that licence holders are held accountable for their conduct and engineering work, and that restrictions on who may practise or use protected titles are appropriately enforced.

Unlicensed Practice Enforcement falls under the Regulatory Compliance umbrella. The Unlicensed Practice Enforcement team investigates complaints brought against individuals who are not licensed and are practising engineering illegally or using titles that are restricted to licence holders.

The Unlicensed Practice Enforcement team also addresses suspicious seals, which involve the unauthorized use of a licence holder’s seal, whether a seal was created for an unlicensed individual or a legitimate seal has been copied and used without the practitioner’s permission.