Continued from:

       ”Engineers – A Guide for Consumers (Part 1 of 2)”

Licensed Engineer’s Seal and Signature Requirements

All licensed engineers are required to use a seal or stamp on plans or calculations prepared by them or under their responsible charge. The seal or stamp authorized for use by professional engineers, including structural engineers and geotechnical engineers, may be a rubber stamp, an embossing seal or a computer-generated seal. It must be at least one and one-half inches in diameter. Civil, electrical, and mechanical engineers must include the expiration date of their license when they sign and seal or stamp documents.

Before You Talk to the Engineer or Land Surveyor

Be prepared – write down what you want to accomplish. Some things to consider are:
· What is your project?
· How much can you or are you willing to spend?
· How soon do you need the work done?
Listen Carefully and Take Notes
Notes of each one of your conversations and each person’s answers to your questions will help you decide whom to hire.
· Does the person have experience with projects similar to yours?
· Ask for references and contact them before hiring the person.
· Are there alternatives or modifications to your project that could make it more attractive or bring the costs down? What could cause the costs to increase?
· Ask about local environmental conditions that may require modifications or additions to your plans.
· Ask about permits that may be needed.
· What will his or her services cost? Does that include permit costs and/or filing fees?

It is your responsibility as a consumer to determine the professional that best meets the requirements for your project. Consider experience and qualifications as well as cost when making your selection.

Check License Status and References
Licensed engineers and land surveyors are required to provide notice to their clients that they are licensed by the California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.  There are many ways in which they can do this, such as:

· displaying their wall certificates in a public area, office, or work area of their places of business
· posting a notice in a public area of their places of business stating their names and that they are licensed by the Board;
· including a statement on their letterhead or on the contract (immediately above the signature line) that they are licensed by the Board; or
· providing a statement to you for you to sign and date and return to them that you understand they are licensed by the Board.

Call the Board or look on the Board’s website to:

· verify that the professional is currently and properly licensed; and,
· find out if there have been any complaints or disciplinary actions taken against the person’s license.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.