Registered Civil Engineer

 A registered civil engineer (RCE) is registered with the state board (California's Board

 for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors or BOPELS in CA). There are two

 primary documents that govern their practice (The Professional Engineers Act and The

 Board Rules in CA).

 To become licensed as an engineer in California, a candidate must provide verification

 of minimum of 6 years of education (from an institution accredited by the Accreditation

 Board for Engineering and Technology - ABET , meeting their criteria) and cumulative

 work experience. They must successfully complete an 8 hour Engineer-In-Training

 examination, 8 hour General Civil Engineering examination, 2-1/2 hour Special

 Surveying Examination, 2-1/2 hour Special Civil Engineering - Seismic Principles

 examination and a take home examination on California Laws and Board Rules to

 obtain licensure. Much of the format of these examinations is determined by the

 National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

 RCE's are required to adhere to a Code of Professional Conduct . The status of an

 individual's license can be verified through the licensee lookup feature on the BOPELS

 website. This is useful for determining whether or not an individual possesses a license,

 what type of license they possess, when it expires, what their license number is, the

 status of the license and whether or not there have been any actions against them.

 By California state law, a RCE may design and engineer any building of any type

 except hospitals and schools.

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