PE License Verification Is Critical to Maintaining Your License and Avoiding Penalties
Have you ever wondered if your state engineering board has accurate information about you and your license? Did you recently move, get a new email address, or change your name? Given the importance of your professional registration, it is worth checking that status of your license and the accuracy of your personal information at least once a year. Fortunately, you can quickly and easily verify everything online using your state board’s PE license lookup service.
Every state engineering board allows the public to verify a professional engineer’s license status. This service is mandated by state public information laws. Fortunately, it is possible to lookup an engineer license online in all 50 states.
Each state has a slightly different term for their engineering license lookup service. Some refer to this service as an engineering licensee search. Others use the term license lookup, license verification, or online certification. Regardless of the name, they all allow the public to search for a professional engineer using their name or license number for the purpose of verifying the status of their engineering license.
To help you understand this service, we checked with every state engineering board and prepared this summary of how to lookup an engineering license in every state.
Why Every Engineer Should Check Their License Status
As a professional engineer, your license is a very important part of your career and livelihood. You should check the status to ensure it is current and hasn’t expired or become inactive. You should also verify your contact information to ensure everything is in good order.
When you lookup your license, here is a list of things to check.
1. Verify Your License Is Current and Valid
Despite your best efforts to keep your license current, it’s possible that you accidentally missed a renewal date. This is especially a risk if you have multiple engineering licenses. By checking your state board’s license lookup service, you can discover this problem and contact the board to resolve it before you are disciplined.
2. Correct Errors and Update Missing Information
It is surprising how many errors are discovered in the personal and professional information state engineering boards have. Often, the information you provide is retyped into the Board’s database. This step introduces a lot of erroneous information. Check the spelling of your name, your contact information, and the status of your license.
3. Confirm Your Personal and Private Information
You want to be certain that there is nothing personal that you don’t want the public or your clients seeing – such as your home telephone number or personal email address. Check what’s listed in the state database and make corrections if necessary.
State Board Professional Engineer License Lookup Information
To lookup a professional engineering license, check out your state board’s license lookup service from the list below.
Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware
Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana
Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri
Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York
North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island
South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington
West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Risks of Not Checking Your Engineering License
If your license has lapsed, the sooner you discover and correct this problem, the better off you are. Most boards are not looking to punish engineers for honest administrative errors. The key is to discover this early and contact the Board right away to let them know.
Most states required licensees to notify them of changes in personal information within a certain amount of time. If you notice that your name, address, telephone, email, or employer are incorrect or outdated, contact the Board and let them know. This can avoid potential disciplinary actions and ensures you will receive important communications (such as license renewals) from the Board.
What Information Do You need to Verify a Professional Engineer License
To check the status of an engineer’s license you’ll need at least one piece of information, such as their name or license number. Here is our suggestion of the minimum information you should have to complete your search:
- The license number of the engineer. This is the best way to verify the status of an engineer’s registration because each license number is unique.
- If you don’t have the license number of the license you would like to check, you can also enter:
- The first and last name of the licensee. Sometimes you can verify the information with just the last name.
- The address of the engineer. This may not always work because some states don’t allow you to search by address. In addition, an engineer may list his home or business address, and you may not have the one listed.
- The type of license held by the licensee. This is a bit of a Hail Mary option because there are likely thousands of licensees in each category.
Common Search Criteria
Most of the license lookup sites allow you to limit your search to specific criteria such as the license status, the type of license, or the state where the licensee lives. An effective strategy is to start your search using just one or two search-terms and see what the results look like. If you use too many criteria in your initial search, you may not get any results or you may filter out the individual you’re looking for.
Many of the online license verification pages require you to select the professional board. For engineers, you need to select “Professional Engineer” or “Registered Engineer” or “Engineer”. It is recommended that you select the Board and the name or partial name of the engineer you’re searching for.
If you are unsure on the spelling of a name, you can sometimes use a wildcard (e.g. % after the first 2 or 3 letters of someone’s last name like BR% for Brady.) The entry of more search criteria will help to narrow down your search results.
License Status
Some license lookup pages allow you to filter by the status of the license. Examples of license statuses include:
- Active
- Deceased
- Expired
- Inactive
- Pending from Expired Status
- Active Military
- Delinquent
- Retired
- Revoked
- Surrendered
- Suspended
Engineering License Type
Many state boards allow you to specify the type of license an engineer holds. Here are the most common license types:
- Professional Engineer
- Engineer in Training
- Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor
- Temporary License
Engineering Discipline Lookup
Most state license lookup pages allow you to specify the licensees engineering discipline as part of your search. Here is a list of the engineering disciplines commonly included.
- Aeronautical Engineering (AE)
- Agricultural Engineering (AG)
- Building Systems (BS)
- Chemical Engineering (CH)
- Civil Engineering (CE)
- Control Systems Engineering (CS)
- Electrical Engineering (EE)
- Environmental Engineering (EN)
- Fire Protection Engineering (FP)
- Forest Engineering (FR)
- Geotechnical Engineering (GE)
- Industrial Engineering (IE)
- Manufacturing Engineering (MF)
- Mechanical Engineering (ME)
- Metallurgical Engineering (MT)
- Mining Engineering (MI)
- Naval Arch/Marine Engineering (NA)
- Nuclear Engineering (NU)
- Petroleum Engineer (PT)
Understanding the License Lookup Search Results
Generally, the results of your search return the name and license number of the engineer your checking on. You may have to click on a link (such as the license number or “More Details”) to get additional information regarding the licensee.
Some state boards report formal disciplinary actions against a licensee. If so, this information will be noted, and you will find a link to additional information about the enforcement action.
Correcting Wrong Information on Your Engineering License
If you discover incorrect or incomplete information about your engineering license, you should correct it right away. Most state boards have a “Contact Us” page that indicates the best way to communicate with them.
If possible, you should make requests to correct your information in writing to document the date of your request and to ensure the errors are properly corrected.
Professional Engineer License Lookup
Alabama professional engineer license lookup.
Alaska professional engineer license lookup.
Arizona professional engineer license lookup.
Arkansas professional engineer license lookup.
California professional engineer license lookup.
Colorado professional engineer license lookup.
Connecticut professional engineer license lookup.
Delaware professional engineer license lookup.
Florida professional engineer license lookup.
Georgia professional engineer license lookup.
Hawaii professional engineer license lookup.
Idaho professional engineer license lookup.
Illinois professional engineer license lookup.
Indiana professional engineer license lookup.
Iowa professional engineer license lookup.
Kansas professional engineer license lookup.
Kentucky professional engineer license lookup.
Louisiana professional engineer license lookup.
Maine professional engineer license lookup.
Maryland professional engineer license lookup.
Massachusetts professional engineer license lookup.
Michigan professional engineer license lookup.
Minnesota professional engineer license lookup.
Mississippi professional engineer license lookup.
Missouri professional engineer license lookup.
Montana professional engineer license lookup.
Nebraska professional engineer license lookup.
Nevada professional engineer license lookup.
New Hampshire professional engineer license lookup.
New Jersey professional engineer license lookup.
New Mexico professional engineer license lookup.
New York professional engineer license lookup.
North Carolina professional engineer license lookup.
North Dakota professional engineer license lookup.
Ohio professional engineer license lookup.
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Oregon professional engineer license lookup.
Pennsylvania professional engineer license lookup.
Rhode Island professional engineer license lookup.
South Carolina professional engineer license lookup.
South Dakota professional engineer license lookup.
Tennessee professional engineer license lookup.
Texas professional engineer license lookup.
Utah professional engineer license lookup.
Vermont professional engineer license lookup.
Virginia professional engineer license lookup.
Washington professional engineer license lookup.
West Virginia professional engineer license lookup.
Wisconsin professional engineer license lookup.
Wyoming professional engineer license lookup.