Certification Process
Phase 1: Application
Submittal of an application form, record of CPD activities and professional dossier to the Certification Chapter.
Phase 2: Document Verification
Thorough formal review of the documentation submitted by a candidate to determine whether it is complete for the purposes of a subsequent examination.
Phase 3: Document assessment
Examination of the documentation produced by the candidate after due verification thereof, to determine whether it is correct and assess it for the purposes of a subsequent professional interview.
Phase 4: Evaluation Panel proposal
The technicians in charge of the evaluation process are PEs proposed by the Certification Chapter.
Evaluation Panel: Evaluation committee made of up two evaluators, responsible for reviewing the candidates’ professional background.
Phase 5: Professional interview
Process whereby a candidate subjects him/herself to an examination by an Evaluation Panel, which verifies any formalities fulfilled during the prior phases and the candidate’s interpersonal skills.
Phase 6: Decision
If the candidate is approved, and based on the professional experience earned after obtaining a degree, he/she is certified under the following categories:
- Registered Professional Engineer: At least 4 years of professional experience and 4 Level II competences, and 1 Level III competence.
- Senior Professional Engineer: At least 8 years of professional experience and 2 Level II competences, and 3 Level III competences.
- Expert Professional Engineer: At least 16 years of professional experience, and 1 Level II competence, 3 Level III competences; and 1 Level IV competence.
Level I.- Carries out his/her activity following instructions and under supervision; performs basic and predictable tasks with scarce or no individual responsibility at all.
Level II.- Carries out his/her activity in varied contexts; needs to be supervised only in complex situations; has some degree of individual responsibility or autonomy.
Level III.- Carries out his/her activity in some complex and unusual contexts; has great responsibility and autonomy; can supervise other people’s work.
Level IV.- Carries out his/her activity in a wide range of complex and unusual contexts; has significant personal autonomy; can contribute to the development of others.
Phase 7: Issuance of Certification and Registry
Certificate: Document issued by the Supervision and Guarantees Committee of the certification body pursuant to the certification system rules.
Registry: Public record that lists in its website the names of the engineers who have been certified as Registered Professional Engineers within the certification scheme.
Certification Renewal
Annual Oversight
Each year certified engineers must submit a record of their CPD activities for that year before the Certification Chapter, together with the corresponding form. The Certification Chapter checks the process accuracy and verifies 100% of the annual records received.
Recertification
Procedure performed every four years whereby a certified engineer updates the valid period of his/her certification after submitting all the relevant documentary evidence. An evaluation is conducted to determine whether his/her qualifications remain valid.
A total of 25% of certified engineers to be recertified must attend an interview. All recertification files are fully examined.