Licensure Committee Members:

SE Licensure Executive Summary 

FSEA has been working since 2007 to establish a structural engineering (SE) license in the state of Florida.  Rationale for this additional level of accreditation include:

•   Increasing size and complexity of current building codes and standards compared to  decades past.
•  Decreasing redundancies and safety factors arising from well-intended efforts to reduce  construction costs.
•  Reduction in engineering curriculum requirements in a field that has become more  specialized.
•  Significant potential for injuries and loss of human life should a structure fail. 

SEI, CASE, NCSEA, and NCEES have all agreed that an enhanced 16-hour examination focused on structures is the best path toward ensuring that the design of structures protects the safety, health and welfare of the public.  This exam has been available in Florida since 2011, but under current law, it is not (and cannot be) required for those seeking to become licensed Professional Engineers (PE) who perform structural design.

•  The applicant for the SE license would need to have passed the 16-hour NCEES  Structural exam and show  four  years of active structural engineering experience.
•  The 16-hour exam would also qualify as the exam for PE licensure, which could be applied for  simultaneously. 
•  ALL    CURRRENT PEs DESIGNING STRUCTURES WOULD BE “GRANDFATHERED” IN AS  SEs.  Prior to the  2017 PE renewal period, Florida PEs who sign an affidavit attesting that  they have been practicing    structural engineering will not be required to pass the 16-  hour exam. 
•  “Threshold Buildings,” as already defined by Florida law, will need to be designed by a  licensed SE.  All  structures below that threshold may be designed by a licensed PE  (practicing within their area of  expertise) as currently required by Florida law.

This approach has been endorsed by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers (FBPE), and an additional structural license has the support of both the Florida Engineering Society (FES) and the Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers (FICE).  It is the mission not only of structural engineers, but of all engineers to hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the state of Florida.