CHAPTER 3
APPLICATION AND RENEWAL PROCESS
[Prior to 11/14/01, see 193C—Chapter 1]
193C—3.1(542B) General statement. A person requesting to be licensed as a professional engineer or land surveyor shall submit a completed, standardized, notarized application form, which may be obtained from the board’s office or electronically from the board’s Internet Web page.
	3.1(1) Application expiration. On the examination application due date, the examination application is considered current if it has been one year or less since it was signed and notarized. A comity application expires one year from the date that it was signed and notarized.
	3.1(2) Branch licensure. A list of engineering branches in which licensure is granted can be obtained from the board’s office. Branches conform to those branches generally included in collegiate curricula. An applicant for licensure in Iowa shall be licensed first in the branch or branches indicated by the applicant’s education and experience. A minimum of 50 percent of the required practical experience in which the individual is to be examined shall have been in that same branch of engineering.
	3.1(3) Academic transcripts. Completion of post-high school education shall be evidenced by receipt of an applicant’s transcripts directly from the office of the registrar of each institution attended. Transcripts from institutions located outside the boundaries of the United States of America shall be evaluated for authenticity and substantial equivalency with Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.	(ABET)/Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) accredited engineering programs. To be readily acceptable, such evaluations shall be from the Center for Professional Engineering Education Services (CPEES). However, the board may accept evaluations from other recognized foreign credential evaluators satisfactorily to the board. The evaluation is at the expense of the applicant.
193C—3.2(542B) Examination application components and due dates.
	3.2(1) Fundamentals of Engineering examination application components and due dates. Applications for the Fundamentals of Engineering examination are submitted directly to the examination service selected by the board to administer the examinations and must be received on or before September 1 of each year for the examination given in the fall and on or before March 1 of each year for the examination given in the spring. Applications from the following applicants are submitted on forms provided by the examination service: any applicant who has an ABET/EAC or Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) accredited engineering degree; any applicant who is enrolled as a senior student in an ABET/EAC or CEAB accredited engineering curriculum; or any applicant who has a master’s degree in engineering from an institution in the United States with an accredited bachelor’s degree in the same curriculum. Applicants who do not meet the criteria above must submit an application for approval to the board on forms provided by the board. The components of this application include: the completed, notarized application form; references; and transcripts.
	3.2(2) Fundamentals of Land Surveying examination application components and due dates. The components of this application include: the completed, notarized application form; references pursuant to 193C—paragraph 5.1(5)“b”; and transcripts. Fundamentals of Land Surveying examination applications require a detailed review and must, therefore, be submitted to the board office, postmarked on or before July 15 of each year for the examination given in the fall and on or before January 15 of each year for the examination given in the spring.
	3.2(3) Principles and Practice examination application components and due dates. The components of the application for the Principles and Practice of Engineering and the Principles and Practice of Land Surveying examinations include: the completed, notarized application form; the ethics questionnaire; references; transcripts; verification of examination records; and the project statement. Principles and Practice of Engineering and Principles and Practice of Land Surveying examination applications require a detailed review and must, therefore, be submitted to the board office, postmarked on or before July 15 of each year for the examination given in the fall and on or before January 15 of each year for the examination given in the spring.
193C—3.3(542B) Comity applications.
	3.3(1) The components of a comity application include: the completed, notarized application form; the ethics questionnaire; references; transcripts; and verifications, as appropriate. Comity applicants may submit the NCEES record in lieu of providing references, verifications, transcripts, and employment history.
	3.3(2) Comity applications will be reviewed and processed as they are completed. Applications that are complete and meet the standard requirements of these rules are processed immediately upon completion and review.
	3.3(3) Comity applicants are notified regarding the results of the review of their applications.
	3.3(4) Temporary permits. The board does not issue temporary permits. Temporary permits were previously issued to applicants whose applications were reviewed by a board member, who met all requirements, and who were expected to qualify for approval by the full board at the next regularly scheduled board meeting. Since applications that meet these criteria are now routinely processed as they are completed and reviewed, temporary permits are no longer necessary.
193C—3.4(542B) Renewal applications.
	3.4(1) Expiration dates. Certificates of licensure expire biennially on December 31. Certificates that were initially issued in even-numbered years expire in odd-numbered years and certificates that were initially issued in odd-numbered years expire in even-numbered years. In order to maintain authorization to practice engineering or land surveying in Iowa, licensees are required to renew their certificates of licensure on or prior to the expiration date. A licensee who fails to renew prior to the date the certificate expires shall not be authorized to practice in Iowa unless the certificate is reinstated as provided in these rules. However, the board will accept an otherwise sufficient renewal application which is untimely if the board receives the application and late fee within 30 days of the date of expiration.
	3.4(2) Renewal notification. The board typically mails a renewal notification to a licensee’s last-known address at least one month prior to the license expiration date. Neither the board’s failure to mail a renewal notification nor the licensee’s failure to receive a renewal notification shall affect in any way the licensee’s duty to timely renew if the licensee intends to continue practicing in Iowa. Licensees need to contact the board office if they do not receive a renewal notification prior to the expiration date.
	3.4(3) Renewal process. Upon receipt of a timely and sufficient renewal application, with the proper fee, the board’s executive secretary shall issue a new license reflecting the next expiration date, unless grounds exist for denial of the application.
	3.4(4) Notification of expiration. The board shall notify licensees whose certificates of licensure have expired. This notification may be provided through publication in the division’s newsletter. The failure of the board to provide this courtesy notification, or the failure of the licensee to receive the courtesy notification, shall not extend the date of expiration.
	3.4(5) Sanction for practicing after license expiration. A licensee who continues to practice in Iowa after the license has expired shall be subject to disciplinary action. Such unauthorized activity may also provide grounds to deny a licensee’s application to reinstate.
	3.4(6) Timely and sufficient renewal application. Within the meaning of Iowa Code section 17A.18(2), a timely and sufficient renewal application shall be:
	a. 	Received by the board in paper or electronic form, or postmarked with a nonmetered United States Postal Service postmark on or before the expiration date of the certificate;
	b. 	Fully completed; and
	c. 	Accompanied by the proper fee. The fee shall be deemed improper if, for instance, the amount is incorrect, the fee was not included with the application, the credit card number provided by the applicant is incorrect, the date of expiration of a credit card is left off the application or is incorrect, the attempted credit card transaction is rejected, or the applicant’s check is returned for insufficient funds.
	3.4(7) Responsibility for accuracy of renewal application. The licensee is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the information submitted on the renewal application regardless of how the application is submitted or by whom it is submitted. For instance, if the office manager of a licensee’s firm submits an application for renewal on behalf of the licensee and that information is incorrect, the licensee will be held responsible for the information and may be subject to disciplinary action.
	3.4(8) Denial of renewal application. If the board, upon receipt of a timely, complete and sufficient application to renew a certificate of licensure, accompanied by the proper fee, denies the application, the executive secretary shall send written notice to the applicant by restricted, certified mail, return receipt requested, identifying the basis for denial. Grounds may exist to deny an application to renew a license if, for instance, the licensee has failed to satisfy the continuing education required as a condition for licensure. If the basis for the denial is a pending disciplinary action or a disciplinary investigation which is reasonably expected to culminate in a formal disciplinary action, the board shall utilize the procedures applicable to disciplinary actions, including the initiation of a contested case. If the basis for denial is not related to a pending or imminent disciplinary action, the applicant may contest the board’s decision as provided in 193—7.40(546,272C).
	3.4(9) Continuing education requirement. A licensee who does not satisfy the continuing education requirements for licensure renewal will be denied renewal of licensure in accordance with subrule 3.4(8).
	3.4(10) Consent order option. When a licensee appears to be in violation of mandatory continuing education requirements of 193C IAC 7, the board may, in lieu of proceeding to a contested case hearing on the denial of renewal as provided in uniform division rule 193 IAC 7.40(546,272C), offer the licensee the opportunity to sign a consent order. While the terms of a consent order will be tailored to the specific circumstances at issue, the consent order will typically impose a penalty between $50 and $250, depending on the severity of the violation, and establish deadlines for compliance, and the consent order may impose additional educational requirements upon the licensee. A licensee is free to accept or reject the offer. If the offer of settlement is accepted, the licensee will be issued a renewed certificate of licensure and, if the terms of the consent order are not complied with, will be subject to disciplinary action. If the offer of settlement is rejected, the matter will be set for hearing, if timely requested by the applicant pursuant to uniform division rule 193 IAC 7.40(546,272C).
	3.4(11) Inactive status. Licensees who are not engaged in engineering or land surveying practices that require licensure in Iowa may be granted inactive status. No inactive licensee may practice in Iowa unless otherwise exempted in Iowa Code chapter 542B.
193C—3.5(542B) Reinstatement of licensure.
	3.5(1) To reinstate a license that has lapsed for one year or more, the applicant for reinstatement must pay the fee required by 193C IAC 2.1(542B) and must satisfy one of the following requirements:
	a. 	Provide documentation of 45 professional development hours achieved within the current and previous biennium (dual licensees must provide documentation of 30 professional development hours for each profession); or
	b. 	Successfully complete the principles and practice examination within one year immediately prior to application for reinstatement; or
	c. 	For an applicant for reinstatement who is an out-of-state resident, submit a statement from the resident state’s licensing board as documented evidence of compliance with the resident state’s mandatory continuing education requirement during the period that the licensee’s Iowa license was lapsed. The statement shall bear the seal of the licensing board. An applicant for reinstatement whose resident state has no mandatory continuing education requirement shall comply with the documented evidence requirement as outlined in this subrule and at 193C IAC 7.8(2).
	3.5(2) To reinstate a license that has lapsed for less than one year, the applicant for reinstatement must pay the fee required by 193C IAC 2.1(542B) and must satisfy one of the following requirements:
	a. 	Provide documentation of 30 professional development hours achieved within the current and previous biennium (dual licensees must provide documentation of 20 professional development hours for each profession); or
	b. 	Successfully complete the principles and practice examination within one year immediately prior to application for reinstatement; or
	c. 	For an applicant for reinstatement who is an out-of-state resident, submit a statement from the resident state’s licensing board as documented evidence of compliance with the resident state’s mandatory continuing education requirement during the period that the licensee’s Iowa license was lapsed. The statement shall bear the seal of the licensing board. An applicant for reinstatement whose resident state has no mandatory continuing education requirement shall comply with the documented evidence requirement as outlined in this subrule and at 193C IAC 7.8(2).
	3.5(3) A lapsed license may not be reinstated to inactive status.
	3.5(4) To reinstate from inactive status to active status, the applicant for reinstatement must pay the fee required by 193C IAC 2.1(542B) and must provide documentation of 45 professional development hours achieved within the current and previous biennium (dual licensees must provide documentation of 30 professional development hours for each profession).
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code sections 542B.2, 542B.6, 542B.13, 542B.14, 542B.15, 542B.20, 542B.30, 272C.2 and 272C.3.
[Filed 10/24/01, Notice 8/8/01—published 11/14/01, effective 1/1/02]
[Filed 9/22/05, Notice 6/8/05—published 10/12/05, effective 11/16/05]
[Filed 2/20/08, Notice 10/24/07—published 3/12/08, effective 4/16/08]