We provide resources to assist our stakeholders in understanding our regulatory role and how we protect the public interest.
As part of its regulatory mandate, PEO establishes, maintains and develops: standards of knowledge and skill; standards of practice for the profession; standards of professional ethics; and promotes public awareness of its role. The following are resources to assist PEO stakeholders--licence holders, applicants, and the public--in understanding their roles and responsibilities and the regulator’s work protecting the public interest.
Resources
Ontario professional engineers are part of a community of more than 87,500 PEO licence and certificate holders committed to enhancing the quality of life, safety and well-being in the province.
As Ontario’s engineering regulator, PEO relies heavily on its volunteers. More than 1,000 professional engineers, engineering interns and non-engineers volunteer their time each year on behalf of the association through their participation.
PEO's mandate, as described in the Professional Engineers Act, is to ensure that the public is protected and that individuals and companies providing engineering services uphold a strict code of professional ethics and conduct.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you applied before PEO adopted its six-month licensing process on May 15, 2023, we will consider your request to expedite your application if you provide us with a letter signed by your employer or potential employer indicating the following:
1. The P.Eng. designation is necessary for you to perform your work duties; or
2. The P.Eng. designation is a condition of a job offer and a limiting factor for hiring.
Candidates can use up to 12 months of pre-graduation experience towards the minimum 48-month requirement. This experience may be acquired after the candidate has completed the first half of the classroom component of the degree or equivalent educational qualifications and does not pre-date the halfway mark. Candidates can include this pre-graduation experience in the experience summary but must select the pre-graduation option. NOTE: The experience summary information helps determine if you have the minimum quantitative requirement of 48 months of engineering experience for licensure.
The competency-based assessment (CBA) framework does not credit post-graduate studies toward work experience. However, applicants can include post-graduate or industry-sponsored research work experience under the CBA if they think it addresses one or more competencies and have a qualified validator to validate that work.
Candidates must assign a new validator for the competencies assigned to the validator who declined.
No, PEO no longer requires Canadian experience. However, any Canadian experience submitted to satisfy the experience requirements must have a P.Eng. validator. This applies to all applicants, regardless of when they applied.
Although it is ideal, validators can be from different places of employment. It should suffice if validators are sufficiently familiar with the candidate’s engineering work experience and can confidently rate the assigned competencies.
Ideally, yes. However, they may be eligible if they can attest to your competencies and are familiar with your work. PEO reserves the right to determine the eligibility of validators.
Yes, validators sufficiently familiar with the candidate’s work and can confidently rate the competencies are eligible.
Validation assists PEO in assessing whether the licensing requirements set out in the Professional Engineers Act and the regulations have been satisfied. Validation does not constitute an assessment of the applicant’s work experience in Canada or internationally—it simply confirms that it was acquired.
A validator assesses and rates the applicant’s work experience. Ideally, a validator should have direct, first-hand knowledge of the applicant’s work, have provided suitable professional supervision throughout the validated work period, and taken technical responsibility for the applicant’s work. The validator may have a title other than supervisor and can be a manager, mentor, client or colleague.