Finally, it was time to apply to the Florida Board of Professional Engineers (FBPE) to become a PE. My journey so far had taken nearly 9 months. I was ready to say the least.
Every step of my journey thus far had been fully electronic. I filled out information on various websites to submit electronically and received all communications via email. This step was different. The Florida Board of Professional Engineers (FBPE) application process still used snail-mail. I printed out a paper application and supporting documentation, placed it in an envelope with a check, applied a stamp, and mailed it away. It felt like 1985. I did that and waited anxiously.
13 days later, I received an email from a strange address. The name was “Laserfiche Notification” and the title was “Application Received by FBPE”. It read,
Your 0901 1031 – P.E. NCEES Endorsement application was received by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers. Please be sure to read the Common Questions section on our website located at the link below to familiarize yourself with the application process and requirements.
https://fbpe.org/licensure/licensure-process/ professional-engineers/
Throughout this application process, you will receive automated email updates on your application. You will receive your first status update within 30 days. Applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received. Please refrain from contacting your analyst during this time.
28 days later another email arrived from the same address titled, “Incomplete Notice – 0901 1031 – P.E. NCEES Endorsement”. It read,
This is notification that your Florida 0901 1031 – P.E. NCEES Endorsement application is INCOMPLETE for the following reason(s):
LISTED DIPLOMA – PRACTICING ENGINEER
•VERIFIED ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE – FBPE requires 4 years of full-time engineering experience that is verified by supervising U.S. licensed engineers -or- by supervising qualified practicing engineers. FBPE does NOT accept self-verified experience and does NOT accept experience verified by colleagues, HR/administration, peers, co-workers, clients, or friends. Experience must be verified by licensed engineers that are in a supervisory or managerial role.
—[Supervisor] stated they are not a licensed engineer but listed DEGREE information on the employment verification. As a supervising qualifying practicing engineer, have [Supervisor] EMAIL a copy of their engineering degree diploma(s) directly to [email], along with a note that it is for your application. Additionally, if the degree is in a foreign language, an official translation will be necessary with the original degree.
***Otherwise, you need a supervising engineer to verify this experience within your NCEES Record. Once the new experience verification is completed in your NCEES Record, please EMAIL [email] so we can pull the new employment verification.
***Emails of requested documents are NOT accepted unless otherwise stated above. Incomplete application will be denied after 1 year.***
Crap! I forwarded this email to my supervisor. He dug up his diplomas, scanned them, and sent them that very evening to the email address provided. He really helped me out. If you ever read this, thank you so much Jeff. You are the best! I know that I owe you for this one.
8 days later another email arrived from the same address titled, “Application Status”. It read,
Your 0901 1031 – P.E. NCEES Endorsement application has been deemed administratively complete and has been sent to the FBPE Executive Director for review.
Pursuant to Rule 61G15-37.001(9), F.A.C., every application for a license shall be approved or denied within 90 days after receipt of a completed application. However, the Executive Director reviews applications in the order in which they are received and will typically review the application for approval within 6-8 weeks.
We appreciate your cooperation in limiting the number of application status checks during this time.
Please visit myfloridalicense.com to check your new status and verify that your name and address are correct.
You can correct your name or address using the Change Contact Information form on our website.
I was happy and disappointed. I expected approval at this point. I didn’t realize that analyst approval was just another step in the process. Oh well, it was good news anyway. More waiting…
25 days later another email arrived from the same address titled, “Application Approval”. It read,
The Board has approved your 0901 1031 – P.E. NCEES Endorsement application.
You will be notified of your license number via email within 14 business days.
I was very excited as I read this short message. I immediately went to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation(DBPR) site… and found that nothing had been updated. The status still read “Application In Process”. More waiting…
7 days later another email arrived from the same address titled, “Congratulations!” It read,
Congratulations, your 0901 1031 – P.E. NCEES Endorsement has been approved and certified in the State of Florida.
***REMINDER***
ALL PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER LICENSES WILL EXPIRE 2/28/2027. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO RENEW YOUR LICENSE PRIOR TO ITS EXPIRATION IN ORDER TO CONTINUE PRACTICING ENGINEERING IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA.
To print your PE license, visit myfloridalicense.com, select “My Account” from the menu at the upper right, then select “Create My Account.” Link your license to your account by entering your license number and the last four digits of your SSN. Then the license will be listed on the right side of the main menu. Select the license, then under “Functions” select “Print License Certificate” and follow the prompts. You can find step-by-step instructions on FBPE’s website.
Wall certificates will be mailed within 4-6 weeks.
This is the one that I was eager to receive! The DBPR site was updated. It was official! The application processing was over. In total, it took 81 days.