In March of this year, the Louisiana Engineering and Land Surveying Board issued a declaratory order restricting the use of the title “Structural Engineer” in response to an inquiry by a licensee. Based on wording in the current state law, the Board’s stated position is that “only a professional engineer listed by the Board in the discipline of structural engineering is permitted to refer to himself/herself as a “Structural Engineer” or “S.E.” or to otherwise use the designation “Structural Engineer” or “S.E.” in reference to himself/herself in Louisiana.” However, this position of the Board does not restrict the practice of structural engineering. The declaratory order goes on to state that “a professional engineer licensed by the Board is permitted to describe his/her structural engineering expertise or experience if that is an area of his/her competence (e.g., “expert in structural engineering”, “years of structural engineering experience” or some other similar descriptor), even if he/she is not listed by the Board in the discipline of structural engineering.” The full text of the declaratory order can be found on the Louisiana Engineering and Land Surveying Board’s website at http://www.lapels.com/docs/Laws_and_rules/Ruling2014-01.pdf.
The current practice of the Louisiana Engineering and Land Surveying Board is to designate the discipline of an individual Professional Engineer based on the NCEES examination taken and passed by the individual. Therefore, to be able to call oneself a “Structural Engineer” in the State of Louisiana, the individual must take and pass the NCEES Structural Engineering examination. For all intents and purposes, the Louisiana Engineering and Land Surveying Board has created the equivalent of a title act for Structural Engineers. The State of Louisiana has joined the ranks of “S.E.” states.