APEGS » Apply for a Certificate of Authorization

Any partnership, association of persons (AOP), or corporation that engages in the practice of professional engineering or the practice of professional geoscience as its principal or customary function must first obtain a certificate of authorization (CofA).

This applies to a corporation in which one member is the sole shareholder, director, officer, and employee as well as applying to a large, publicly-traded corporation. An unincorporated sole proprietorship is not required to obtain a CofA.

This requirement applies equally to the traditional engineering or geoscience consulting firm (principal function) and to those firms that are not thought of as ‘engineering or geoscience’ firms but customarily engage in the practice of professional engineering or professional geoscience.

The holder of a CofA will be limited to providing services under the supervision of a licensee or licensees who hold an annual or temporary licence and in accordance with any limitations to the licences of those licensees.

Requirements

The following requirements must be met in order to obtain a Certificate of Authorization (C of A):

There must be at least one official representative who is registered with APEGS and whose duty it is to ensure that the Act and Bylaws are complied with.
To be an Official Representative for a C of A you must be an active member and licensed (if licence is waived for the year, it must be reactivated) as a P.Eng., P.Geo., Engineering Licensee, Geoscience Licensee or Temporary Licensee. A Member-in-Training cannot be an Official Representative for a C of A.
All Official Representatives must sign the application form.
An application fee of $325.00 (plus GST) must be paid.
An annual fee of $400.00 (plus GST) for corporations with five or less professional members, or $800.00 for corporations with 6 or more professional members will be pro-rated and must be paid.
For the purposes of determining the annual fee, the number of professional members includes all engineers or geoscientists taking responsibility for engineering or geoscience work, including those employed or contracted by the company, registered anywhere in Canada.
The application must include:
- the CofA Description of Professional Services and Payment form.
- a copy of the certificate of incorporation, amalgamation, amendment, etc.
  - The application may need to include a copy of the business name registration (if applicable).

Application Process

Complete the Application for Certificate of Authorization and CofA Description of Professional Services and Payment form and email via our Contact Us page.
Once the application has been approved, APEGS will invoice you for the pro-rated annual fee through the online profile.
Fees can be paid online. Please see fees for available payment options.

Engineer/Geoscientist Responsible List

An active member who has an active licence with APEGS can be listed as an Engineer and/or Geoscientist Responsible on the C of A. These licensed professionals can take responsibility for engineering or geoscience work for the company.

If your business is offering consulting engineering or geoscience services, then any professional members taking responsibility for those services must also obtain Permission to Consult.

Permission to Consult

An eligible member who wishes to offer consulting engineering or geoscience services, directly or indirectly, shall obtain Permission to Consult. Consulting services are engineering or geoscience services provided by a member to be used by a party other than the employer of that member. There is no application fee associated with Permission to Consult, but you must also maintain your annual membership and licence.