In the United States, engineers and surveyors are licensed at the state and territory level. U.S. licensure began in 1891 when California passed legislation to regulate surveying. Engineering followed in 1907 when Wyoming began requiring licensure for both engineers and surveyors. As more states enacted similar legislation over the next decade, U.S. licensing boards began to see a need for a national council to help improve uniformity of laws and to promote mobility of licensure throughout the country. The nonprofit organization now known NCEES was created in 1920 for these reasons.
The vision of NCEES is to provide leadership in professional licensure of engineers and surveyors through excellence in uniform laws, licensing standards, and professional ethics in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public and to shape the future of professional licensure.
The mission of NCEES is to advance licensure for engineers and surveyors in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
The subsequent pages detail the key developments in licensure and progress in advancing licensure and mobility over the past 100 years.
