{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-59-59-475.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 59, § 59-475.2","heading":"Definitions","body":"As used in this act:\n\n1. \"Professional Engineer\" or \"P.E.\" means a person who is\n\nqualified to practice engineering by reason of engineering\n\neducation, training, experience, and examination in the application\n\nof engineering principles and the interpretation of engineering data\n\nand is qualified, after meeting the requirements of this act and the\n\nregulations issued by the Board pursuant thereto, to be duly\n\nlicensed as a professional engineer by the Board and engage in the\n\npractice of engineering;\n\n2. \"Professional Structural Engineer\", \"P.E., S.E.\" or \"S.E.\"\n\nmeans an individual who has been duly licensed as a professional\n\nengineer by the Board, and who has been further authorized by the\n\nBoard to use the title Professional Structural Engineer, P.E. S.E.,\n\nor S.E., and perform structural engineering analysis and design\n\nservices for significant structures based upon education, experience\n\nand examinations as described in Section 475.12c of this title. For\n\npurposes of this definition, the term \"significant structures\" shall\n\nnot include any structure that is a residential structure;\n\n3. \"Engineer Intern\" or \"E.I.\" means a person who complies with\n\nthe requirement for education and has passed an examination in the\n\nfundamental engineering subjects, as provided in this act and the\n\nregulations issued by the Board pursuant thereto;\n\n4. \"Practice of engineering\" means any service or creative work\n\nrequiring engineering education, training and experience in the\n\napplication of engineering principles and the interpretation of\n\nengineering data to engineering activities, including the\n\nengineering design of buildings, structures, products, machines,\n\nprocesses, and systems, that potentially impact the life, health,\n\nproperty and welfare of the public. The services may include, but\n\nare not limited to, providing planning, studies, designs, design\n\ncoordination, drawings, specifications, and other technical\n\nsubmissions; engineering reports or material developed in connection\n\nwith expert witness testimony or anticipated testimony;\n\ncommissioning of engineered systems; and performing surveying that\n\nis incidental to the practice of engineering and reviewing\n\nconstruction or other design products for the purposes of monitoring\n\ncompliance with drawings and specifications related to engineered\n\nworks. Surveying incidental to the practice of engineering excludes\n\nthe surveying of real property for the establishment or\n\ndetermination of land boundaries, rights-of-way, easements, and the\n\ndependent or independent surveys or resurveys of the United States\n\nPublic Land Survey System and is limited to conducting field\n\nmeasurements to supplement the documentation of existing conditions.\n\nUnless a Professional Surveyor has provided the professional\n\nengineer with geocentric/geodetic control coordinates which meet the\n\naccuracy standards set forth in OAC 245:15-13-2, the professional\n\nengineer shall only use a coordinate system based on assumed values\n\nfor the project, and so state on the documents. These services or\n\nwork, either public or private, may be performed in connection with\n\nany utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment,\n\nprocesses, work systems, projects, communication systems,\n\ntransportation systems and industrial or consumer products or\n\nequipment of a mechanical, electrical, chemical, environmental,\n\nhydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, control system or communications\n\nnature, insofar as they involve safeguarding life, health or\n\nproperty, and including such other professional services as may be\n\nnecessary to the design coordination of a multidiscipline work,\n\nplanning, progress and completion of any engineering services.\n\nDesign coordination includes the review and coordination of\n\ntechnical submissions prepared by others, including the work of\n\nother professionals working with or under the direction of an\nife, health or\n\nproperty, and including such other professional services as may be\n\nnecessary to the design coordination of a multidiscipline work,\n\nplanning, progress and completion of any engineering services.\n\nDesign coordination includes the review and coordination of\n\ntechnical submissions prepared by others, including the work of\n\nother professionals working with or under the direction of an\n\nengineer, with professional regard for the ability of each\n\nprofessional involved in a multidisciplinary effort.\n\na. An engineer is responsible for the engineering plans\n\nand specifications of a building. The term\n\n\"engineering plans and specifications\" means:\n\n(1) plans for a structural, mechanical, plumbing,\n\nelectrical, low voltage fire suppression,\n\nutilities, or geotechnical system in a building,\n\n(2) specification of structural elements and\n\nconnections of a building,\n\n(3) evaluation of structural members before the\n\naddition of roof-mounted equipment or a heavier\n\nroof covering,\n\n(4) design of changes in roof pitch by the addition\n\nof structural members and diaphragm,\n\n(5) repair of damaged structural systems including,\n\nbut not limited to, roof structural members and\n\ndiaphragm,\n\n(6) hydrologic management calculations and design of\n\nsurface water control and detention necessary for\n\ncompliance with ordinances and regulations,\n\n(7) design of changes in roof pitch by the addition\n\nof structural framing members,\n\n(8) evaluation and repair of damaged roof structural\n\nframing,\n\n(9) design of electrical and signal and control\n\nsystems,\n\n(10) shop drawings by manufacturers or fabricators of\n\nmaterials and products to be used in the building\n\nfeatures designed by the engineer, and\n\n(11) specifications listing the nature and quality of\n\nmaterials and products for construction of\n\nfeatures of the building elements or systems\n\ndesigned by an engineer.\n\nb. The preparation of engineering plans and\n\nspecifications for the following tasks is within the\n\nscope of the practice of engineering:\n\n(1) site plans depicting the location and orientation\n\nof a building on the site based on:\n\n(a) a determination of the relationship of the\n\nintended use with the environment,\n\ntopography, vegetation, climate, and\n\ngeographic aspects,\n\n(b) the legal aspects of site development,\n\nincluding setback requirements, zoning, and\n\nother legal restrictions, and\n\n(c) surface drainage,\n\n(2) the depiction of the building systems, including\n\nstructural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing\n\nsystems, in:\n\n(a) plan views,\n\n(b) cross-sections depicting building components\n\nfrom a hypothetical cut line through a\n\nbuilding, and\n\n(c) the design of details of components and\n\nassemblies, including any part of a building\n\nexposed to water infiltration or fire-spread\n\nconsiderations,\n\n(3) life safety plans and sheets, including\n\naccessibility ramps and related code analyses,\n\n(4) roof plans and details depicting the design of\n\nroof system materials, components, drainage,\n\nslopes, and directions and location of roof\n\naccessories and equipment not involving\n\nstructural engineering calculations.\n\nc. The following activities may be performed by an\n\nengineer:\n\n(1) programming for construction projects, including:\n\n(a) identification of economic, legal, and\n\nnatural constraints, and\nplans and details depicting the design of\n\nroof system materials, components, drainage,\n\nslopes, and directions and location of roof\n\naccessories and equipment not involving\n\nstructural engineering calculations.\n\nc. The following activities may be performed by an\n\nengineer:\n\n(1) programming for construction projects, including:\n\n(a) identification of economic, legal, and\n\nnatural constraints, and\n\n(b) determination of the scope of functional\n\nelements,\n\n(2) recommending and overseeing appropriate\n\nconstruction project delivery systems,\n\n(3) consulting with regard to investigating, and\n\nanalyzing the design, form, materials, and\n\nconstruction technology used for the\n\nconstruction, enlargement, or alteration of a\n\nbuilding or its environment, and\n\n(4) providing expert opinion and testimony with\n\nrespect to issues within the responsibility of\n\nthe engineer.\n\nd. A person or entity shall be construed to practice or\n\noffer to practice engineering, within the meaning and\n\nintent of this act who does any of the following:\n\npractices any branch of the profession of engineering;\n\nby verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card\n\nor in any other way represents such person to be a\n\nprofessional engineer or through the use of some other\n\ntitle implies that any person is a professional\n\nengineer or is licensed or qualified under this act;\n\nor who represents qualifications or ability to perform\n\nor who does practice engineering;\n\n5. \"Professional Surveyor\", \"P.L.S.\", or \"P.S.\" means a person\n\nwho is qualified to practice surveying by reason of surveying\n\neducation training, experience, and examination in the application\n\nof surveying principles and the interpretation of surveying data and\n\nhas been duly licensed as a professional surveyor pursuant to this\n\nact and the regulations issued by the Board pursuant thereto;\n\n6. \"Surveyor Intern\" or \"L.I.\" means a person who complies with\n\nthe requirement for education and has passed an examination in the\n\nfundamental surveying subjects, as provided in this act and\n\nregulations issued by the Board pursuant thereto;\n\n7. a. \"Practice of surveying\" means any authoritative\n\nservice or work performed to a stated accuracy, the\n\nadequate performance of which involves the application\n\nof special knowledge of the principles of mathematics,\n\nmethods of measurement, and the law for the\n\ndetermination and preservation of boundaries.\n\n\"Practice of surveying\" includes, without limitation:\n\n(1) restoration and rehabilitation of corners and\n\nboundaries in the United States Public Land\n\nSurvey System or the subdivision thereof,\n\n(2) obtaining and evaluating evidence for the\n\naccurate determination of boundaries,\n\n(3) monumenting the subdivision of land parcels into\n\nsmaller parcels and the preparation of the\n\ndescriptions in connection therewith,\n\n(4) measuring and platting underground mine workings,\n\n(5) creation, preparation or modification of\n\nelectronic or computerized data including\n\nportions of geographic information systems and\n\nland information systems, relative to the\n\nperformance of the practice of surveying,\n\n(6) establishment, restoration, and rehabilitation of\n\nsurvey monuments and bench marks,\n\n(7) preparation of survey plats, condominium plats,\n\nmonument records, survey reports, and site plans\n\nas an ancillary service to surveying work, such\n\nas noting proposed site improvements,\n\n(8) surveying, monumenting, and platting of\n\neasements, and rights-of-way,\n\n(9) measuring, locating, or establishing lines,\n\nangles, elevations, natural and man-made features\n\nin the air, on the surface of the earth,\n\nutilities and other structures within underground\n\nworkings, and on the beds of bodies of water, the\n\nconfiguration or contour of the earth's surface,\n\nor the position of fixed objects on the earth's\n\nsurface,\n\n(10) geodetic surveying,\ns,\n\nangles, elevations, natural and man-made features\n\nin the air, on the surface of the earth,\n\nutilities and other structures within underground\n\nworkings, and on the beds of bodies of water, the\n\nconfiguration or contour of the earth's surface,\n\nor the position of fixed objects on the earth's\n\nsurface,\n\n(10) geodetic surveying,\n\n(11) any other activities incidental to and necessary\n\nfor the adequate performance of the services\n\ndescribed in this paragraph,\n\n(12) surveying reports or like material developed in\n\nconnection with expert witness testimony or\n\nanticipated testimony, and\n\n(13) locating or laying out alignments, positions, or\n\nelevations for the construction of fixed works\n\nfor public projects.\n\nb. A person or entity shall be construed to practice or\n\noffer to practice surveying, within the meaning and\n\nintent of this act, who does any one of the following:\n\npractices any branch of the profession of surveying;\n\nby verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card\n\nor in any other way represents such person to be a\n\nprofessional surveyor or through the use of some other\n\ntitle implies that such person or entity is a\n\nprofessional surveyor or that such person is licensed\n\nor qualified under this act; represents qualifications\n\nor ability to perform; or who does practice surveying;\n\n8. \"Board\" means the State Board of Licensure for Professional\n\nEngineers and Surveyors;\n\n9. \"Responsible charge\" means direct control and personal\n\nsupervision of engineering or surveying work;\n\n10. \"Rules of professional conduct for professional engineers\n\nand professional surveyors\" means those rules promulgated by the\n\nBoard;\n\n11. \"Firm\" means any form of business or entity, other than an\n\nindividual operating as a sole proprietorship under his or her name;\n\n12. \"Direct control\" and \"personal supervision\", whether used\n\nseparately or together, mean active and personal management of the\n\nfirm's personnel and practice to maintain charge of, and concurrent\n\ndirection over, engineering or surveying decisions and the\n\ninstruments of professional services to which the licensee affixes\n\nthe seal, signature, and date;\n\n13. \"Core curriculum\" means the Board-approved surveying\n\ncourses adopted by Board policy, developed to ensure that\n\nprofessional surveyor applicants meet the minimum educational\n\nrequirements for licensing;\n\n14. \"Engineering-related science degree\" means a bachelor's\n\ndegree from an ETAC/ABET accredited engineering technology program\n\nof four (4) years or more. A degree of four (4) years or more in\n\nmathematical, physical or engineering sciences may be considered as\n\nan engineering-related science degree if it was obtained from a\n\nBoard-approved program, and shall include a minimum of eight (8)\n\nhours of mathematics beyond trigonometry, such as calculus and\n\ndifferential equations, and twenty (20) hours of engineering\n\nsciences or related sciences, including physics, such as mechanics,\n\nfluid mechanics, statics, dynamics, thermodynamics, electrical and\n\nelectronic circuits, materials science, transport phenomena,\n\ncomputer engineering, etc. Non-accredited engineering degree\n\nprograms shall meet the above requirements to be considered an\n\nengineering-related science degree;\n\n15. \"Authoritative\" means being presented as trustworthy,\n\ncompetent, and in accordance with the rules and statutes governing\n\nthe practice of engineering and surveying, codes, ordinances, and\n\nother recognized standards when used to describe products,\n\nprocesses, applications or data derived from the practice of\n\nengineering or surveying;\n\n16. \"Disciplinary action\" means any final written decision or\n\nsettlement taken against an individual or firm by a licensing board\n\nbased upon a violation of the Board's laws and rules unless\n\notherwise stated in the decision or settlement. Disciplinary\nher recognized standards when used to describe products,\n\nprocesses, applications or data derived from the practice of\n\nengineering or surveying;\n\n16. \"Disciplinary action\" means any final written decision or\n\nsettlement taken against an individual or firm by a licensing board\n\nbased upon a violation of the Board's laws and rules unless\n\notherwise stated in the decision or settlement. Disciplinary\n\nactions may include reprimands; sanctions; administrative fines; the\n\nBoard's refusal to issue, restore, or renew a license; settlement\n\nagreements or consent orders; probation; suspension; revocation;\n\npractice restriction, surrendering, relinquishing, or agreeing not\n\nto renew a license as part of an agreement or board order; or any\n\ncombination thereof;\n\n17. \"Building\" means any structure used, or intended to be\n\nused, to support, shelter, or enclose any use or occupancy;\n\n18. \"Plans\" means technical documents issued by the licensed\n\nprofessionals intended to meet all current and applicable codes as\n\nadopted by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission, other\n\nstatutory codes and applicable federal codes and which shall be\n\nsubmitted to all required building code and/or permit offices\n\nrequired by the State of Oklahoma, county, municipal, and/or federal\n\ngovernment;\n\n19. a. \"Significant structure\" means buildings and other\n\nstructures that represent a substantial hazard to\n\nhuman life in the event of failure or are designated\n\nas essential facilities, including but not limited to:\n\n(1) buildings and other structures whose primary\n\noccupancy is public assembly with an occupant\n\nload greater than three hundred (300),\n\n(2) elementary schools, secondary schools, or day\n\ncare facilities with an occupant load greater\n\nthan fifty (50),\n\n(3) adult education facilities, such as colleges and\n\nuniversities, with an occupant load greater than\n\nfive hundred (500),\n\n(4) hospitals, nursing homes, mental hospitals, and\n\ndetoxification facilities with an occupant load\n\nof fifty (50) or more resident care recipients\n\nand/or surgery or emergency treatment facilities,\n\n(5) prisons, jails, reformatories, detention centers,\n\nand correctional centers,\n\n(6) any building or other structure with an occupant\n\nload greater than five thousand (5,000),\n\n(7) primary power-generating structures above fifty\n\n(50) kilowatts,\n\n(8) structures at water treatment facilities for\n\npotable water and wastewater treatment facilities\n\nserving more than five thousand (5,000) people,\n\n(9) structures for public utility facilities\n\ncontaining quantities of toxic or explosive\n\nmaterials that are sufficient to pose a threat to\n\nthe public if released,\n\n(10) fire, rescue, ambulance, and police stations and\n\nemergency vehicle garages,\n\n(11) designated tornado, earthquake, or other\n\nnonresidential emergency shelters,\n\n(12) designated emergency preparedness,\n\ncommunications, and operations centers and other\n\nfacilities required for emergency response,\n\n(13) aviation control towers, air traffic control\n\ncenters, and emergency aircraft hangars,\n\n(14) buildings and other structures having critical\n\nnational defense functions,\n\n(15) elevated water storage structures, and\n\n(16) buildings and other structures with high lateral\n\nloadings including:\n\n(a) those subjected to ultimate design three-\n\nsecond wind gust speeds equaling or\n\nexceeding wind speeds corresponding to\n\napproximately a three percent (3%)\n\nprobability of exceedance in fifty (50)\n\nyears, or\ns and other structures having critical\n\nnational defense functions,\n\n(15) elevated water storage structures, and\n\n(16) buildings and other structures with high lateral\n\nloadings including:\n\n(a) those subjected to ultimate design three-\n\nsecond wind gust speeds equaling or\n\nexceeding wind speeds corresponding to\n\napproximately a three percent (3%)\n\nprobability of exceedance in fifty (50)\n\nyears, or\n\n(b) those that are in Seismic Design Category D\n\nand above.\n\nb. Significant structures shall exclude bridges and geo-\n\nstructures. As defined in this act, \"bridges\" shall\n\nnot include elevated structures linking buildings.\n\n\"Geo-structures\" shall mean engineered structures that\n\nare loaded by the earth or whose resistance is derived\n\nfrom the earth.\n\nc. A project defined as a significant structure shall be\n\nrequired to have an Engineer of Record who is a\n\nlicensed Professional Structural Engineer;\n\n20. \"Engineer of Record\" means the responsible professional\n\nengineer for design and construction phases of a project who signs\n\nand seals drawings, reports, or documents for the project or a\n\nportion of the project;\n\n21. \"Technical submissions\" means the documents necessary to\n\ndemonstrate compliance with applicable regulatory requirements\n\nand/or to fabricate or construct a project including, but not\n\nlimited to, drawings, surveys, plats, digital models,\n\nspecifications, performance criteria, and installation requirements;\n\nand\n\n22. \"Person\" means an individual or firm.","path":["OK Code","Title 59"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os59.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"066282b44d7fa13ae2eb10bf37c1d6d5a2f73b425bd3c353a781fcba405f3a20","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-59-59-475.19","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-59-59-475.20"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}