Ill. Admin. Code tit. 68, pt. 1480, app A - Significant Dates for the Administration of the Act and Rules

a) July 5, 1915. The State Board of Examiners of Structural Engineers Act became effective on July 5, 1915. Prior to that date, there was no regulation in Illinois governing the practice of structural engineering or requiring registration of engineers. Examinations were required for all applicants who could not prove that they had been working as a structural engineer in Illinois for the 10 years prior to the Act. The State Board of Examiners of Structural Engineers was to be composed of 5 members, one of whom shall be a professor in the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Illinois and the other four shall be structural engineers of recognized standing. Structural engineers were exempt from the requirements of the 1897 Architect Act. The Board was appointed by the Governor and was autonomous, received application fees, elected officers including treasurer and filed with Illinois Secretary of State any changes in the Act or Rules.

b) July 1, 1919. Original Act of 1915 repealed. State Board of Examiners of Structural Engineers and office of the secretary of board abolished. Powers, duties and responsibilities transferred to the Department of Registration and Education. The new Act was named the Illinois Structural Engineering Act. The practice of structural engineering was defined in the Act. The requirement to take the structural exam, given by the Department, was a four-year degree with a structural emphasis. The minimum age was 21 to take the examinations. Firms offering structural services must have a registered structural engineer as the principal. The Department of Registration and Education shall hold examinations. Licensure of structural engineers licensed in other states may be licensed in Illinois if, at the date of licensure, the requirements were substantially equal to those in force in Illinois at the date of original licensure.

c) July 10, 1935. Act amended adding the Committee comprised of 5 members, one of whom shall be a professor in the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Illinois and the other four shall be structural engineers of recognized standing. The Department shall not exercise powers or duties, except on the action and report in writing of the Committee.

d) 1941. Added to the definition of practice: Professional engineer not to practice structural engineering without registration as a structural engineer.

e) The administrative rules filed with the Secretary of State on December 23, 1960 stated:

1) Examinations - the written examination that was available in 1960 was the 16-hour state constructed structural examination. It consisted of four 4-hour examinations in the following divisions:

A) General engineering knowledge.

B) Reinforced concrete.

C) Structural steel.

D) Wood, masonry, foundations.

2) Allowed an oral examination with the Board that included blueprints or other reproductions of three or more major structures prepared by the applicant or under the applicant's immediate supervision over a ten year period subsequent to his graduation from an accredited engineering curriculum which included structural engineering.

3) Accredited College: A college of engineering whose standards and curricula, including structural engineering, are equivalent to and whose credits are acceptable by the University of Illinois, College of Engineering, will be accredited by the Department of Registration and Education.

4) Experience Requirements: A minimum of 6 years structural experience. Those who graduated from an accredited curriculum which included structural engineering shall be credited with two years of the required 6-year period. Those with a minimum of no less than 10 years of experience may request an oral examination.

f) All examinations were state constructed until Illinois accepted the NCEES examinations as standard on the following dates:

1) Fundamentals of Engineering - April 1984 - replaced.

2) Structural I - April 1984 - replaced combined Divisions B1, C1, D1.

3) Structural II - October 1987 - this was in two Parts: AM and PM: replaced combined Divisions B2, C2, D2.

g) Complaint Review Sub-Committee: 1993 Act established that the Board may create a complaint review sub-committee. Rules were adopted in 1994 establishing the Complaint Review Sub-Committee.

h) 1996 Renewals required either proof of:

1) having passed the Illinois administered NCEES Structural II PM examinations after October 1991, the Western States Structural Examination after 1993 or the NCEES Structural II PM examinations administered in another jurisdiction starting with the Spring 1993;

2) satisfactory completion of a Board approved professional seminar dealing with seismic design and involving a minimum of 16 contact hours; or

3) evidence that the licensee has taught a Board approved professional seminar dealing with seismic design that is part of an approved engineering curriculum. The same requirement was placed on all applicants applying by endorsement who were licensed in other jurisdictions.

i) August 2, 1996. Proof of completion of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a score of 550 and Test of Spoken English (TSE) with a score of 50 for all applicants applying who graduated from an engineering program outside the United States or its territories and whose first language is not English.

j) August 2, 1996. All applicants with a foreign baccalaureate degree are required to submit at their own expense a course-by-course evaluation.

k) 2003. The Western States Structural Examination was no longer offered. Some western states offered a state constructed Structural III examination. Illinois required passage of the SE I & II exams and has never recognized that state constructed SE III exam as meeting Illinois specific requirements.

l) 2004. The NCEES Structural II exam was changed from two 4-hour portions (AM and PM) to one 8-hour Structural II exam.

m) Beginning with the November 30, 2004 renewal and all renewals thereafter, renewal applicants shall complete 30 Continuing Education (CE) hours relevant to the practice of structural engineering during each prerenewal period, a maximum of 10 may be earned as a self-administered course.

n) Restoration requires completion of the CE as stated in Section 1480.185 in addition to all other restoration requirements.

o) October 30, 2006. Engineering Credentials Evaluation International (ECEI) ceased evaluating credentials. The Board approved the Center for Professional Engineering Credentials (CPEES) as the only engineering evaluation service.

p) August 6, 2009. CPEES changed its name to NCEES Credentials Evaluations service.

q) In March of 2010, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL and the Test of Spoken English (TSE) ceased to be offered as the TOEFL-iBT (Internet Based Test) was established and superseded this exam. While in effect, the TOEFL and TSE requirements were a minimum score of 550 or 213 for the computer-based test and the TSE was a minimum score of 50.

r) 2011. NCEES no longer offered the SE I & II exams. These were replaced by the 16-hour structural examination which consists of two 8-hour components: The Vertical Forces (gravity/other) and Incidental Lateral component, and the Lateral Forces (wind/earthquake) component. An applicant must receive acceptable results on both 8-hour components to pass the structural examination. Prior to the April 2011 exam administration, the examination for licensure as a structural engineer shall be divided into 3 parts. Those 3 parts are: (1) Fundamentals of Engineering; (2) Structural I Examination; and (3) Structural II Examination.

1) Fundamentals of Engineering. This examination shall consist of problems or other examining techniques designed to evaluate the applicant's knowledge of the basic and engineering sciences and related subjects normally considered as the fundamentals of engineering.

2) Structural I Examination. This examination shall be 8 hours in duration and shall consist of problems or other examining techniques relating to designs in or to the practice of structural engineering as described in Section 5 of the Act.

3) Structural II Examination. This examination shall be 8 hours in duration and shall consist of problems or other examining techniques relating to designs in structural engineering, including seismic design. These problems may include, but not be limited to, bridges, buildings, foundations, and seismic and lateral forces.

4) No credit will be accepted for passing either the Structural I or the Structural II examination if both the examinations were not passed prior to the April 2011 examination administration.

s) January 1, 2014. NCEES changed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam from a paper and pencil examination to a Computer Based Test (CBT) which became available on demand up to three times a year, no more than once per quarter.

Notes

Ill. Admin. Code tit. 68, pt. 1480, app A

Added at 47 Ill. Reg. 946, effective 1/5/2023