Apply to be a Professional Licensee Geoscience in BC

The professional licensee geoscience (P.L.Geo.) designation is for individuals who are qualified to practise in a defined authorized area of reserved geoscience practice at a professional level.

You can apply for a professional licensee geoscience designation if you:

• Have academic qualifications other than a university degree in geoscience;
• Have a minimum of eight years of work experience in a defined authorized area of reserved geoscience practice; and
• Wish to take professional responsibility for that work.

You must meet the following eligibility criteria, which are described in detail below:

• Academic and experience requirements
• Legal and ethical requirements
• English language competency
• Good character requirement

Academic and Experience Requirements

Applicants for the P.L.Geo. must meet the following academic and experience requirements:

• A science degree or a diploma in geoscience technology (or the equivalent academic background that may include the completion of assigned examinations)
• At least eight years of geoscience work experience, which includes:
  • Evidence that you meet the Canadian Work-Environment Experience Competencies 
  • The most recent two years being under the supervision of a professional geoscientist registered within the authorized area of reserved practice that you are applying to work in

You may be able to apply up to four years of your post-secondary education towards the eight-year experience requirement.

Legal and Ethical Requirements

You can meet our legal and ethical requirements by:

• Successfully writing the National Professional Practice Examination; and
• Completing the Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice in BC Online Seminar.

English Language Competency

We assess your English language competency by reviewing:

• Your oral, written, and reading and comprehension skills in the communication category of the Competency Assessment;
• The comments of your referees/validators; and
• The comments of interviewers (if an interview is required).

We may ask you to submit the results of an approved English language test (IELTS, CAEL, or Duolingo English Test) after reviewing your submission to the competency assessment system. Do not register for an English language test or submit the results of a test unless we specifically ask you to.

See our guide on the Assessment of English Language Competence for more information.

Good Character Requirement

All applicants must show that they are of good character and good repute. Engineers and Geoscientists BC will review the information provided in your application to ensure you meet these standards. See Good Character Requirement and Registration Hearings for more information.

How to Apply

Apply for your P.L.Geo. registration through our online portal.

Apply for Registration

Required Documents

You will need to provide the following documents to apply for your P.L.Geo.:

• A completed online application
• Certified copies of two pieces of government-issued identification (ID). Both pieces of ID must contain your full legal name and be valid (i.e., not expired) at the time of registration. At least one piece of ID must contain your photo. Please refer to the Guideline on Certified Identification Documents for a list of acceptable certifying officials and the steps for ID certification. Please upload the certified copies of the two pieces of ID as a single PDF on the application dashboard.
• Official academic transcripts sent directly to Engineers and Geoscientists BC from your post-secondary institution(s) You can use our transcript request letter to ask the institution(s) to send your transcripts to us.
• A description of your proposed authorized area of Reserved Practice. Please refer to the Guide to Developing an Area of Reserved Practice for guidance.
• A list of projects related to your proposed authorized area of reserved practice. This requirement does not apply if you are a faculty member at a university applying for a standard authorized area of reserved practice.

Reporting Your Work Experience 

You will share details of your work experience using the Competency Assessment System. You will: 

• Complete the Employment History section;
• Include detailed project descriptions in the field for "Major Responsibility and Projects”; and 
• Include competency examples within your proposed area of reserved practice. 

Fees

See our Fees page to find out the current application fees and the fees associated with the required National Professional Practice Examination and Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice in BC Online Seminar.

Application Review

We will review your application once we have received all your required documents. Due to the volume of applications we receive, it may take approximately six months for us to review your application.

Check Your Application Status

If we approve your application, we will send you a notification email along with a seal and your certificate of registration.

For further inquiries, please contact us at [email protected] or 604.412.4856.