No P.Eng. at Your Company? How to Get Your CBA Experience Validated

Yes, you can get your experience validated even if nobody at your employer holds a P.Eng. You need licensed people outside your company who saw your work first-hand: a client's engineer, the consultant who reviewed or sealed your work, an engineer at a partner firm, or a former colleague. How many you need, and when they had to be licensed, depends on your regulator.

As of September 2026, PEO is the strictest: every example of work done in Canada needs a validator who was a P.Eng. licensed in Canada when the work was done. Five regulators need two licensed validators out of four, while APEGA, EGBC and APEGNB set no fixed licensed number.

What each regulator requires

PEO (Ontario)

PEO's minimum is one validator, with exactly one per work example, and one person may validate all 34 examples. For work done in Canada, the validator must have been licensed as a P.Eng. in Canada, and eligible to practise, at the time the work was carried out (CBA Applicant Guide, August 2026). A P.Eng. from any Canadian province or territory counts; a US PE does not.

PEO accepts managers, mentors, clients and colleagues from other workplaces, and a current supervisor may validate an example from an earlier job if they know your skill level. Family members are typically not acceptable. See who can validate your PEO CBA.

APEGS (Saskatchewan)

APEGS needs at least four validators, at least two of them licensed in Canada or equivalent, covering at least four years. Guide version 23 (November 21, 2025) adds that every competency based on Canadian experience needs a licensed professional who took responsibility for the work and was licensed when it took place.

If your competency validator is not licensed, a Professional Reference Validator (PRV) must confirm they took responsibility for that period. A PRV is a licensed P.Eng. or P.Geo. in Canada, or equivalent, who worked with you in at least one employment period. APEGS's FAQ covers the common case: if the P.Eng. who took responsibility was not your supervisor, use your supervisor as the competency validator and that P.Eng. as a PRV. Version 23 also removed the discretion to accept validators who don't meet these rules.

EGBC (British Columbia)

EGBC needs at least four validators covering at least four years, one of them your supervisor in the same or a related discipline. Ideally all are professional engineers or equivalent, but there is no licensed minimum. You can use non-licensed validators if you upload a note explaining why, and EGBC may ask them for a résumé. A non-P.Eng. validating a Canadian-environment competency should be a direct supervisor in that area.

EGBC's registration FAQ lists options when no P.Eng. can supervise you: your employer can engage a BC registrant, you can work with registrants at affiliated companies or on a secondment, or you can ask registrants who know your work to act as referees. Policy 4.D (January 30, 2026) says reserved-practice experience generally needs direct supervision by a registrant or equivalent, and when no validator can be obtained, for example without company support, an interview may be needed.

APEGA (Alberta), NAPEG and Engineers Yukon

APEGA needs at least three validators, each validating 1 to 20 competencies. For technical (Category 1) competencies based on work in Canada, it expects a P.Eng. from a Canadian regulator, though a professional licensee, professional technologist, P.Geo. or US PE may be accepted within their scope. For technical work outside Canada, a "practitioner" (engineering degree plus four years of engineering experience) qualifies, and for Categories 2 to 6 a P.Eng. or practitioner is preferred but not required. Anyone other than a Canadian P.Eng. who validates a Category 1 competency sends APEGA a résumé. Validators can be a manager, supervisor, mentor, colleague or client who supervised and reviewed the work. NAPEG and Engineers Yukon applicants complete APEGA's CBA under the same rules.

APEGNB (New Brunswick)

APEGNB needs at least four validators, one of them your supervisor, and publishes no licensed minimum. For Canadian examples it expects a P.Eng., P.Geo. or limited licence holder registered during that period. A non-licensed validator must explain how they practise in their field and provide a CV. With no professional to supervise you, APEGNB suggests your employer hire a New Brunswick P.Eng., or that you use affiliated or client professionals.

PEGNL (Newfoundland and Labrador)

PEGNL asks for at least four validators, including a direct supervisor and at least two P.Eng. or P.Geo. validators or equivalent. Its manual lets a PEGNL-approved mentor act as a validator when you have no P.Eng. supervisor, so ask about a mentor early.

EGM, Engineers Nova Scotia and Engineers PEI

All three need two licensed validators out of four. EGM's CBA FAQ says the two-licensed policy still applies even though the system accepts non-licensed validators, and a P.Eng. validator must be registered where the work took place. If you cannot find licensed validators, EGM's guide says to consult the regulator.

Engineers Nova Scotia requires two P.Eng. validators with direct knowledge of your work; without them, the application is assessed only as an exception. Validators do not have to work at your company. Engineers PEI also requires a direct supervisor in your discipline, and Canadian competency examples must be validated by a P.Eng. or, if that is not possible, by direct supervisors competent in the area. Colleagues, clients and consultants need Engineers PEI's approval first.

OIQ (Quebec)

OIQ uses one supervising engineer per practice period instead of validators, declared at the start; supervision arranged after the fact is refused. When no other engineer works for your employer, OIQ exceptionally accepts a client, supplier or other engineer in the same field who knows your work, if you justify it, and keeps a directory of volunteer supervisors.

Comparison table

Regulator	Licensed validators you need	Published options with no P.Eng. at work
PEO	Each example of Canadian work: a P.Eng. licensed in Canada when the work was done	Clients, mentors, colleagues from other workplaces
APEGA (also NAPEG, Engineers Yukon)	No fixed number; P.Eng. expected for Category 1 work done in Canada	Practitioners and some other designations; résumé for Category 1
APEGS	2 of 4, plus licensed responsibility for each Canadian-experience competency	Professional Reference Validator; no discretionary exceptions
EGBC	No fixed number (ideally all)	BC registrant, affiliates, secondment; explanation; possible interview
EGM	2 of 4	Consult EGM; explain non-P.Eng. validators
Engineers Nova Scotia	2 of 4 P.Eng.	Assessed as an exception; outside validators allowed
APEGNB	Not published (ideally all)	Employer hires a P.Eng.; affiliated or client professionals; CV
Engineers PEI	2 of 4 P.Eng.; P.Eng. for Canadian competency examples	Direct supervisors; approved colleagues, clients, consultants
PEGNL	2 of 4 P.Eng./P.Geo. or equivalent	PEGNL-approved mentor
OIQ	No validators; a supervising engineer	Exceptionally a client, supplier or other engineer

Minimum counts in full: how many validators each association requires.