Do I need a validator for each job, or can validators be from different roles?

Do you need a validator for each job?

Not as a rule. Every regulator that uses validators assigns exactly one validator to each competency example, and the same person can validate as many examples as they know first-hand, whichever job those examples come from. PEO says it directly: you need a validator only for the work examples you submit, not one for each employer. The per-employer exceptions are APEGA’s references and APEGS’s Employment History Validators, shown in the table below.

In practice:

• A supervisor who oversaw you in two roles at the same company can validate examples from both roles.
• If a short contract gave you one strong example, the engineer who saw that work can validate just that competency.
• At PEO, a current supervisor who knows your skill level may validate an example from an earlier workplace.

That last point is PEO’s flexibility, not a national rule. At APEGS your validator must have worked with you during the period of the example, and APEGA expects validators to have supervised the work throughout the period they validate. No regulator lets you split one competency between two validators or assign a validator to work they did not see.

Per-employer and coverage rules by regulator

The table sets out the rules that matter when your experience spans several employers.

Regulator	Minimum validators	Anything required per employer?	Coverage and other rules
PEO (Ontario)	1 (no maximum)	No; validators are needed only for the examples you submit	One validator may cover all 34 competencies; Canadian work needs a validator who was a P.Eng. in Canada when the work was done
APEGA (Alberta), also NAPEG and Engineers Yukon applicants	3 (each validates 1–20 competencies)	Yes: at least one reference per employer or position, separate from validators	Every listed validator must validate at least one competency
APEGS (Saskatchewan)	4 (at least 2 licensed in Canada or equivalent)	An Employment History Validator for any employer with no competency example	Validators must cover at least 4 years; at least 2 Professional References
EGBC (British Columbia)	4	No per-employer rule published	Cover at least 4 years; one validator must be your supervisor
Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba (EGM)	4 (2 licensed)	No per-employer rule published	Cover at least 4 years; one validator must be your supervisor
Engineers Nova Scotia	4 (2 P.Eng.)	No per-employer rule published	One validator may validate every example; validators replace references
APEGNB (New Brunswick)	4	No per-employer rule published	One validator must be your supervisor; relatives not accepted
Engineers PEI	4 (2 P.Eng.)	No per-employer rule published	Cover at least 4 years; one must be a direct supervisor; 3 references (validator feedback counts)
PEGNL (Newfoundland and Labrador)	4 (2 P.Eng./P.Geo. or equivalent)	No per-employer rule published	Cover at least 4 years; one must be a direct supervisor
OIQ (Quebec)	No validators	One supervising engineer for each practice period	At least 24 months of supervised practice

If you have been with your current employer for less than four years, validators from that employer alone cannot cover four years. At the regulators with a coverage rule, plan to add a validator from an earlier job.

Can one validator cover several jobs?

Yes, if they have first-hand knowledge of the work in each job. A manager who moved with you between companies, or a supervisor who oversaw you in two roles, can validate examples from both. There are limits:

• Only PEO allows a single validator for the whole CBA. Elsewhere, one validator can cover several positions and many competencies, but you still need the regulator’s minimum: APEGA 3; EGBC, APEGS, EGM, Engineers Nova Scotia, APEGNB, Engineers PEI and PEGNL 4.
• APEGA caps each validator at 20 competencies. Even if one person oversaw all your projects, APEGA requires at least three validators, and every one of them must validate at least one competency. You also need a reference for each employer or position.
• Indirect oversight is not enough. A manager can validate work across several roles only if they know the specific work first-hand. APEGA warns that an indirect manager who gave only a high-level review may not be acceptable, and expects validators to have supervised and reviewed the work they validate. EGBC likewise requires first-hand knowledge.

On the shared competencyassessment.ca platform, a validator does not have to be assigned any competencies. At EGBC, EGM, Engineers Nova Scotia, APEGNB, Engineers PEI and PEGNL, a supervisor from an earlier job, such as a co-op supervisor, can complete the overall feedback form only. Engineers Nova Scotia’s guide gives the example of one supervisor validating every example while the other three validators give overall feedback. APEGS has its own version: Professional Reference Validators and Employment History Validators validate no examples. APEGA is the exception, because every validator you list must validate at least one competency.

Can validators come from different roles?

Yes. What matters is first-hand knowledge of the specific work, not the validator’s job title or department. Regulators accept supervisors, managers, mentors, colleagues and clients, with some conditions:

• Supervisor required: EGBC, EGM, APEGNB, Engineers PEI and PEGNL require one validator to be your supervisor (a direct supervisor at Engineers PEI and PEGNL). At PEO, a validator is ideally a direct supervisor.
• Licensed validators: at PEO, every validator of work done in Canada must have been a P.Eng. in Canada when the work was carried out. APEGS, EGM, Engineers Nova Scotia, Engineers PEI and PEGNL require at least two licensed validators (P.Eng./P.Geo. or equivalent; Engineers Nova Scotia and Engineers PEI specify P.Eng.). APEGA expects a P.Eng. for technical (Category 1) competencies performed in Canada, and EGBC and APEGNB say ideally all validators are licensed.
• Colleagues and clients: accepted with first-hand knowledge at PEO, APEGA, APEGS, EGBC and EGM. Engineers PEI requires its prior approval for colleagues, clients or consultants.
• Family members: not acceptable at APEGA or APEGNB and typically not acceptable at PEO. EGBC, EGM and Engineers Nova Scotia require the relationship to be disclosed, and at EGBC the Credentials Committee will interview you if no replacement is available.

Choosing validators from different roles can help you cover more competencies with first-hand knowledge. A project manager may know your budgeting and scheduling work best, while your direct supervisor reviewed your design calculations. Match each example to the person who actually saw it.

Recent changes (2024–2026)

Several validator rules changed between 2024 and 2026:

• EGBC and EGM (April and October 2024): EGBC’s revised guides, which EGM adopted in October 2024, require one validator to be your supervisor and say ideally all are licensed. The 2017 guide’s “minimum of two” P.Eng. wording is gone, although EGM’s CBA FAQ still states its two-licensed-validator policy.
• APEGS (January 2024 and November 21, 2025): “or equivalent” now covers engineers licensed at full professional level in IPEA or APEC member countries, such as a US PE. Guide version 23 requires a licensed professional to have taken responsibility for every competency based on Canadian experience, requires at least two Professional References, sets a four-year degree plus four years of experience for unlicensed international validators, and removes the discretion to accept a non-conforming validator.
• EGBC Policy 4.D (January 30, 2026): confirms at least four validators covering at least four years and requires you to disclose family-member or friend validators.
• APEGA (July 18, 2026): replaced its one-year Canadian-experience requirement with eight Canadian-environment competencies. It still requires at least three validators.
• PEO (August 2026 guides): validators of Canadian work must have been licensed when the work was carried out; the November 2024 guide had said “at the time of validation”.

How to plan validators across several jobs

1. List every employer and role with dates, and note who supervised or reviewed your work in each.
2. Choose your strongest example for each competency, then assign the one person who saw that work first-hand.
3. Check your regulator’s minimum and any per-employer rule: APEGA references for each employer or position, and an APEGS Employment History Validator for any employer with no example.
4. At EGBC, APEGS, EGM, Engineers PEI and PEGNL, confirm that your validators together cover at least four years, and include your supervisor where required.
5. Check each validator’s licence against your regulator’s rule, including when they were licensed (at PEO, it must be when the work was done).
6. Contact validators from older jobs early. People retire and change jobs, and one who cannot be reached may need to be replaced; see Validator Declined, Not Responding or Retired? What to Do in Each Province.

If you are mapping several jobs to the competencies, CBA Pro can help you organize your own experience by competency and check your draft for gaps before your validators see it. For the full rules on who qualifies at each regulator, see How Many Validators Do I Need?, and if no one at your company holds a P.Eng., see No P.Eng. at Your Company? How to Get Your CBA Experience Validated.

Official sources

• PEO — CBA and experience FAQ
• APEGA — Work experience requirements for engineers
• APEGS — Competency Assessment Guide for Candidates and Validators (Version 23, November 21, 2025)
• EGBC — Competency Assessment Guide for Engineering Applicants and Trainees (revised April 2024)
• EGBC — Policy 4.D Experience Validators (v1.0, January 30, 2026)
• EGM — CBA FAQ