§ 17-30-303 - Authorization certificates.
17-30-303. Authorization certificates.
(a) (1) The practice or offer to practice for others, as defined in 17-30-101, by individuals licensed under this chapter through a firm is permitted, subject to this chapter if:
(A) One (1) or more of the officers, agents, employees, partners, members, or managers of the firm designated as being responsible for the engineering activities and decisions is a professional engineer under this chapter or under the engineering licensure law of another state, territory, or possession of the United States or the District of Columbia;
(B) All personnel of the firm who act in its behalf as professional engineers are licensed under this chapter or are persons lawfully practicing under 17-30-105; and
(C) The firm has been issued a certificate of authorization by the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors as hereinafter provided.
(2) All final drawings, specifications, plans, reports, calculations, or other engineering papers or documents involving the practice of engineering, as defined in this chapter, when issued or filed for public record, shall be dated and bear the signature and seal of the professional engineer qualified in the appropriate branch of engineering who prepared them or under whose immediate direction they were prepared.
(b) (1) A firm desiring a certificate of authorization shall file with the board an application, using the form provided by the board, providing all the information required by the board, and also listing the names and addresses of the individual or individuals duly licensed to practice engineering in this state who shall be in responsible charge of the practice of engineering in the state through the firm, and other information, which must accompany the annual renewal fee.
(2) If there is a change in any of these persons during the year, the change shall be designated on the same form and filed with the board within thirty (30) days after the effective date of the change.
(3) If all of the requirements of this section are met, the board shall issue a certificate of authorization to the firm, and the firm may contract for and collect fees for furnishing engineering services.
(c) This chapter does not prevent a firm from performing engineering services for the firm itself or a subsidiary or an affiliate of the firm.
(d) (1) The firm shall not be relieved of responsibility for the conduct or acts of its agents, employees, officers, or partners by reason of its compliance with this section.
(2) An individual practicing engineering under this chapter shall not be relieved of responsibility for engineering services performed by reason of employment or other relationship with a firm holding an authorization certificate.
(e) A certificate of authorization shall be renewed as provided in this chapter.
(f) An engineer who renders occasional, part-time, or consulting engineering services to or for a firm may not, for the purpose of this section, be designated as being responsible for the professional activities of the firm.
(g) (1) The Secretary of State shall not issue a certificate of incorporation to an applicant or a registration as a foreign firm to a firm that includes among the objectives for which it is established any of the words "engineer", "engineering", or any modification or derivation thereof unless the board of licensure for this profession has issued for the applicant a certificate of authorization or a letter indicating the eligibility of the applicant to receive such a certificate.
(2) The firm applying shall supply such a certificate or letter from the board with its application for incorporation or registration.
(h) The Secretary of State shall decline to register any trade name or service mark that includes words as set forth in subsection (g) of this section or modifications or derivatives thereof in its firm name or logos except those firms holding authorization certificates issued under this section.