Oklahoma Administrative Rules - Subchapter 9

• (a) To safeguard life, health, and property, to promote the public welfare, and to establish and to maintain integrity and high standards of skill and practice in the engineering and surveying professions, the Rules of Professional Conduct in this subchapter shall be binding upon every licensee and on all firms authorized to offer or perform engineering or surveying services in Oklahoma. 

• (a) Responsibility of licensees to the public, clients and other licensees:

(1) Licensees shall at all times recognize that their first and foremost responsibility is to safeguard the health, property, safety, and public welfare when performing services for clients and employers.

​ (2) Licensees shall sign, date, and seal only those plans, surveys, and other documents that conform to accepted engineering or surveying standards and that safeguard the life, health, property and welfare of the public.

(3) Licensees shall notify their employer or client and such other authority as may be appropriate when their professional judgment is overruled under circumstances where the life, health, property , or welfare of the public is endangered.

(4) Licensees shall not partner, practice, or offer to practice, or permit the use of their name or firm name nor associate in business ventures with any person or firm which they know, or have reason to believe, is engaging in fraudulent or dishonest business or professional practices.

(5) Licensees should make a reasonable effort to inform another licensee whose work is believed to contain a material discrepancy, error, or omission that may impact the health, safety, property or welfare of the public, unless such reporting is legally prohibited. The licensee shall report this matter to the Board for investigation if it is not resolved.

 (6) Licensees who have knowledge or reason to believe that any person or firm has violated any of these "Rules of Professional Conduct" or any other provision of the Act, Title 65 O.S. Sec 3.116 et seq, or the rules of this Board, should report it to the Board, may report it to appropriate legal authorities, and shall cooperate with the Board and those authorities as may be requested.

(1)    Licensees shall, to the best of their knowledge, include all relevant and pertinent information in an objective and truthful manner within all professional documents, statements and testimony.

(2)     Licensees shall express a professional opinion publicly only when that opinion is founded upon an adequate knowledge of the facts and a competent evaluation of the subject matter.

(3)   Licensees shall issue no statements, criticisms or arguments on engineering and surveying matters which are inspired or paid for by interested parties, unless they explicitly identify the interested parties on whose behalf they are speaking, and reveal any interest they have in the matters.

(4)    Licensees shall not knowingly provide false or incomplete information regarding an applicant in obtaining licensure.

(5) Licensees shall comply with the licensing laws and rules governing their professional practice in each of the jurisdictions in which they practice.

(6) Licensees shall not reveal facts, data or information obtained in a professional capacity without the prior consent of the client, employer, or public body on which the licensee serves except as authorized or required by law or rules.

(7) Licensees shall not solicit or accept gratuities, directly or indirectly , from contractors, their agents, or other parties in connection with work for employers or clients.

(8) Licensees shall disclose to their employers or clients all known or potential conflicts of interest or other circumstances that could influence or ap p ear to influence their judgment or the quality of their professional service or engagement.

(9) Licensees shall not accept compensation, financial or otherwise, from more than one party for services pertaining to the same project unless the circumstances are fully disclosed and agreed to in writing by all interested parties.

(10)   Licensees shall not solicit or accept a professional contract from a governmental body on which a principal or officer of their organization serves as a member. Conversely , licensees serving as members, advisors, or employees of a government body or department, who are the principals or employees of a private concern, shall not participate in decisions with respect to professional services offered or provided by said concern to the governmental body which they serve.

(11)   Licensees shall not use confidential information received in the course of their assignments as a means of making personal profit without the consent of the party from whom the information was obtained.

(12)   Political contributions made in excess of legal limits shall be considered a violation of these Rules of Professional Conduct.

(13)   ​ Licensees shall not falsify or permit misrepresentation of their, or their associates', academic or professional qualifications. Licensees shall not misrepresent or exaggerate their degree of responsibility in prior assignments nor the complexity of said assignments. Presentations incidental to the solicitation of employment or business shall not misrepresent pertinent facts concerning employers, employees, associates, joint ventures or past accomplishments.

(14)   ​ Licensees shall not offer, give, solicit or receive, either directly or indirectly, any commission, or gift, or other valuable consideration in order to secure work, and shall not make any political contribution with the intent to influence the award of a contract by public authority.

(15)   ​ Licensees shall not attempt to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, the professional reputation, prospects, practice, or employment of other licensees, nor indiscriminately criticize other licensees' work.

(16)   ​ Licensees shall make a reasonable effort to inform another licensee whose work is believed to contain a material discrepancy, error, or omission that may impact the health, safety, or welfare of the public, unless such reporting is legally prohibited.

• (b) Areas of practice:

(1) Licensees shall practice only in the area(s) of their competence and shall undertake assignments only when qualified by education, examination, or experience in the specific technical fields of engineering or surveying involved. For professional engineers, the records of the Board shall indicate a discipline(s) of engineering designated by the license holder and considered by the Board to be their area(s) of competence. All requests relating to listings for area(s) of competency require the review of the Board or its designee and shall include the following:

(A)   Original application for licensure. Upon application for licensure, an applicant shall designate a discipline(s) of engineering by providing:

(i)    ​a transcript showing a Board-approved degree(s) in the discipline(s) of engineering; or

(ii)  ​ a supplementary experience record documenting at least four  years of acceptable experience obtained under the supervision of a professional engineer qualified in the discipline(s) of engineering and verified by at least one professional engineer reference provider that has personal detailed knowledge of the applicant's qualifying engineering experience, which may include the Board requesting additional materials related to experience; or

(iii)  verification of successful passage of the principles and practice of engineering examination in the designated discipline(s) of engineering.

(B)  ​ Comity application for licensure or current license holder. A comity applicant or current license holder may request that the Board change the primary area of competence or indicate additional areas of competence by providing one or more of the following items:

(i) a transcript showing an additional Board-approved degree in the new discipline of engineering other than the degree used for initial licensure; or

(ii)​ a supplemental experience record documenting at least 4 years of acceptable experience obtained under the supervision of a professional engineer in the new discipline(s) of engineering verified by at least one professional engineer reference provider that has personal knowledge of the license holder's qualifying engineering experience; or ​  

(iii) verification of successful passage of the principles and practice of engineering examination in the new discipline of engineering.

(2)  Licensees may accept assignments and assume responsibility for coordination of an entire project, if each technical segment is signed, dated, and sealed by a licensee competent to practice in the discipline(s) of engineering and in direct control and personal supervision of that technical segment.

(3) ​In the event a question arises as to the competence of a licensee in a specific technical field which cannot be otherwise resolved to the Board's satisfaction, the Board, either upon request of the licensee or on its own volition, shall admit the licensee to an appropriate examination.

• (c) Responsible charge:

(1)    Licensees shall not affix their signature or seal to any engineering or surveying p lan or document for which the licensee was not in responsible charge of the work through direct control and personal supervision, as defined in O.S. Title 59, 475.2(12). In addition, the professional engineer and professional surveyor in responsible charge of making professional decisions must be in close personal or remote contact with the personnel of the firm to ensure the licensee is in direct control and personal supervision of the work. In order to exercise responsible charge of the work, either (a) when delegating tasks to others, (b) in circumstances where a licensee in responsible charge of the work is unavailable to complete the work, or (c) the work is a design plan signed and sealed by an out-of-jurisdiction licensee (not a site adaptation of a standard design plan) the licensee must possess full professional knowledge of and control over the work and shall:

(A)   Have and exercise the authority to directly control engineering or surveying decisions, review and change, reject or approve both the work in progress and the final work product, through examination, evaluation, communication and direction throughout the development of the work.

(B) Be personally knowledgeable of the scope of the work, its needs, parameters, limitations and special requirements, and have contact with individual(s) performing the work and know their performance capabilities and methods.

(A)  Be capable of answering questions relevant to the engineering or surveying decisions made as part of the services provided, in sufficient detail to demonstrate knowledge of and the competency shown in the work; and

(D) Accept full responsibility for the work. The burden for demonstrating responsible charge lies with the licensee, including maintaining records, calculations, drawings, surveys, specifications, and other documents associated with the work.

(2) The board has final authority regarding the determination of whether work was prepared under the responsible charge of a licensee. The licensee is responsible for meeting all the preceding requirements whether the work is being performed remotely or locally.