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Engineers & Land Surveyors

Engineers and Land Surveyors in Iowa fall under the purview of the Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board. The Professional Licensing Bureau houses information for engineers and land surveyors about disciplinary action, license renewals, helpful resources, and more.


The Iowa Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board allows applicants to register for the PE Exam without applying to the Board for pre-approval. Examinees may register for the PE Exam through NCEES at their convenience. 

After passing the PE Exam, applicants may proceed to submit an application to the Iowa Board for the PE license. The four-year experience requirement, references, project statement and ethics questionnaire will be required with the license application.  TEST

View the Disciplinary Index

Disciplinary action against non-licensees and discipline against licensees can be found in our online index. Search the index to locate information about a specific action.

Browse the Engineering & Land Surveyors Disciplinary Index

Type of Fee Specific Fee Amount
Renewal Active license renewal

$100

  Inactive license renewal $40
  Reinstatement of lapse license (In addition to the reinstatement fee, the applicant must also pay the appropriate prorated reinstated license fee) $100
  Reinstatement of inactive to active license $60
  New or reinstated license (In addition to the appropriate prorated reinstated license fee, the applicant for reinstatement must also pay the reinstatement fee above) $100 - prorated at six-month intervals
Application for examinations Principles and Practice of Engineering $100
  Principles and Practice of Land Surveying $100
Examinations Fees for NCEES examinations are paid directly to the examination service at the rate established by contract based upon cost of the examination materials and processing expenses Variable
  Iowa State Specific Land Surveying Examination $30
  Application for licensure by comity as a professional engineer or professional land surveyor $150
Certificates Initial professional engineer or professional land surveyor certificate $15
  Additional or duplicate certificate $25
  Engineer or land surveyor intern certificate No charge
  Check returned for insufficient funds $15
  Verification of records for lapsed licenses $15 per verification
  Late renewal fee (for renewals postmarked after December 31 and before February 1) $25

The Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board was created by the General Assembly
in 1919. A person cannot practice professional engineering or land surveying without first being
registered with the board.

The law provides that the membership of the board consists of seven members appointed by the
Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Three of these members must be professional engineers, two members must be a land surveyor/or a professional engineer who is also a land surveyor, and two members who are not licensed professional engineers or land surveyors who represent the general public.

Board Members

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Todde Folkerts, PE/PLS

Chariton
3rd Term ends April 30, 2026

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Paul Herold, PLS

Fort Atkinson

2nd Term Ends April 30, 2025

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Jack Jones, Public Member

 Mondamin

2nd term ends April 30, 2025
 

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Rose Gillen, Public Member

 Ankeny
1st Term ends April 30, 2026

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Laura Sievers, PE, Vice-Chair 

Rock Rapids
3rd Term ends April 30, 2024

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James Sweeney, PE, Chair

Alden
1st Term ends April 30, 2026

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Lisa VanDenBerg, PE

Johnston
3rd Term ends April 30, 2024

Board Staff

Robert E. Lampe, Executive Officer—515.725.9024
Demetria Witt, Licensing Specialist—515.725.9021
Jacob Larson, Assistant Attorney General 

Meeting Agendas & Minutes

2022 2023

 

November

September

 

 

    November

    • November 9 agenda
       
       

    September

    • September 14 agenda
     

       July

      July

      • July 14 agenda

      May

      June

      May

        March

         

        April 

        March

          January

           

          January 

             

             

               

               


              Pursuant to Executive Order 10, the Iowa Professional Licensing & Regulation Bureau will be reviewing its existing Administrative Rules in accordance with the schedule. More information about Executive Order 10 is available on the Department of Management’s website.

              Agency Rules Administrator

              The Agency Rules Administrator is the official responsible for the administration of the agency rulemaking process. If you have any questions about current or pending agency rules for the Board, contact the Agency Rules Administrator:

              Agency Rules Administrator
              Engineering and Surveying Examining Board
              200 E Grand Ave, Ste. 350
              Des Moines, IA 50309
              Phone: (515) 725-9022
              Fax: (515) 725-9033
              Email: EngineeringandLandSurveyBoard@iowa.gov

              The Iowa Legislature has tools available in order to keep up-to-date with the rulemaking process.

              FLS and PLS Exam Applications Accepted Year-Round

              The Iowa Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board now accepts FLS and PLS applications year-round. See below for the amended rules.

              Applications with all required components (see below) received by the first day of each month will be reviewed at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board. Check with NCEES for registration information including deadlines. Note that qualifying experience must be received by the date of your application to Iowa is received, not the exam date.

              Review 193C—3.2(542B) for examination application components and due dates.

              Engineer Forms

              Land Surveyor Forms

              FLS and PLS Exam Applicants

              Requirements for PLS licensure can be found in Chapter 5 of Iowa's rules found here: IAC193C

              All FLS and PLS exam applicants must apply to the Iowa Board and be approved before registering for the exam with NCEES. Applications must be sent to the Iowa Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board and will be reviewed at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting. 

              • The FLS is a computer-based exam administered year-round by NCEES.
              • The national portion of the PLS exam is computer-based and administered year-round by NCEES.
              • The Iowa State Specific Land Surveying Examination is administered by the Iowa Board twice a year (April/October) for initial licensees, and every other month for comity applicants. 
              • The syllabus for the Iowa State Specific Land Surveying Examination can be found here.

              Comity Applicants

              ALL PLS comity applicants must apply to the Iowa Board. Applications will be reviewed at the next regularly scheduled board meeting.