I'm a Canadian citizen living in Canada - I have a US SSN and used to have a TN Visa, but otherwise have no real ties to the US. I'm licensed in numerous Canadian provinces and US states. I'd like to explore offering engineering services in the US, but don't even know where to start in terms of setting that up. I'm sure there are numerous folks here who practice across borders, so if anyone can provide a rough idea for a place to start that would be much appreciated.
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Canadian Offering Engineering Services in the US
- Thread starter CCWG
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Pardon my ignorance, but if you have a PE license in several US states, isn't that all you need to offer engineering services in the US? There is no requirement that you have to be a US citizen, nor is there a requirement that you need to be insured.
You would, however, need to ensure that whatever form of advertising you use indicates which states you are actually licensed in, i.e., if you are not licensed in California, then any advertising you create that gets viewed in California would technically run afoul of the state's PE laws.
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MotorCity, I'm listed on my current company's business license for Alaska as our licensed SE. In order for our company to do business in Alaska they have to have a business license. At my previous company I was listed as the licensee as well for Alaska. Both of these companies were large companies so I'm not sure how that changes if it's a single person.
Typically you will need a firm registration, EIN with the federal government (they want their taxes) and a business license. There may also be rules that you have to advertise your company in a local newspaper for a set amount of time. I never understood why that was. You may also need to have a local address for mailing from the state. This is why you find many companies that have the same address in certain states, they all use a 3rd party to receive and forward mail.
In my area of the US, the business license is for where you're located. Unlike contractors, who often need a business license in every city where they build, I only need a business license in the city where my office is located.
Most states will require a firm registration regardless of status/structure - sole proprietor, (P)LLC, PC, Inc. - they want to keep track of who is offering these services. This is separate from the individual PE license/registration.
As XR pointed out, most boards won't really go looking for people who are violating this, but if you make a mistake that gets the board's attention (could be a complaint from a dissatisfied client, an error that results in an incident that gets investigated, an overzealous building official who looks you up on the board's website to verify your credentials, etc.) then they will happily slap a disciplinary action and fine on you.
Then, the secretary of state of wherever you want to work is going to need to issue you a certificate of authority to do business in the state as a 'foreign entity' (not just because you're from a different country - I'm a Virginia PLLC so I'm a foreign entity in North Carolina, 6 miles away). To get that, you'll need a registered agent with a mailing address in the state. That doesn't come free.
Business and professional licensing compliance in the US can be an absolute nightmare. Maintaining a personal PE license, a firm registration, a CoA, and a registered agent in each state where you practice, all with different continuing education requirements, different renewal schedules, different reporting requirements, and fees for all of it.
Most states will require a firm registration regardless of status/structure - sole proprietor, (P)LLC, PC, Inc. - they want to keep track of who is offering these services. This is separate from the individual PE license/registration.
As XR pointed out, most boards won't really go looking for people who are violating this, but if you make a mistake that gets the board's attention (could be a complaint from a dissatisfied client, an error that results in an incident that gets investigated, an overzealous building official who looks you up on the board's website to verify your credentials, etc.) then they will happily slap a disciplinary action and fine on you.
Then, the secretary of state of wherever you want to work is going to need to issue you a certificate of authority to do business in the state as a 'foreign entity' (not just because you're from a different country - I'm a Virginia PLLC so I'm a foreign entity in North Carolina, 6 miles away). To get that, you'll need a registered agent with a mailing address in the state. That doesn't come free.
Business and professional licensing compliance in the US can be an absolute nightmare. Maintaining a personal PE license, a firm registration, a CoA, and a registered agent in each state where you practice, all with different continuing education requirements, different renewal schedules, different reporting requirements, and fees for all of it.
Seems odd that states would require you to establish a formal business structure. If I design a deck once a year for a buddy and get paid, do I need to jump through all the hoops to establish an engineering firm? There must be some limitation. On the other hand, nobody is going to hire an engineer to design a 10 story building who is not part of an established engineering firm.
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