Use of Professional Seal on Tender Documents

APEGBC is periodically contacted regarding the need to seal tender documents.  As outlined below, APEGBC’s position is that tender documents containing information involving the practice of engineering and geoscience must be sealed with signature and date by the APEGBC professional responsible.

The basis for requiring that tender documents be sealed is that the documents:

  • Are in a final form for the purposes intended;
  • Are being relied on by others;
  • Were prepared and delivered by the APEGBC professional in their professional capacity or under their direct supervision.

APEGBC professionals (professional engineers, professional geoscientists and licensees) are required to seal all engineering or geoscience documents that are prepared and delivered in their professional capacity or under their direct supervision.  This requirement is set out in Section 20(9) of the Engineers and Geoscientists Act which states:

(9)  A member or licensee receiving a seal or stamp under this section must use it, with signature and date, to seal or stamp estimates, specifications, reports, documents, plans or things that have been prepared and delivered by the member or licensee in the member's or licensee's professional capacity or that have been prepared and delivered under the member's or licensee's direct supervision.

In order to bring clarity to which “engineering or geoscience documents” require sealing, APEGBC’s position is that APEGBC professionals must seal all final documents where the content includes work involving the practice of professional engineering or geoscience.

“Final” means a document that is in the final form for which it was intended and that will be relied on by others.  For example, engineering drawings submitted for the purpose of calling tenders on a project might not contain all the final details required for construction, but those drawings are considered final for tendering purposes and must be sealed, with a clear indication of any restrictions around their use (e.g., not for construction).

The purpose of the proper and appropriate use of the seal is to authenticate engineering and geoscience documents prepared and delivered by APEGBC professionals in their professional capacity or under their direct supervision.  The seal is considered a mark of reliance; it is not a mark of certification or warranty.

The application of the APEGBC professional’s seal with the signature and date is the authentication process used to verify that an engineering or geoscience document has not been modified or tampered with and that it represents the original content for which the APEGBC professional signing the document has accepted professional responsibility.

In order to address these and other issues related to the use of the professional seal and authentication of engineering and geoscience documents, APEGBC has prepared a draft APEGBC Quality Management Guideline – Use of the APEGBC Professional Seal for Council approval. The new guideline would apply to all members and licensees whether documents are issued by a consultant to a client, or by APEGBC professionals who have prepared the documents for use internally by the organization that employs them. The guidelines specifically reinforce that tender documents containing professional engineering/geoscience work which are in final form and intended to be relied upon by others must be sealed by the appropriate APEGBC professional.

Members of APEGBC will be notified once the guideline has been approved by Council. The guideline will then be made available and training sessions on the new guideline will be offered.