How Do I Become Board Certified?

The American Academy of Environmental Engineers® certifies qualified Environmental Engineers recommended by peers in their field of specialty through certification procedures prescribed by the Academy's Bylaws.

Minimum Requirements

Each candidate for certification is required to possess certain minimum qualifications. These requirements are the same for Board Certified Environmental Engineering Member (BCEEM) with the exception that a P.E. license is not required.

All candidates shall:

Be persons of good moral character and of high ethical integrity and professional standing, as determined by the Academy's Board of Trustees.
Possess a degree in environmental engineering or any other engineering field acceptable to the BOT.
For BCEE, hold a valid license or certificate of registration to practice professional engineering, issued by the lawfully constituted registration board of any State, territory, possession or district of the United States. A valid certificate of registration from a foreign country may be accepted provided it meets standards established by the Board of Trustees. (BCEEM does not require a P.E.)
Be professionally engaged in environmental engineering activities on a full time basis.

Experience Requirements

Written & Oral Exams: Candidates applying for certification by written and oral examinations shall have had at least eight (8) years of progressively responsible engineering experience following receipt of a baccalaureate degree or license, whichever occurs first. Four of those years shall have been in responsible charge of work at a level acceptable to the Board of Trustees in one or more of the designated environmental engineering specialties. A Master's and a Ph.D each count as 1.5 years towards the 8-year requirement for a maximum of 3 years. The years of work and education may not overlap

Written Exam Waiver: Candidates applying for certification without written examination must have had at least sixteen (16) years of progressively responsible environmental engineering experience following receipt of baccalaureate degree or license, whichever event occurs first, of which twelve (12) years shall have been in responsible charge of work at a level acceptable to the Board in one or more of the designated environmental engineering specialties.

Written Exam Exceptions: Those who are interested in Industrial Hygiene specialty certification or Radiation Protection specialty certification and who have already passed the written examinations administered by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene or the American Board of Health Physics, respectively, need only sit for the AAEE Oral Examination.

Qualifying experience includes active and responsible participation and involvement in design, management, research, administration or teaching primarily in one or more fields of environmental engineering.

Initial Certification

The qualifications of all candidates for certification are first reviewed by the Academy's Admissions Committee to determine if the Academy's minimum requirements are satisfied and in which specialty the candidate is qualified to be examined. After approval by the Admissions Committee, the candidate is examined using written and/or oral examinations, as appropriate. The results of the examinations are returned to the Admissions Committee for evaluation of the examination results. Those candidates who meet all the prescribed requirements are recommended by the Admissions Committee to the Board of Trustees which votes to grant certification.

The written and oral examinations are specialty specific. They are developed and updated bi-annually by committees composed of Board Certified Environmental Engineers and Board Certified Environmental Engineering Members certified in the specialty covered by the examination. Security and scoring of the written examinations are the responsibility of the Academy's Test Administration Department. The oral examinations are conducted by teams of three Board Certified Environmental Engineers and Board Certified Environmental Engineering Members in accordance with prescribed guidelines. The hour-long oral examination, one part professional practice issues and two parts technical specialty problems, is used to determine a candidate's ethical concepts, maturity, presence of mind, engineering judgment, and ability to apply engineering principles and concepts which cannot be easily measured by written examinations. Should a candidate fail either one of the two examinations, the failed component(s) may be re-taken pursuant to Academy procedures.

Upon satisfactory completion of the entire Admissions process and paying the prescribed fees, the candidate is granted certification in a specialty recognized by the Academy and awarded the title, "Board Certified Environmental Engineer" or "Board Certified Environmental Engineering Member". A certificate embossed with the name and specialty of the BCEE or BCEEM is provided as confirmation.

What are the Fees?

Specialty certification is an investment in your future. Fees associated with specialty certification are:

Application Fee - $75
Examination Fee - $150
Specialty Certification Renewal - $175
Extra Specialty - $25

Become Board Certified

To apply for board certification, click here.