Regulation of Electrical Engineering Practice

Core policy and regulatory design

Republic Act No. 7920 establishes a comprehensive regulatory system for the practice, licensing, and registration of electrical engineers and electricians.
The Board of Electrical Engineering exercises executive/administrative, quasi-legislative (rule-making), and quasi-judicial (investigative) powers to carry out the Act under Section 4.
The Act integrates electrical engineering professions into a national integrated organization and ties membership to Board registration under Section 25.
The Act protects public safety by regulating the planning, supervision, installation, testing, commissioning, and operation/maintenance of electrical systems and requiring qualified personnel under Sections 31, 33, and 34.
The Act enforces professional accountability through examinations, registration rules, disciplinary powers, and criminal penalties under Articles III and IV.

Key definitions for electrical practice

“Practice of electrical engineering” exists when a person renders or offers to render professional electrical engineering services including:
- Consultation, investigation, valuation and management of services requiring electrical engineering knowledge;
- Design and preparation of plans, specifications and estimates for electric power systems, power plants, power distribution systems including power transformers, transmission lines and network protection, switchgear, building wiring, electrical machines, equipment and others;
- Supervision of erection, installation, testing and commissioning of power plants, substations, transmission lines, industrial plants and others;
- Supervision of operation and maintenance of electrical equipment in power plants, industrial plants, watercrafts, electric locomotives and others;
- Supervision of the manufacture and repair of electrical equipment including switchboards, transformers, generators, motors, apparatus and others;
- Teaching of electrical engineering professional subjects; and
- Taking charge of the sale and distribution of electrical equipment and systems requiring engineering calculations or applications of engineering data.
“Electric supply equipment” means any equipment which produces, modifies, regulates, or controls the supply of electric energy.
“Electric plant” means an establishment or system for the production or modification of electric energy.
“Substation” means any building, room or separate place which houses of encloses electric supply equipment connected to transmission or distribution lines, accessible in the interior as a rule only to properly qualified persons.
“Voltage” means the highest effective potential difference between any two conductors of the circuit concerned expressed in volts.
“Kva” means installed capacity of an alternating current (A.C.) electric plant or supply equipment, or the connected load of industrial plants, commercial establishments, institutional buildings, expressed in kilovolt-amperes.
“Kw” means installed capacity of a direct current (D.C.) electric plant on board watercraft expressed in kilowatts.
“Utilization equipment” means energy-consuming equipment including motors, heaters, furnaces, light sources and other devices which utilize electric energy for any purpose.
“Industrial plant or factory” includes manufacturing assembly plants, including engineering shops, shipyards or other business endeavors where electrical machinery and equipment are installed.
“Commercial establishments” include department stores, supermarkets, shopping malls, office buildings, hotels, theaters, stadiums, condominiums, convention centers, restaurants and the like used for business or profit.
“Institutional buildings” include school buildings, hospitals, museums, display centers, government buddings and the like.
“Watercraft” means any waterborne unit designed and built to have an electric plant.
“Electric locomotive” refers to the power plant mounted on wheels as used in the railroad transportation industry.
“Power plant design” means planning, specifying, coordinating and layouting of electrical equipment in power plants, substations and the like.
“Electrical system design” refers to the choice of electrical systems, including planning and detailing of requirements for protection, control, monitoring, coordination and interlocking of electrical systems among others.

Board creation, powers, qualifications, removal

The Board of Electrical Engineering is created as a collegial body under the general supervision and administrative control of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), composed of a chairman and two (2) members, appointed by the President from among the recommendees of the PRC Commissioner selected from nominees of the integrated and accredited association and other registered associations.
The Board:
- Supervise[s] and regulate[s] the practice of electrical engineering in the Philippines;
- Determines and evaluates qualifications for registration (with or without licensure examinations) and special permits;
- Prepares and prescribes licensure examination content, including syllabi, weights, test questions, test question bank functions, random draw through computerization, conducts examinations, corrects and rates papers, and submits results within the period provided by PRC rules;
- Registers successful applicants for professional electrical engineers and those passing licensure examinations for registered electrical engineers or registered master electricians and issues corresponding certificates and licenses;
- Issues special permits to individual foreign electrical engineers and electricians for specific projects and for a specific duration;
- Conducts ocular inspection of places where registrants practice (including electric plants, substations, industrial plants/factories, commercial establishments, institutional buildings, watercrafts, electric locomotives, engineering offices, repair shops and similar places) to determine and enforce compliance; and authorizes the integrated and accredited electrical engineering association and other registered associations to assist;
- Promulgates rules and regulations including a code of ethics and administrative policies, orders and issuances to carry out the Act;
- Investigates violations and uses Commission-propagated rules on administrative investigation;
- Issues subpoenas or subpoenas duces tecum;
- Delegates investigation to the chairman, a member, or a PRC attorney, with presiding requirements for strictly practice-of-profession cases;
- Renders decisions, orders, or resolutions in specified administrative situations, subject to finality and appeal timelines; and authorizes Commission and Court of Appeals procedures where applicable;
- Administers oaths and submits annual reports after close of each fiscal year;
- Prosecutes or institutes criminal actions against violators;
- Coordinates with education authorities in prescribing courses;
- Prescribes CPE guidelines and renewal compliance requirements; and
- Performs other functions necessary to implement the Act.
Board decisions, resolutions, rules and regulations, orders, and decisions are subject to review and approval by the Commission; Board decisions, resolutions, or orders that are not interlocutory and rendered in an administrative case are subject to review only if appealed, under Section 4.
Board member qualifications include:
- Natural-born Filipino citizen and resident of the Philippines for at least five (5) consecutive years;
- At least thirty-five (35) years of age, proven integrity, high moral values;
- No final conviction for an offense involving moral turpitude;
- BSEE degree from a duly constituted, recognized and accredited Philippine government-recognized institution;
- Professional electrical engineer with valid registration and license, qualified to practice electrical engineering in the Philippines;
- At least ten (10) years of electrical engineering practice prior to appointment, shown via sworn statement;
- No official faculty position, pecuniary interest, or connection with review centers/groups offering licensure preparation for at least three (3) years prior to appointment, and not connected with such activities at time of appointment; and
- Compliance with these conditions “at the time of his appointment,” under Section 5.
Board members hold office for three (3) years from appointment or until successors are appointed and qualified, and may be reappointed for a second term; each qualifies by taking an oath of office under Section 6.
Board vacancies are filled by the President from the first of recommendees selected by the Commissioner for the unexpired term only under Section 6.
A Board member may be removed by the President upon the Commissioner’s recommendation for neglect of duty, incompetence, malpractice, commission or tolerance of irregularities in examinations, or unprofessional, unethical, or dishonorable conduct after opportunity to defend in proper administrative investigation under Section 7.
The Board chairman and members receive monthly compensation of no less than Twelve thousand pesos (P12,000.00); the chairman receives ten percent (10%) more; compensation may be increased or modified pursuant to the General Appropriations Act, and they receive other benefits provided by law under Section 8.
The Commissioner is the executive officer of the Board and conducts examinations; the Commissioner designates a Commission subordinate officer to act as secretary and custodian of records, including examination papers and minutes under Section 9.

Examinations, registration, licenses, fees

Applicants for registration to practice electrical engineering in the Philippines must pass a technical examination, except where Section 14 provides exemptions under Section 10.
A valid certificate of registration and a valid professional license from the Commission are required before any person may practice electrical engineering in the Philippines, except as allowed under the Act under Section 11.
Examination fees are prescribed by the Commission for oral examinations for professional electrical engineers and written examinations for registered electrical engineers and registered master electricians; ninety percent (90%) of fees are treated as a special fund for Commission programs/projects/activities, and ten percent (10%) are set aside as a trust fund for continuing education and research under Section 12.
Registration fees, license fees, and fines are assessed for applicants for registration and license and are subject to amounts prescribed by the Board and approved by the Commission; fifty percent (50%) of collections go to a special fund for Commission programs/projects/activities, and fifty percent (50%) go to a separate special fund for the supervisory and regulatory functions of the Board under Section 13.
Examination and registration exemptions apply to:
- Foreign electrical engineers;
- Erection/commissioning/guarantee engineers employed as technical consultants by the Philippine government or private firms where the professional society certifies no qualified Filipino professional is available; and
- Foreign electrical installers for erection and installation of a special project or specialized work,
  subject to conditions including:
- Legal qualification to practice in their own country with requirements not lower than those in the Act;
- Scope limited only to the contracted work;
- Prior to commencing work, securing a special permit from the Commission;
- No private practice on their own account;
- Employment of at least one (1) Filipino understudy registered under the Act for each foreign professional for at least the duration of the alien expert’s tenure with the private firm;
- The exemption lasts only six (6) months, renewable for another six (6) months at the discretion of the Board;
- If employment ends and the professional undertakes occupation requiring electrical engineering registration, registration under the Act becomes required.
No registration with the Board is required for:
- Engineering students, apprentices and other persons employed or acting as subordinates of, or undergoing training under, a person holding a valid certificate of registration and valid professional license;
- Persons in charge of or supervising operation, tending, and maintenance of a private electric generating set with voltages not exceeding two hundred fifty volts (250 V) and capacity not exceeding fifty kilovolt-amperes (50 Kva), provided the owner/operator must have the set periodically inspected at intervals of not more than one (1) year by a professional electrical engineer or a registered electrical engineer on a national, city, provincial or municipal government authority exercising legal jurisdiction under the Section 14 conditions.
Licensure examinations are held twice a year in the City of Manila and other places with dates determined by the Board; interview/oral examinations for professional electrical engineers are scheduled at the office of the Commission under Section 15.
Notice of admission for qualified applicants is issued not later than ten (10) days prior to the first day of examination under Section 15.
Qualifications for registration as a professional electrical engineer require, on or before the date of registration:
- Philippine citizenship;
- Good reputation and high moral values;
- No final conviction for an offense involving moral turpitude;
- BSEE from a Philippine government-recognized and accredited institution; and
- Being a registered electrical engineer with valid certificate of registration and professional license and four (4) years or more active practice counted from the date of registration as a registered electrical engineer under Section 16.
Qualifications for admission to the registered electrical engineer examination require, on or before the date of the examination:
- Philippine citizenship;
- At least twenty-one (21) years of age;
- Good reputation and high moral values;
- No final conviction for an offense involving moral turpitude; and
- BSEE from a government-recognized and accredited institution under Section 17.
Qualifications for admission to the registered master electrician examination require, on or before the date of examination:
- Philippine citizenship;
- At least eighteen (18) years of age;
- Good reputation and high moral values;
- No final conviction for an offense involving moral turpitude; and
- A qualifying technical background, including one of several education-and-practice combinations under Section 18 (three-year BSEE + one-year practice; two-year electrician course + two-year apprenticeship; one-year electrician course + three-year apprenticeship; or four-year high school + five-year apprenticeship in specified wiring/installation/operation/maintenance).
Scope and content of examinations are set as registration prerequisites under Section 19:
- Professional electrical engineer: oral examination/interview based on certified experience record; a technical paper covering evaluation/analysis/study/critical discussion of an electrical engineering project or technical aspects supported by engineering principles and data (published/unpublished scientific papers may comply); and three (3) certifications signed by three (3) professional electrical engineers verifying factual experience and applicant-authored technical paper; passing requires passing marks on the experience record and technical report.
- Registered electrical engineer: written examination with subject-group weights of 25% (Mathematics), 30% (Engineering sciences and allied subjects), and 45% (Electrical engineering professional subjects); passing general weighted average is 70% with no grade below 50% in any group; questions cover basic theories and principles and exclude questions based on experience and trade practices; exam can be finished in three (3) consecutive eight-hour days.
- Registered master electrician: written exam with (1) technical subjects and (2) Philippine Electrical Code, Parts 1 and 2; technical subjects include Ohm’s Law, electrical machines, control equipment, electrical components, maintenance and repair, test equipment, electrical engineering law provisions pertaining to registered master electricians, and other related subjects as the Board prescribes; code includes general requirements, approved wiring methods, wiring materials/devices, installation of switchboard and panelboards, hazardous locations, wiring diagrams of motor starters with motor protection, drawing symbols and wiring plans, and other related subjects as the Board prescribes; exam can be finished in one (1) eight-hour day; weights are 50% technical subjects and 50% Philippine Electrical Code; passing requires general average 70% with no subject grade below 50%.
Board must report ratings to the Commission within one hundred fifty (150) days after completion of examinations under Section 20.
Reexamination for failed subjects allows repeated retakes any number of times only for subject(s) with grade below 50%; upon achieving an average grade of 70% in repeated subject(s), the applicant is considered to have passed under Section 21.
Successful examinees must take a professional oath before the Board or any authorized government official prior to entering practice under Section 22.
Certificates and licenses under Section 23:
- Registration begins on the date the registrant’s name is entered in the roll of registrants or licensees;
- Upon payment of the registration fee, the registrant is issued a certificate of registration showing full name and serial number, signed by the Commissioner and by the chairman and members of the Board, stamped with the official seal, evidencing entitlement to practice with rights and privileges;
- The certificate remains effective until withdrawn, suspended, or revoked in accordance with law.
Professional licenses under Section 23:
- A professional license is issued signed by the Commissioner bearing registration number and date of issuance and month of expiry or renewability;
- A license issues after payment of annual registration fees for three (3) consecutive years and compliance with CPE requirements unless exempted;
- The license serves as evidence of lawful practice until expiration of validity.
The Continuing Professional Education (CPE) system:
- CPE guidelines are prescribed by the Board subject to Commission approval after consultation with integrated and accredited electrical engineering associations, other electrical engineering profession associations, and other concerned sectors under Section 24;
- Guidelines incorporate creation of a CPE council composed of officers from the Board, Commission, integrated and accredited electrical associations, and other concerned sectors;
- The CPE council implements CPE guidelines and has juridical personality distinct and separate from and independent of the Board, Commission, and the integrated and accredited electrical engineering associations under Section 24.
Integration under Section 25:
- Electrical engineering professions are integrated into one national organization recognized by the Board as the one and only integrated and accredited association;
- Upon registration with the Board, every professional electrical engineer, registered electrical engineer and registered master electrician becomes a member ipso facto;
- Those registered but not members at effectivity may register as members within three (3) years from effectivity;
- Membership does not bar membership in other professional associations;
- Benefits and privileges are received only upon payment of required membership fees and dues.
Professional seals and sealing requirements:
- Under Section 26, licensed professional electrical engineers may obtain a seal bearing registrant’s name, certificate number, and legend “Professional Electrical Engineer.”
- Plans, specifications, reports and other documents prepared by or executed under the immediate supervision of, and issued by, a licensee must be stamped on every sheet with said seal when filed with government authorities or submitted or used professionally.
- It is unlawful to stamp/seal documents with the seal after the registrant’s name has been delisted or after professional license validity has expired.
- The registrant may use the seal only after reinstatement and reissuance of a new professional license.
Indication of registration/license number:
- Under Section 27, a professional electrical engineer, registered electrical engineer, or registered master electrician must indicate registration/professional license number, date registered, and date of expiry in documents he signs, uses or issues in connection with practice.
Refusal to issue certificates:
- Under Section 28, the Board shall not issue a certificate to persons convicted by court of a criminal offense involving moral turpitude, persons guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct, or persons of unsound mind.
- The Board must issue a written statement setting forth reasons for refusal, incorporated into Board records.
- After no less than a year from finality of the Board’s decision, the Board may recommend to the Commission issuance of the certificate out of equity and justice.
Revocation and suspension:
- Under Section 29, the Board may, after proper notice and hearing, revoke certificates, suspend practice, or reprimand for causes including fraud or deceit in obtaining a certificate, gross negligence or incompetence, unprofessional or dishonorable conduct, violation of the Act and rules, and violation of the Code of Professional Ethics.
- Revocation/suspension grounds include:
  - Signing and affixing the seal on any electrical plans/designs/technical reports/valuation/estimates/specifications or similar document or work not prepared by the registrant or not executed under immediate supervision; and
  - Representing that the registrant took charge of or supervised electrical construction/installation, operation/maintenance of an electric plant, manufacture/repair of electrical equipment, teaching of electrical engineering subjects, or sale/distribution of electrical supply/utilization equipment requiring engineering calculations or application of engineering principles/data, without actually having done so.
- Board decisions are final and executory unless appealed to the Commission within fifteen (15) days from receipt; Commission/Board decisions are appealable to the Court of Appeals under the Rules of Court.
- Any person, firm, association or corporation may file sworn charges with the Board, or the Board may investigate motu proprio through proper resolution/order; charges must be in writing and sworn.
- The Commission’s rules on administrative investigation govern before the Board.
- The respondent has the right to a speedy and public hearing and to confront and cross-examine witnesses.
Reissuance and replacement:
- Under Section 30, after Commission approval and after expiration of one (1) year from revocation, the Board may entertain an application for a new certificate in the manner of an original application and may exempt the applicant from examination.
- The Board may issue a replacement new certificate for lost, destroyed, or mutilated certificates, subject to Board rules.

Fields of practice and who may do what

The field of practice is allocated by license type under Section 31:
- A professional electrical engineer has sole authority to seal electrical plans and practice electrical engineering in full scope as defined in the Act.
- A registered electrical engineer may be in charge of/supervise:
  - Operation and maintenance of electrical equipment in power plants, industrial plants, watercraft, electric locomotive and others;
  - Manufacture and repair of electrical supply and utilization equipment including switchboards, power transformers, generators, motors, apparatus and others;
  - Teaching of electrical subjects; and
  - Sale and distribution of electrical equipment and systems requiring engineering calculations or application of engineering data.
- A registered master electrician may install, wire, operate, maintain and repair electrical machinery/equipment/devices in residential, commercial, institutional, commercial and industrial buildings, as well as in power plants, substations, watercrafts, electric locomotives, and the like.
Work rating/voltage supervision rule under Section 31:
- If installation/machinery is rated in excess of five hundred-kilovolt-amperes (500 Kva) or in excess of six hundred volts (600 V), the work shall be under supervision of a professional electrical engineer or a registered electrical engineer.

Prohibitions and professional misconduct rules

Under Section 32, no person shall:
- Practice or offer to practice electrical engineering in the Philippines without first obtaining a certificate of registration and professional license from the Board, except as provided in Section 14;
- Use or attempt to use as his own the certificate of registration, professional license or seal of another;
- Give false or forged evidence to the Board or any member to obtain a certificate or license;
- Falsely impersonate any registrant;
- Attempt to use a revoked or suspended certificate or an expired professional license;
- Assume or advertise any title or description conveying impression of being a professional electrical engineer, registered electrical engineer, or registered master electrician without holding a valid certificate and license; or
- Sign a document involving electrical design, plan, technical specification, valuation and the like on behalf of a professional electrical engineer.

Required staffing, posting, plans, permits, and specialty

Personnel complement requirement:
- Under Section 33, except as otherwise provided in the Act, electric plants, industrial plants/factories, commercial establishments, institutional buildings, watercraft, electric locomotives, and other installations where persons and properties are exposed to electrical hazards must not have less than specified complements by size and voltage/installed capacity.
Staffing rules for plants and loads:
- For electric plants of any size and standard voltage rating, the requirement is one (1) professional electrical engineer or one (1) registered electrical engineer, but for capacities up to five hundred kilovolt-amperes (500 Kva) and voltages up to six hundred volts (600 V) it may be one (1) registered master electrician.
- For industrial plants/factories, commercial establishments, or institutional buildings with any connected Kva load and standard voltage rating, the requirement is one (1) professional electrical engineer or one (1) registered electrical engineer, but for connected loads up to five hundred kilovolt-amperes (500 Kva) and voltages up to six hundred volts (600 V) it may be one (1) registered master electrician.
- For watercraft or electric locomotives: up to the maximum size and voltage available, one (1) professional electrical engineer or one (1) registered electrical engineer; but for generating capacities up to five hundred kilovolt-amperes/kilowatt (500 Kva/Kw) and voltages up to six hundred volts (600 V) it may be one (1) registered master electrician.
Additional personnel must be employed to ensure safe operation and safeguard public welfare, life and property; when operation requires more than one shift every twenty-four (24) hours, the minimum qualified complement must be employed in each shift under Section 33.
Exemption from personnel complement rules applies to installations with:
- Connected load of fifty kilovolt-amperes (50 Kva) or less and voltages not more than two hundred fifty volts (250 V); and
- Installations designed to be automatic and not requiring resident personnel for safe operation;
- Maintenance and repair must be under charge of duly registered personnel; and
- A yearly inspection must be conducted and certified to be in safe operating condition by a professional electrical engineer, registered electrical engineer, or registered master electrician under Section 33.
Plans preparation and supervision:
- Under Section 34, it is unlawful for any person not authorized under the Act to prepare plans, designs, valuations, or specifications for electrical wiring, equipment or system.
- No electrical installation may be undertaken unless plans, designs, valuations and specifications are prepared by or under responsible charge of, and signed and sealed by a professional electrical engineer and a construction permit is first secured.
- The work must be executed in accordance with the Philippine Electrical Code and under responsible charge or supervision of the proper authorized professional (professional electrical engineer, registered electrical engineer, or registered master electrician, as the case may be), and routine fiscal and ministerial requirements of any government agency exercising jurisdiction must be complied with.
Firms and corporations cannot be licensed as such:
- Under Section 35, no firm or corporation may be registered or licensed as such for the practice of electrical engineering.
- Qualified and licensed professional electrical engineers may form a partnership or association among themselves and collectively render service.
- Individual members of such partnerships or associations are responsible for their respective acts.
Posting of certificates:
- Under Section 36, owners/managers/persons in charge must post, in a conspicuous place within the plant/establishment, the certificate of registration of engineers/electricians employed there, framed with transparent glass or equivalent.
Certificate of specialty:
- Under Section 37, certificates