61G15-27.001. Procedures for a Successor Professional Engineer Adopting As Their Own the Work of Another Engineer

(1) A successor professional engineer seeking to reuse already sealed plans, prints, engineering specifications, and/or engineering calculations under the successor professional engineer’s seal shall do so in compliance with Section 471.025(4), F.S. In other words, calculations, site visits, research and the like must be documented and producible upon demand. Plans, prints, engineering specifications, and/or engineering calculations need not be redrawn by the successor professional engineer; however, justification for such action must be available through well kept and complete documentation on the part of the successor professional engineer as to their having rethought and reworked the entire design process. A successor professional engineer must use their own title block, seal and signature and must remove the title block, seal and signature of the original professional engineer before reusing any sealed, prints, engineering specifications, and/or engineering calculations used for permitted works.

(2) Prior to sealing and signing such work a successor professional engineer shall be required to notify the original professional engineer, their successors, or assigns of the successor’s intention to use or reuse the original professional engineer’s work. Notification shall be by certified letter or other verifiable communication to the last known physical or electronic address of the original professional engineer.

(3) A professional engineer’s reliance upon and legal use of another’s engineering work, in the normal course of providing original service, is not reuse or adoption of such other engineer’s work as contemplated by Section 471.025(4), F.S., and the professional engineer relying upon such work is not a “successor engineer” as used in that section. Such engineering work includes but is not limited to, geotechnical reports, soil investigation reports, legal surveys, and other works that may be sealed, but which are used to support the professional engineer’s work and are not adopted as the professional engineer’s original service or work product.

Rulemaking Authority 471.033(2) FS. Law Implemented 471.025(4), 471.033(1)(j), 471.005(6) FS. History–New 8-25-87, Amended 4-21-88, 8-3-88, Formerly 21H-27.001, Amended 8-8-18, 12-29-19.