Licensure.

(1) The management corporation shall issue a license to any applicant who the board certifies is qualified to practice engineering and who has passed the fundamentals examination and the principles and practice examination.

(2)(a) The board shall certify for licensure any applicant who has submitted proof satisfactory to the board that he or she is at least 18 years of age and who:

1. Satisfies the requirements of s. 471.013(1)(a)1. and has a record of at least 4 years of active engineering experience of a character indicating competence to be in responsible charge of engineering; or

2. Satisfies the requirements of s. 471.013(1)(a)2. and has a record of at least 6 years of active engineering experience of a character indicating competence to be in responsible charge of engineering.

(b) The board may refuse to certify any applicant who has violated s. 471.031.

(3) The board shall certify as qualified for a license by endorsement an applicant who:

(a) Qualifies to take the fundamentals examination and the principles and practice examination as set forth in s. 471.013, has passed a United States national, regional, state, or territorial licensing examination that is substantially equivalent to the fundamentals examination and principles and practice examination required by s. 471.013, and has satisfied the experience requirements set forth in paragraph (2)(a) and s. 471.013; or

(b) Holds a valid license to practice engineering issued by another state or territory of the United States, if the criteria for issuance of the license were substantially the same as the licensure criteria that existed in this state at the time the license was issued.

(4) The management corporation shall not issue a license by endorsement to any applicant who is under investigation in another state for any act that would constitute a violation of this chapter or of chapter 455 until such time as the investigation is complete and disciplinary proceedings have been terminated.

(5)(a) The board shall deem that an applicant who seeks licensure by endorsement has passed an examination substantially equivalent to the fundamentals examination when such applicant has held a valid professional engineer’s license in another state for 10 years.

(b) The board shall deem that an applicant who seeks licensure by endorsement has passed an examination substantially equivalent to the fundamentals examination and the principles and practices examination when such applicant has held a valid professional engineer’s license in another state for 15 years.

(6) The board may require a personal appearance by any applicant for licensure under this chapter. Any applicant of whom a personal appearance is required must be given adequate notice of the time and place of the appearance and provided with a statement of the purpose of and reasons requiring the appearance. If an applicant is required to appear, the time period within which a licensure application must be granted or denied is tolled until such time as the applicant appears. However, if the applicant fails to appear before the board at either of the next two regularly scheduled board meetings, the application for licensure may be denied.

(7) The board shall, by rule, establish qualifications for certification of licensees as special inspectors of threshold buildings, as defined in ss. 553.71 and 553.79, and shall compile a list of persons who are certified. A special inspector is not required to meet standards for certification other than those established by the board, and the fee owner of a threshold building may not be prohibited from selecting any person certified by the board to be a special inspector. The board shall develop minimum qualifications for the qualified representative of the special inspector who is authorized to perform inspections of threshold buildings on behalf of the special inspector under s. 553.79.