California Codes, Business and Professions Code - BPC, Division 3 — Professions and Vocations Generally, Chapter 7 — Professional Engineers, Article 4 — Registration, Section 6763

Application for authority to use the title “structural engineer,” “soil engineer,” “soils engineer,” or “geotechnical engineer” shall be made to the board on forms prescribed by it and shall be accompanied by the fee fixed by this chapter.

An applicant for authority to use the title “structural engineer,” “soil engineer,” “soils engineer,” or “geotechnical engineer” who has passed the examination prescribed by the board, or an applicant for authority to use the title “soil engineer,” “soils engineer,” or “geotechnical engineer” whose application is submitted prior to July 1, 1986, and who has otherwise demonstrated that he or she is qualified, shall have a certificate of authority issued to him or her.

For purposes of this chapter, an authority to use the title “structural engineer,” “soil engineer,” “soils engineer,” or “geotechnical engineer” is an identification of competence and specialization in a subspecialty of civil engineering and necessitates education or experience in addition to that required for registration as a civil engineer.