PROFESSIONAL GEOSCIENTIST LICENSE REQUIREMENTS

PLEASE NOTE:

1. The deadline for completing applications under the grandfathering clause (application filed before January 1, 2015) was December 31, 2017. Incomplete applications from the period between January 1, 2013 and January 1, 2018 have been purged from our system and are no longer accepted for review.

2. When selecting people to serve as references, please be sure that all are either already licensed Professional Geoscientists or eligible to be licensed as Professional Geoscientists. Also, please be aware that at least one of your references should be from outside of the company where you are currently employed and family members cannot serve as references.

LOUISIANA PROFESSIONAL GEOSCIENCE PRACTICE ACT

Louisiana Act 228, effective May 28, 2014, amends and reenacts the Louisiana Revised Statute 37:711.14(B) and 711.15(A)(4)(b), relative to the Louisiana Professional Geoscience Practice Act as follows:

§711.14(B) Examinations

The Board may adopt or recognize, in whole or in part, an examination prepared, administered, or graded by another organization, on a regional or national basis, that the board determines appropriate to measure the qualifications of an applicant for a license under this Chapter; however the board retains the authority to determine a passing grade for a license in this state on an adopted or recognized examination prepared, administered, or graded by another organization, on a regional or national basis.

§711.15(A)(4)(b) License eligibility

An applicant who applies for licensure under this Chapter prior to January 1, 2015, shall be exempt from taking the examination described in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph if the applicant satisfies all the other requirements of this Subsection.

§711.15. License Eligibility

A. To be eligible for licensing by the Louisiana Board of Professional Geoscientists (LBOPG), an applicant shall meet the following minimum qualifications:

The applicant must be of good moral and ethical character as attested to by letters of reference submitted on behalf of the applicant.
The applicant shall have either:
- a. Graduated from a course of study in a discipline of geoscience satisfactory to the board that consists of at least four years of study and includes at least thirty semester hours or forty-five quarter hours of credit in geoscience, of which at least twenty semester hours or thirty quarter hours of credit must be in upper-level college courses in that discipline; or
- b. Satisfactorily completed other equivalent educational requirements as determined by the board.
The applicant shall have a documented record of at least five years of qualifying work experience that demonstrates that the applicant is qualified to assume responsible charge of geoscientific work.
See below
- a. The applicant must pass an examination required by the board covering the fundamentals and practice of the appropriate discipline of geoscience.
- b. An applicant who applies for licensure prior to January 1, 2014, shall be exempt from taking the examination described in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph if the applicant satisfies all the requirements of this Subsection.

B. The board may accept qualifying work experience in lieu of the education required in Section A above.

§711.16. Qualifying Work Experience

A. The board shall apply the following standards in evaluating the work experience of an applicant for a license:

Each year of work experience acceptable to the board constitutes one year of qualifying work experience if the experience was acquired under the direct supervision of any of the following:
a. A geoscientist who is licensed in the state of Louisiana or in another state under requirements for licensure or registration that are comparable to those listed here;
b. A geoscientist who meets the educational and work experience requirements for licensure but is not required to be licensed by LBOPG; or
c. Another professional acceptable to the LBOPG board.
Each year of work experience acceptable to the board and acquired before September 1, 2010, constitutes one year of qualifying work experience if the experience either:
1. Was acquired under the direct supervision of any of the following:
  i. A geoscientist who meets the educational and work experience requirements for a license under this Chapter;
  ii. A geoscientist who is licensed or registered under comparable requirements in another state; or
  iii. Another professional acceptable to the board; or
2. Would constitute the responsible charge of professional geoscientific work as determined by the board.
Each year of full-time graduate study in a discipline of geoscience that is acceptable to the board constitutes one year of qualifying work experience. However, the board may not accept more than two years of full-time graduate study in a discipline of geoscience as qualifying work experience.

B. The board may accept research in or the teaching of a discipline of geoscience at the college or university level as qualifying work experience if the research or teaching, in the judgment of the board, is comparable to work experience obtained in the practice of geoscience.

*FEES

Application/Initial Licensing Fee $250
Annual License Renewal $150
Annual Renewal of license for members aged 60+ years $100
Late Renewal Penalty $50
Temporary License (90 days) $250
Geoscientist-in-Training Application Fee $100
Geoscientist-in-Training Annual Renewal Fee $75

Duplicate Wall License Certificate $25
Affidavit of Licensure $15
Verification of Licensure $15
Insufficient Funds Fee $25

*Please note that all fees are non-refundable.