PROGRESS AND RENEWAL
Your Document Authentication Primer
The stamp must be clear and legible. More than one stamp is sometimes required. In this case, each authenticating professional should clearly indicate in the document the work he or she is taking responsibility for. Permit Holders take an extra step. They must include their Permit Number, near the stamp or seal and accompanied by words like APEGA Permit to Practice, or APEGA Permit. Our regulations do not address the issue of who actually prepared final documents (consultant, employee, client). Neither do they address whether documents are intended for internal or external use. They all must be authenticated. WHAT TO AUTHENTICATE The Act requires that final professional documents that a Profes- sional Member has prepared or reviewed require authentication. Reproductions or copies also need authentication. Not all professional documents require authentication. If the documents are not final, or do not contain work of a professional nature, they should not be authenticated. You must never authen- ticate any document, professional or otherwise, that you have not reviewed and verified. Occasionally, acts and regulations other than the EGP Act require that APEGA Professional Members authenticate documents. This is called demand-side legislation, and it may include work done by qualified persons from other occupations. For our Members, the same principles explained in this article apply. ELECTRONIC AUTHENTICATION A growing concern for APEGA and Members is the possibility of losing control of an electronic image. This can result in the unintentional or improper application of stamps and signatures. APEGA recommends that you use encrypted digital signatures and that, for authentication, you do not use electronic image files that you have scanned. Visit apega.ca for more information on how to obtain your encrypted digital signature. This article does not address every possible situation you may face, when it comes to authenticating documents. But it does provide a basic understanding. APEGA guidelines are available on our website, and the Professional Practice Department will help you address your unique needs. Call Ray Choudhury, P.Eng., Director of Professional Practice, or Gavin Chan, P.Eng., Assistant Director, Professional Practice, at 780-426-3990 or, toll free, at 800-661-7020.
A stream in the APEGA Summit 2015 professional development program gave APEGA a chance to inform Members about their self- regulatory roles and those of their Association. Under the banner of Responsibilities of Self-Regulation, we defined and explained self- regulation, and briefed participants on our legislative review. Three topics in the program — which was part of the APEGA Annual General Meeting and Conference, April 23 and 24 in Calgary — related directly to the authentication of documents. We looked at the purpose and requirements of authentication, what authentication means to practising professionals and the public, and what its role is in offshore work and products. Unsurprisingly, authentication generated a lot of interest. APEGA regularly fields questions on the authentication of documents, which is exactly why we offered the topic at the conference and publish information on it regularly in The PEG . The Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (the EGP Act) establishes APEGA as the authority requiring that documents of a professional nature be authenticated by a practising Professional Engineer, Professional Geoscientist, or Professional Licensee. This is one of the ways Members and APEGA uphold public safety.
WHEN TO AUTHENTICATE
As a Professional Member, you are allowed to authenticate a professional document if: • it is prepared by you • it is prepared by someone under your direct supervision, or • someone else prepared it but you have performed a thorough review Your authentication tells anyone else who sees that document that you are completely satisfied with the content and assume full responsibility for it. You are liable for deficiencies that might have gone unchecked or unnoticed. When a Permit Holder issues a document, it must show the Permit Holder Number and the authentication of a Professional Member in its employ (full time, part time, or contract).
HOW TO AUTHENTICATE
Authentication is made up of three steps: • applying your stamp or seal to the document • signing beside or across the stamp without obscuring the Member's name • applying the date just below the stamp in a format that is not ambiguous
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