Registration and Practicing License
Registration and Practicing License tests who may be registered, in which category, and under what conditions they may practise for gain. The Register is maintained under the Engineers (Registration, etc.) Act Cap E11, LFN 2004, and COREN enforces title protection and annual licensing.
Registration categories and eligibility
COREN registers individuals in a ladder: Registered Engineer, Registered Engineering Technologist, Registered Engineering Technician and Registered Craftsman, plus Registered Engineering Firm. The Engineer route requires an accredited engineering degree, completion of NYSC, and the prescribed supervised post-qualification experience (commonly four years) plus professional assessment. The Technologist route is built on an accredited HND or equivalent; the Technician route on ND or equivalent; the Craftsman route on trade or technical certification. Applications require transcripts, NYSC discharge, logbook or experience reports, referee reports and fees.
Licence and firm registration
Registration is not the same as a practising licence. A current annual practising licence is required to offer engineering services for gain; renewal depends on evidence of practice and documented CPD. Firms offering engineering services must be Registered Engineering Firms with a COREN-registered engineer in responsible charge, and the firm registration must also be renewed.
Worked example
An HND holder with six years' site experience applies for registration as a Registered Engineer. COREN refuses that category. The reasoning: category is determined by the accredited qualification, not by years served. The applicant may qualify as a Registered Engineering Technologist if the HND programme is accredited and the experience and assessment requirements are met; experience does not convert an HND into an engineering degree.
Traps
Candidates wrongly treat registration as a lifetime licence, assume long experience cures a qualification mismatch, or forget firm registration when a company tenders for engineering services. Using 'engineer' as a title without registration is an offence. Keep the licence current and do not practise during a lapse.