In this guide · 8 sections
- 01Titles: who may use 'Er.' and 'professional engineer'
- 02The firm: licensed practice and holding out
- 03What PEB's conduct rules say about publicity
- 04Project lists and client permission
- 05Make the site work as a tender-ready company profile
- 06Local search, speed and enquiries
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Use 'Er.' only for registered PEs, and advertise professional engineering services only as a PEB-licensed practice or PEs with practising certificates. List past projects only where confidentiality allows, justify specialist claims, and never criticise other engineers.
Titles: who may use 'Er.' and 'professional engineer'
Section 15(4) of the Professional Engineers Act 1991 says a person must not use the words 'professional engineer' or any derivative in connection with their designation, the word 'engineer' or the abbreviation 'Er.' or 'Engr.' as a title before their name, or any designation leading to the belief that they are a registered professional engineer, unless they are one.
That makes the team page the first thing to check. Graduate and project engineers can describe their job ('Structural engineer, 6 years in façade design') but cannot use 'Er.' before their name or 'PE' after it until registered.
| How a person is shown | Allowed for |
|---|---|
| Er. Name, PE (Civil) | Registered professional engineers; show the branch they are registered in |
| Name, Professional Engineer | Registered professional engineers |
| Name, Structural Engineer (job title) | Staff in that role who are not PEs, without 'Er.' before the name |
| Name, Graduate Engineer / Engineering Associate | Staff who are not PEs, worded so it does not imply registration |
Make it easy for clients to check: link to PEB's directory of professional engineers with practising certificates and make sure every name on the site matches the register exactly.
The firm: licensed practice and holding out
Section 15(6) of the Act says a person must not advertise or hold itself out as authorised to supply professional engineering services in a prescribed branch unless it is a registered PE with a practising certificate for that branch, a licensed professional engineering practice for that branch, or a partnership made up wholly of registered PEs with practising certificates. One of the PEB's functions is to license corporations and partnerships that supply professional engineering services.
On the About or Contact page, show the registered company name, UEN, licence status with PEB and the branches covered. If you are also registered with BCA's Contractors Registration System for design-and-build or specialist work, list the workheads and grades.
What PEB's conduct rules say about publicity
The Professional Engineers (Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics) Rules define publicity broadly, expressly including the internet. A professional engineer may publicise their practice, but must uphold the dignity of the profession and must not publicise in a way that is misleading, deceptive, inaccurate, false or unbefitting the profession.
The rules treat publicity as misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation, omits a material fact, contains information that cannot be verified, or is likely to create an unjustified expectation about results.
Fits the rules
- Specialisms backed by qualifications, experience, facilities, staff and capacity
- Project lists with your role and the client's agreement
- Factual descriptions of services by discipline
- Award names and years stated exactly
Likely to breach them
- 'Singapore's top structural engineers' with nothing to verify it
- Comparing your quality with other engineers or allied professionals
- Naming confidential projects or clients
- Guaranteeing approval timelines or outcomes
The rules list the factors for justifying a claim to expertise or specialisation: academic qualifications, experience, facilities, personnel and capacity to render the service. If a specialism appears on the site, have that evidence ready.
Project lists and client permission
Paragraph 2(5)(b) of the Schedule says publicity must not directly or indirectly mention past projects or clients where providing that information would breach confidentiality owed to a client or former client. Many engineering engagements include confidentiality clauses, and some clients will not want to be named at all.
Before listing a project
If you use photos from a project's owner or contractor, get permission in writing. Our guide on website image copyright covers photographer ownership under the Copyright Act 2021.
Make the site work as a tender-ready company profile
Procurement teams often look at the website before they open the tender submission. A 'Company profile' page with downloadable PDF saves them time and makes you look organised.
Registrations and licences
PEB licensed practice status and branches, BCA registrations if any, and the PEs in each discipline with their registration details.
Certifications
Quality, safety and environmental certificates you actually hold, with certificate numbers and expiry dates.
Disciplines and capacity
Services by branch, number of PEs and technical staff, software and testing facilities.
Selected projects
Six to twelve cleared projects with year, value band, client type and your role.
Downloadable profile
A dated PDF version of the same information, updated whenever registrations or staff change.
Local search, speed and enquiries
Many engineering enquiries come from main contractors and building owners searching locally. A complete Google Business Profile with your office address, disciplines and photos helps you appear in those searches.
Keep the site fast and plain: compressed project photos, a short enquiry form asking for project type, location, stage and timeline, and a direct email for tender documents. Budgets for each type of build are in our website cost guide. Architecture practices face similar rules under the Architects Act; see our architecture website guide.
Do it yourself or get help?
The compliance decisions belong to the firm: titles, licence statements, project clearances and specialism claims. Under the conduct rules, publicity done for you by an agency is still your publicity, so review every page before launch.
If you want the site built, our Business Website package (S$1,490) creates a clear, fast site with team, services, project and company profile pages, on accounts you own. For an existing site that is slow or invisible in search, Speed & SEO Fix (S$390) fixes speed and technical SEO. We build the site; your PEs sign off the content.
Frequently asked questions
Only registered professional engineers. Section 15(4) of the Professional Engineers Act says no one may use the word engineer or the abbreviation Er. or Engr. as a title before their name, or the words professional engineer in their designation, unless they are a registered professional engineer. Staff can still describe their engineering job roles.
If the company supplies professional engineering services in a prescribed branch in Singapore, it generally needs to be a PEB-licensed practice, unless it is a partnership made up wholly of registered PEs with practising certificates. The Act also bars advertising those services without the right authorisation. Check your structure with PEB.
Yes, where confidentiality allows. PEB's conduct rules say publicity must not mention past projects or clients if that would breach confidentiality owed to a client or former client. Check each contract, keep written permission for named projects, and describe confidential work generically.
It is risky. PEB's conduct rules treat publicity as misleading if it contains information that cannot be verified or creates unjustified expectations, and they bar comparisons with the quality of other engineers' services. Use specific, checkable facts such as disciplines, PE numbers, years and project types instead.
Registered company name and UEN, PEB licence status and branches, the PEs in each discipline, certifications with expiry dates, staff capacity, and a set of cleared projects showing year, client type, value band and your role. Offer it as a dated PDF that you update whenever details change.