The provisions of the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act regulating the practice of engineering do not apply to the following activities:

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 81-3453

  • Board: means the Board of Engineers and Architects. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3405
  • Building: means any structure used, or intended to be used, to support, shelter, or enclose any use or occupancy. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3405.02
  • Direct supervision: means having full professional knowledge and control over work that constitutes the practice of architecture or engineering. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3411
  • Domestic: when applied to corporations shall mean all those created by authority of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Licensee: means a licensed architect or professional engineer. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3416.02
  • Organization: means a business entity created by law, including, but not limited to, a partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or joint venture. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3418
  • person: shall be construed to practice architecture, within the meaning and intent of the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act, if he or she:

    (a) Practices the profession of architecture or holds himself or herself out as able and entitled to practice architecture. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3420

  • Practice of engineering: means any service or creative work that requires engineering education, training, and experience in the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3421
  • Professional engineer: means a person who is licensed by the board to practice engineering. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3422
  • Project: means one or more related activities that require the practice of architecture or engineering for completion. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3422.01
  • Public service provider: means any political subdivision which employs or appoints an architect or a professional engineer to be in responsible charge of the political subdivision's architectural or engineering work. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3423
  • Rules and regulations: means rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act by the board. See Nebraska Statutes 81-3426
  • State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Year: shall mean calendar year. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801

(1) The construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of a detached single-family through four-family dwelling of less than five thousand square feet above grade finished space. Any detached or attached sheds, storage buildings, and garages incidental to the dwelling are not included in the tabulation of finished space. Such exemption may be increased by rule and regulation of the board adopted pursuant to the Negotiated Rulemaking Act but shall not exceed the Type V, column B, limitations set forth by the allowable height and building areas table in the state building code adopted in section 71-6403 ;

(2) The construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of a one-story commercial or industrial building or structure of less than five thousand square feet above grade finished space which does not exceed thirty feet in height unless such building or structure, or the remodeling or repairing thereof, provides for the employment, housing, or assembly of twenty or more persons. Any detached or attached sheds, storage buildings, and garages incidental to the building or structure are not included in the tabulation of finished space. Such exemption may be increased by rule and regulation of the board adopted pursuant to the Negotiated Rulemaking Act but shall not exceed the Type V, column B, limitations set forth by the allowable height and building areas table in the state building code adopted in section 71-6403 ;

(3) The construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of farm buildings, including barns, silos, sheds, or housing for farm equipment and machinery, livestock, poultry, or storage and if the structures are designed to be occupied by no more than twenty persons. Such exemption may be increased by rule and regulation of the board adopted pursuant to the Negotiated Rulemaking Act but shall not exceed the Type V, column B, limitations set forth by the allowable height and building areas table in the state building code adopted in section 71-6403 ;

(4) Any public works project with contemplated expenditures for the completed project that do not exceed one hundred thousand dollars. The board shall adjust the dollar amount in this subdivision every fifth year. The first such adjustment after August 27, 2011, shall be effective on July 1, 2014. The adjusted amount shall be equal to the then current amount adjusted by the cumulative percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics for the five-year period preceding the adjustment date. The amount shall be rounded to the next highest one-thousand-dollar amount;

(5) Any alteration, renovation, or remodeling of a building if the alteration, renovation, or remodeling does not affect architectural or engineering safety features of the building;

(6) The teaching, including research and service, of engineering subjects in a college or university offering an ABET-accredited engineering curriculum of four years or more;

(7) A public service provider or an organization who employs a licensee performing professional services for itself;

(8) The practice by a qualified member of another legally recognized profession who is otherwise licensed or certified by this state or any political subdivision to perform services consistent with the laws of this state, the training, and the code of ethics of such profession, if such qualified member does not represent himself or herself to be practicing engineering and does not represent himself or herself to be a professional engineer;

(9) The work of an employee or a subordinate of a person holding a certificate of licensure or a temporary permit under the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act if the work is done under the direct supervision of a person holding a certificate of licensure or a temporary permit under the act;

(10) Those services ordinarily performed by subordinates under direct supervision of a professional engineer or those commonly designated as locomotive, stationary, marine operating engineers, power plant operating engineers, or manufacturers who supervise the operation of or operate machinery or equipment or who supervise construction within their own plant;

(11) Financial institutions making disbursements of funds in connection with construction projects;

(12) Earthmoving and related work associated with soil and water conservation practices performed on farmland or any land owned by a political subdivision that is not subject to a permit from the Department of Natural Resources or for work related to livestock waste facilities that are not subject to a permit by the Department of Environment and Energy;

(13) The work of employees and agents of a political subdivision or a nonprofit entity organized for the purpose of furnishing electrical service performing, in accordance with other requirements of law, their customary duties in the administration and enforcement of codes, permit programs, and land-use regulations and their customary duties in utility and public works construction, operation, and maintenance;

(14) Work performed exclusively in the exploration for and development of energy resources and base, precious, and nonprecious minerals, including sand, gravel, and aggregate, which does not have a substantial impact upon public health, safety, and welfare, as determined by the board, or require the submission of reports or documents to public agencies;

(15) The construction of water wells as defined in section 46-1212, the installation of pumps and pumping equipment into water wells, and the decommissioning of water wells, unless such construction, installation, or decommissioning is required by the owner thereof to be designed or supervised by an engineer or unless legal requirements are imposed upon the owner of a water well as a part of a public water supply;

(16) Work performed in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas or before the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission; and

(17) Siting, layout, construction, and reconstruction of a private onsite wastewater treatment system with a maximum flow from the facility of one thousand gallons of domestic wastewater per day if such system meets all of the conditions required pursuant to the Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment System Contractors Certification and System Registration Act unless the siting, layout, construction, or reconstruction by an engineer is required by the Department of Environment and Energy, mandated by law or rules and regulations imposed upon the owner of the system, or required by the owner.