Certification of structural engineers

Would you like to qualify as a certified structural engineer on Danish building projects?

Certification of structural engineers is open to foreign structural engineers who wish to advise on statics on Danish building projects. In accordance with the new Danish Building Regulations, effective from 1 January 2018, certification is now a requirement and Ramboll offers this certification.

If, as a foreign structural engineer, you need to advise on statics on Danish building projects on either a permanent, temporary or occasional basis, it is a requirement according to the new Danish Building Regulations that you are a certified structural engineer.

The certification is only for citizens in an EU member country, EEA country or countries that EU has signed an agreement with according to recognition of professional qualifications.

The certified structural engineer’s role is to document and verify compliance within static regulations to ensure that building projects meet Danish requirements. The structural engineer can be certified within structure classes 2-4 as well as conduct third-party inspection.

The certification is personal and follows the certified structural engineer regardless of employment.

You will have to apply for re-certification every 10 years.

When certified for temporary or occasional work you must report your specific project to Certification, Ramboll every 12 months.

Ramboll is accredited by the Danish Accreditation Fund (DANAK) as an official certification agency, authorized to certify structural engineers in accordance with the new regulations. With Ramboll’s substantial experience and expertise in statics, Ramboll offers you a secure and effective certification process that ensures high quality throughout the process.

It is our aim that applicants and other stakeholders experience an objective, qualified and just certification process, where certification activities are impartial and with the right competences. Certification, Ramboll is an independent department within the Ramboll Group.

The application and evaluation will be in English.

How can I become certified?

In order to be certified through Certification, Ramboll, you need to document your qualifications and competences. If you fulfill the requirements, you will proceed to the certification process, where your qualifications and competences will be assessed and judged.

If you are applying for a certification in structure classes 3 & 4 or as a third-party inspection, you will need to present a project as part of your application.

Ramboll has offices throughout Denmark which will make it convenient for you when, as a part of the certification process, you must give an oral presentation of a project.

What are the requirements for the different structure classes?

Foreign professional qualifications and competences must meet the Danish requirements.

If there is a significant difference between your qualifications and the competences required in Denmark under the certification scheme's executive order, you must demonstrate that you have acquired the missing qualifications and competences through i.e. relevant courses.

For all structure classes, there is a requirement to document knowledge and competences within building technical conditions and applications of the Danish Building Regulations on static conditions (BEK 1399) as well as fire protection of buildings as described in the Building Regulations guidelines (BEK 1693). The Danish Building Regulations 2018 (BR18, Executive Order 1399 of 12 Dec. 2019) is available in English. Chapters 1, 15, 26, 28, 30, 32 and 33 and appendices are essential. You can read it here.

The Building Regulations guidelines (”Bekendtgørelse om certificeringsordninger for dokumentation af tekniske forhold i bygningsreglementet”, Order 1693 of 12/12 2023) about the certification scheme and the appurtenant guide from the Danish authorities is available only in Danish. §18-27 are essential. You can find the certification scheme here and the guide here.

Certification as a structural engineer requires that the applicant can document knowledge and competences in the field of building technical conditions and the application of the regulations of the building regulations for structures, as well as the design and inspection of static documentation according to SBi 223 or SBi 271.

Structure Class 1

No requirements for certification to work on buildings covered by structure class 1.

Structure Class 2

Document knowledge of building engineering conditions at a level corresponding to 180 ECTS points, of which 60 ECTS points relate to design, analysis and design of load-bearing structures.

Document 3 years of experience in the last 5 years with design and inspection of load-bearing structures.

Project must be submitted for evaluation.

Structure Class 3 & 4

Document knowledge of building engineering conditions at a level corresponding to 210 ECTS points, of which 90 ECTS points relate to design, analysis and design of load-bearing structures.

Document 5 years of experience within the last 10 years of design and inspection of load-bearing structures.

Project must be submitted for evaluation. Oral presentation of project.

Third-party Inspection

Document knowledge of engineering conditions at a level corresponding to 210 ECTS points, of which 90 ECTS points relate to design, analysis and design of load-bearing structures.

Document 9 years of experience in the last 14 years with design and inspection of load-bearing structures.

Project must be submitted for evaluation. Oral presentation of project.

The certification processes

How does the certification process run step by step?

Application process

When applying to be a certified structural engineer, you must fill in the application form and attach documentation of your qualifications and competences, along with project documentation for applying for structure classes 2, 3 & 4 and third-party inspection cf. the requirements in BEK 1399 and BEK 1693. It is possible to add comments, such as special requirements, that need to be taken into consideration during the certification process. The declaration of consent must be read and marked before submitting.

You will be notified regarding whether your documentation is sufficient and given an estimated time frame. If the application is incomplete, you must send the missing documentation within the deadline. If it is not possible to send the missing documentation, the application process will be closed.

Certification process

During the certification process, your application documentation will be reviewed along with the project presentation by two impartial censors, who will independently of each other conduct their own individual assessment. The final approval is conducted by an impartial responsible manager.

The censors and the responsible manager are screened prior to each certification process. This is to eliminate any conflicts of interest and to ensure that the right competences, experience and independent relations regarding the applicant are met.

The application material is evaluated and assessed according to the extent to which the documentation of your qualifications and competences meets the relevant requirements of the Certification Executive Order No. 1693 and the Building Regulations 2018.

Oral presentation of a project

When applying for structure classes 3 & 4 or third-party inspection, you enter into an agreement with Certification, Ramboll, regarding the oral presentation of a project. During the project presentation, you must account for the project as well as demonstrate that you have worked on the project as described in the application material and in accordance with good professional practice.

After the project presentation, the two censors will ask you more in-depth questions. Your presentation time is 30 minutes and the question session is 30 minutes. Your application material will be available on a Ramboll PC during your presentation and can, subject to prior agreement, be printed.

Should you wish to use PowerPoint for your presentation, it may only contain information that has already been submitted in the application material. The PowerPoint presentation must be attached to your application in PDF format.

The oral project presentation for structure classes 3 & 4 or third-party inspection can take place at one of Ramboll's local offices in Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense or at Ramboll's head office in Copenhagen. It is possible that you present your project via video conferencing to censors based at another location. In that case, a supervisor will be present at your location.

Before the project presentation, you must sign a confidentiality statement not to publish assessment materials, etc. and that you do not participate in fraudulent practice during project presentation.

DANAK can, as part of their verification of Certification, Ramboll attend the project presentation, to ensure that the requirements as accredited certification agency are continuously met.

Decision of certification

The responsible manager makes an overall decision on certification, based on the two censors’ separate assessments and based on your application material.

To obtain the certification, it is a requirement that you must sign the issued certificate and return it to Certification, Ramboll within the given deadline, before it is valid. The validity of the certification is five years. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Housing and Senior Citizens is notified on which structure class you have been certified for.

If the requirements for certification are not met, the certification will be rejected. This decision can be appealed to Certification, Ramboll.

Check and recertification

The guidelines for check and recertification of the certification scheme's act are not yet available from the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority and are therefore subject to change.

Initially, as a certified structural engineer you must, every 12 months, submit a list of all the projects you have worked on during the past year. Both projects with a building permit and projects with commissioning permission must be listed. The overview is used to assess whether you still comply with the requirements of the certification scheme, i.e. the activity requirements, and is used both for spot checks in cases of doubt and for recertification purposes.

When certified for temporary or occasional work you must report your specific project to Certification, Ramboll and again every 12 months.

Spot checks and cases of doubt

Certification, Ramboll selects a project for assessment from the list they have received. The selected project taken must have final declaration. If your project is selected for a spot assessment, you will be asked to submit adequate documentation. You will be informed if the requirements for certification are still met. Should the requirements not be met, you will be informed of the likelihood of suspension or withdrawal of the certificate.

Certification, Ramboll can also in cases of doubt as to whether the certification requirements are still met, request full project documentation to be submitted within four weeks.

Recertification

For recertifying, Certification, Ramboll will select one of your projects from the list. This is to check your abilities as a structural engineer and that you always comply continually with the applicable requirements of the certification scheme. The project must have a final declaration and you must submit adequate documentation for assessment. If the conditions are met, a new certificate will be issued. If the conditions are not met, you will be informed whether suspension is in progress or if recertification cannot be obtained.

For certified structural engineers the recertification takes place every 10 years.

How to apply

If you would like to apply for a permanent certification or for temporary or occasional work as a certified structural engineer, please contact Certification, Ramboll by phone or send us an email.

Apply here

Please note, that due to extraordinary busyness the handling of the certification will be up to 10 months.

Prices

Prices for certification depend on the structure class you apply for. The price for recertification will be announced when we know the specific conditions in the guideline from the Danish Housing and Planing Authority.

Structure class 2
Creation fee and pre-screening of material	10,300 DKK
Certification for structure class 2	41,500 DKK
Annual fee for registration of projects	7,200 DKK
Spot check	21,000 DKK
Fee for application for recertification (every 10th Year)	7,200 DKK
Recertification (every 10th year)	41,500 DKK
Structure classes 3 & 4
Creation fee and pre-screening of material	10,300 DKK
Certification for structure classes 3 & 4	114,000 DKK
Annual fee for registration of projects	7,200 DKK
Spot check	41,500 DKK
Fee for application for recertification (every 10th Year)	7,200 DKK
Recertification (every 10th year)	114,000 DKK
Third-party inspection
Creation fee and pre-screening of material	10,300 DKK
Certification for third-party inspection	114,000 DKK
Annual fee for registration of projects	7,200 DKK
Spot check	41,5000 DKK
Fee for application for recertification (every 10th Year)	7,200 DKK
Recertification (every 10th year)	114,000 DKK
Change of certification agency
Creation fee and pre-screening of material	5,200 DKK
If the material requires additional scrutiny	5,200 DKK
Enhanced control – for all fire classes and third-party control	10,000 DKK
Certification and recertification, foreign competences follow the above prices
Certification for temporary or occasional work, same prices as above
Processing of appeal and complaint, 75% of the prices above

The prices are exclusive of taxes.

The creation fee is payable upon application for certification. The remaining certification amount is paid when the scrutinize is initiated.

If it turns out during the investigation that the material is difficult to access due to a lack of structure, will Certification,Ramboll in special cases be able to charge an additional fee.

The price can be adjusted if The Ministry of Social Affairs, Housing and Senior Citizens changes the legal basis.

The price is adjusted once a year, (in January) according to ILON12 (MA Consulting, etc.)

Requirements for Certification, Ramboll certification scheme

Below are the requirements currently valid for the certification scheme, in addition to what is stated in the requirements cf. the Executive Order on Certification Scheme (BEK 1693), instructions for this and the Executive Order on Building Regulations 2018 (BR 2018) (BEK 1399).

Obligation to inform

As a certified structural engineer, it is your duty to promptly notify Certification, Ramboll of circumstances which may affect your ability to continue to fulfill the certification requirements. Similarly, you must notify Certification, Ramboll, if you no longer wish to maintain your certification.

Withdrawal of certification

Certification, Ramboll can from a judicial assessment decide to withdraw a structural engineer’s certification.

The reason for withdrawal of the certification can for example be that Certification, Ramboll finds that the certified structural engineer does not work in accordance with the requirements for a structural engineer or does not live up to the activity requirement. This can be due to a legitimate complaint about the work of a certified structural engineer or the misuse of certificate.

If a certification has been deprived, the valid certificate must be returned to Certification, Ramboll.

Certification, Ramboll can decide that a withdrawal of certification can be exempted if for example the failure in compliance is due to absence from work, i.e. maternity leave or sickness. A new deadline is set for the certified structural engineer to prove that the conditions for certification are again met.

Suspension of certification

Suspension of certification may come into question until the conditions, within a deadline set by Certification, Rambøll, are brought back into compliance with the requirements.

If the conditions that led to the suspension are not rectified within the time limit, the certification will be revoked.

Reasons for suspension can e.g., be that the certified structural engineer does not meet the conditions for certification, the requirements for the work or does not comply with deadlines related to control.

When certification is suspended, the certificate must be returned to Certificering, Rambøll.

During the suspension period, the certified person must refrain from both marketing himself and acting as a certified structural engineer.

Reduction and extension of certification

If the certified structural engineer cannot maintain the requirements for his or her scope of certification, a lower structure class may be considered. This is only possible if the requirements in the lower structure class are still met and the circumstances indicate so.

In cases where reduction of a certificate has been made, the current valid certificate must be returned to Certification, Ramboll.

If the structural engineer is certified within structure class 2, then no further reduction is possible, and the certificate will be withdrawn completely.

If a structural engineer wishes to extend a certification to a higher structure class or to third-party inspection, the requirements for the requirements obtained between the structure class obtained and the desired one must be documented.

Certified structural engineer for structure class 2 must make a new application for the desired higher structure class.

If a structural engineer is certified for structure class 3 & 4, an email application for this must be sent to statikcertificering@ramboll.dk, after which the certification agency returns with a description of the process.

There will be differences in the processes, as the differences in requirements may mean that a new project must be submitted for review and project submission, if the project does not live up to the requirements for certification for third-party inspection when the certification is obtained.

Change of certification agency

Certified advisor can apply for Certification, Rambøll to change from another certification agency.

The application must contain:

Current certificate.
All decisions made against the certified during the current certification period.
All results of the annual assessments of the certifier's activity in the current certification period.

The application is sent by email to: statikcertificering@ramboll.dk

Misuse of certification

You may not make statements about certifications that are out of your field of certification.

Equally, certifications may not be used in a way that can compromise Certification, Ramboll.

You may not make statements regarding certifications that Certification, Ramboll could regard as misleading and/or unauthorized.

In the event of suspension or withdrawal of certification, you must refrain from marketing yourself as a certified engineer, whilst the certification is suspended, or if withdrawn to refrain from continuing to refer to your status as a certified engineer.

Appeals and complaints

If you wish to appeal the rejection to be certified, you can appeal to Certification, Ramboll. The appeal will be reviewed by a third-party employee who has not previously been involved in your certification process. The third-party employee that verifies and validates the appeal will act constructively and impartially. The appeal must be sent in writing to Certification, Ramboll at the latest four weeks after receipt of rejection. Receipt of the appeal is confirmed, and information is given about the status and progress of the case, the outcome and that the appeal has been completed.

Certification, Ramboll's decisions pursuant to BEK 1693 of the Certification Scheme cannot be appealed to another administrative authority.

Should Certification, Ramboll receive a legitimate complaint about a certified person, an enquiry will take place with the person concerned. If deemed relevant and depending on the nature of the complaint, further investigation will take place and whether action should be taken to review suspension or withdraw the certification.

Declaration of impartiality

Certification, Ramboll understands the importance of impartiality in the performance of our certification activities, and that we handle conflicts of interest and ensure objectivity in the performance of the certification activities.

Confidentiality

Processing of appeals and complaints in Certification, Ramboll is subject to confidentiality requirements, as is any other certification activity that in any way relates to applicants and certified structural engineers. Certification, Ramboll will on request verify information regarding a person’s certification and within which structure class or as third-party inspection.

Personal data

The information collected during the certification process is filed with Certification, Ramboll and is stored for five years after the customer relationship has ended. Read more about how we treat personal information in our Privacy Policy for Certification, Ramboll here.

Certification, Ramboll’s Advisory Board

Certification, Ramboll has established an advisory board with stakeholders from the engineering and construction industry. The purpose is, in an informal and non-binding manner, to exchange knowledge and views regarding the certification scheme for structural engineers. The members are selected based on their experience, knowledge of the industry, scientific area etc. ensuring that there is broad representation in the board.

GUIDE FOR APPLICATION, CV TEMPLATE AND STATEMENT OF COMPETENCES

Certification of structural engineers

Guide for Application

CV template

Statement of Competences for structure class 2

Statement of Competences for structure classes 3 & 4

Statement of Competences for conduct of third-party inspection