How to check that an engineering office is licensed in Jordan

Why you should check an engineering office is licensed before paying

A building permit in Jordan is only issued on drawings stamped by an engineering office registered with the Jordan Engineers Association. If you pay someone who is not licensed, you pay twice: once to whoever drew the plans, and again to whoever redraws and stamps them. Worse, drawings with no legally responsible engineer mean nobody is accountable if a mistake shows up in the foundations or the setbacks.

Checking does not need engineering knowledge. It needs four clear questions and a look at the drawings themselves. This article explains how to confirm an engineering office is licensed, how to check a freelance architect, and which signs should make you stop.

Registration of the office with the Jordan Engineers Association

A licensed engineering office is one registered with the Jordan Engineers Association and holding its own registration number. That licence is what allows the office to submit permit files to the Greater Amman Municipality and other municipalities in its own name, and to stamp drawings with its own seal.

Ask the office for its Association registration number and its valid licence certificate for the current year. The licence is renewed annually, and an office that has not renewed cannot submit files even if it was registered in the past. You can verify the number with the Association directly, and no serious office is surprised by that request.

Registration of the engineers in their own disciplines

Registration of the office is not enough on its own. Every drawing in a permit file needs the stamp of an engineer registered with the Association in that same discipline: an architect for the architectural drawings, a civil structural engineer for the structural set, an electrical engineer for the electrical set, and a mechanical engineer for the mechanical set. One engineer cannot stamp everything.

Ask which engineer will stamp each part of your file, then make sure that name and registration number appear on the drawings. A licensed office answers immediately, because this is its daily routine.

Engineering office classification: what it means for you

The Jordan Engineers Association classifies engineering offices into grades according to their experience, the number of engineers and the type of projects they are allowed to take on. I do not go into the grades here because they are updated from time to time, and the reference is the Association. What matters to you: ask the office about its grade, and whether that grade allows it to work on a project of your size. A small villa is not the same as a multi-storey residential building or a commercial block.

The stamp on the drawings: what you should see

An approved drawing carries, in the title block in the corner of every sheet, the name and registration number of the office, the name and number of the engineer responsible for that discipline, and the Association's stamp after audit. Drawings that reach you with no names, with the office name only and no engineers, or with an empty box where the stamp should be, are not a file ready for submission no matter how good the drafting looks.

When I prepare building permit drawings for a project, I coordinate with a licensed engineering office that reviews, stamps and submits them, and I make sure the owner sees a complete title block before submission.

Municipality acceptance is the real test

The final proof that an office is licensed is that the Greater Amman Municipality or the local municipality accepts the file in its name and issues a permit on it. An office that asks you to submit the file yourself, or through someone it knows, or under another office's name, is telling you it cannot submit on its own. Ask from the start: will you submit the file in your name, and will you follow up on the committee's comments?

Red flags before signing with an engineering office

These signs do not necessarily mean the office is unlicensed, but they call for a pause and a question:

• No written contract, or a contract that does not state the scope, the timeline and the number of revisions.
• Drawings with no engineer names or registration numbers in the title block.
• Cash only, with no receipt in the office's name.
• Refusal to give the Association registration number or the current licence certificate.
• A promise to finish the permit in a very short time through someone they know.
• A fee far below the known Association minimum with no clear explanation.
• An office with no fixed address, working from a phone number only.

How to check a freelance architect

Many owners prefer to work with an independent architect for the design, then license the project through an engineering office. That is a sound and common arrangement, and it is how I work on villa design and other projects. But the check here takes a different form.

Ask the architect for their Jordan Engineers Association number and discipline. A registered architect holds a number in the architectural engineering branch, which is different from a designer or draughtsman who may be skilled at visualization but cannot carry professional responsibility for the drawings. Then ask: which engineering office will you coordinate with to stamp and submit the file? A serious architect names the office clearly and writes that coordination into the quote.

What to do if you discover the office is not licensed

If you have paid a first instalment and then find the office cannot submit in its own name, stop before paying anything else. Ask for the drawings in editable format and take them to a licensed office for review. In some cases they can be completed; in others, redrawing costs less than repairing them. A short architectural consultation at this stage saves you a wrong decision.

Summary: four questions before you pay

What is your Association registration number and is your licence current? Which engineer will stamp each discipline? Will you submit the file in your own name and follow up on comments? And is all of that written in the contract? Four questions, and any licensed office answers them in minutes.

If you are starting a project and want architectural design and permit drawings in coordination with a licensed engineering office, send the site plan and I will reply with a first consultation.