The validator stage is where your EGBC competency report stops being only your own writing. You still choose the examples, ratings and employment history, but other people now confirm whether your evidence matches the work they saw you perform.
For new applicants, EGBC’s January 2026 experience validator policy sets the core rule: at least four validators, covering as much of your work history as possible and a minimum of four years. The same policy also explains who can qualify, what happens when a validator is not a registrant, how bias is handled, and what EGBC may do when experience cannot be verified.
Quick Answer: How Many Validators Do You Need for EGBC?
First-time EGBC applicants for any designation need at least four validators. Together, those validators should cover as much of the applicant’s work history as possible, with a minimum of four years covered. EGBC does not publish a maximum number in its current validator policy. Validators must have first-hand knowledge of your work and should ideally be professional registrants, or equivalent licensed practitioners in the country where the experience was gained. They rate assigned examples on the same 0-5 scale and provide confidential feedback that you cannot see.
Key Takeaways
- First-time EGBC applicants need at least four validators; no maximum is published in EGBC’s current policy.
- The validators should collectively cover as much work history as possible, with at least four years covered.
- A validator needs first-hand knowledge of your work, ideally through direct supervision or ongoing direct professional contact.
- Validators assess more than facts; they comment on character, communication, judgment, technical work and readiness for registration.
- Validator feedback, including any reason for declining, is confidential and not visible to the applicant.
How Many Validators Does EGBC Require?
EGBC’s requirement is not just four names. It is four or more suitable validators whose combined knowledge can verify the experience and competency examples you are claiming. Four validators who all worked with you on one short project may still leave major periods of your history unsupported.
The official Competency Assessment System validators page uses the same coverage principle: validators should confirm the applicant’s examples and, together, cover as much of the applicant’s experience as possible, with at least four years covered.
That coverage matters because EGBC’s policy states that credit may not be given for experience or key competencies that cannot be validated, unless the circumstances require further consideration. In practice, the safest approach is to map validators against your employment history before you submit invitations.
Some online summaries mention a six-validator limit. EGBC’s current validator policy sets a minimum, not a published maximum. If your career history needs more validators to cover different employers, supervisors, countries or project phases, the article should be built around coverage, not an assumed cap.
| Applicant type | Minimum validators | Coverage rule | What to watch | |
| First-time applicant for any designation | At least 4 | As much work history as possible, with a minimum of 4 years covered. | Do not choose four people from the same narrow period if other claimed experience remains unverified. | |
| Professional registrant reinstatement after cancellation over 18 months | At least 2 | Professional relationship must cover the total years since the applicant last held Professional Registrant status. | Validators must attest to good character, good repute and practice competency. | |
Not sure your validators cover enough of your work history?
A structured review can help you map employment periods, examples and likely validators before you send invitations through the Competency Assessment System.
Who Qualifies as an EGBC Validator?
A suitable EGBC validator is someone with first-hand knowledge of your engineering or geoscience work. That usually means a supervisor, but it can also include a colleague or client with direct, personal and professional knowledge of the examples they are being asked to validate.
Where possible, validators should be professional registrants or equivalent licensed engineering or geoscience practitioners from a regulatory authority. For overseas experience, EGBC’s policy recognises the equivalent licensed practitioner in the country where the experience was gained. EGBC staff decide whether a proposed validator is suitable, so this is not a box you can self-certify.
For engineering applicants, EGBC’s April 2024 competency assessment guidance also says one validator should be your supervisor and should share the same or a related discipline of practice to the one you are applying under. If your employment history does not fit that cleanly, explain the situation early rather than leaving the assessor to guess.
What If Your Supervisor Is Not a P.Eng?
An unlicensed supervisor is not automatically a dead end. The documented route is that, where a validator is not a professional registrant or equivalent licensed practitioner, you may be required to provide that validator’s resume to establish professional equivalency. You must also explain why you do not have a professional registrant or equivalent licensed practitioner available as a validator.
This is common for internationally trained engineers, applicants from countries with different licensing systems, emerging technical areas and organisations where licensed oversight was not structured like a Canadian engineering office. The important point is to make the relationship, technical authority and first-hand knowledge clear.
Can Your Validators Be Outside Canada?
Yes. Validators can be outside Canada if they have first-hand knowledge of the work and can support the examples assigned to them. For international experience, a licensed practitioner in the country where the experience was gained may be suitable if the relationship and professional equivalency are clear.
For overseas examples, give validators enough context to respond meaningfully. They may understand your project deeply, but the assessor still needs to see how the professional environment, standards, safety controls and accountability compare with EGBC’s competency expectations.
What Do EGBC Validators Actually Rate?
Validators do not simply confirm that you worked at a company. In the Competency Assessment System, validators review the education and employment history, then assess the competency examples assigned to them. They use the same six-point 0-5 rating scale and may add comments that help assessors understand whether your example is accurate and at the level claimed.
The validator process in the official system also asks validators to provide overall feedback on readiness for professional registration or licensure, which makes their comments much more important than a basic employment reference.
| What validators are asked to assess | What it means for your report | ||
| Assigned competency examples | Your example should match work the validator actually knows, not a task they only heard about later. | ||
| Your claimed 0-5 competency level | Do not inflate ratings before validation; a mismatch can weaken the credibility of the example. | ||
| Character and good repute | Professional conduct, honesty and accountability matter alongside technical performance. | ||
| Communication | The validator may comment on whether your English or French skills support safe professional practice. | ||
| Professional knowledge and judgment | Examples should show decisions, limitations, escalation, review and public responsibility. | ||
| Overall readiness | The validator’s final comments can influence whether the file feels ready for professional responsibility. | ||
Your validators rate the same examples an assessor will. Get them reviewed first.
Before you assign examples to validators, check whether the Situation, Action and Outcome sections clearly show your role, judgment, rating level and professional evidence.
Can You See What Your Validator Wrote?
No. Validator feedback is confidential and is not visible to the applicant. That includes normal feedback and any reason a validator gives for declining to validate. This is why the examples should be clear before they are sent out: once a validator responds, you do not get to read their private comments and adjust your story around them.
The CAS FAQ also explains practical platform issues, such as how to resend validator notifications, how to request edits if a validator wants changes, and how to add a validator when the system will not allow the name directly. Those actions are handled through the Competency Assessment System FAQ or by contacting the relevant jurisdiction.
What to Do Before You Send Validator Invitations
Treat validator selection as a planning step, not a last-minute admin task. You are asking people to confirm professional work, rate your examples and comment on your readiness, so the match between example and validator should be deliberate.
- List every employment period and mark which validator can verify it from first-hand knowledge.
- Assign each competency example to someone who actually saw the work, decision or deliverable.
- Check whether at least four years of claimed experience are covered across the validator group.
- Consult validators about factual accuracy, project dates, your role and realistic exposure level before you submit.
- Use business or professional email addresses where possible, because the system prefers them for verification.
- Prepare a short explanation when a validator is not licensed or when no professional registrant is available.
One review before the invitations go out is worth ten after.
A pre-submission review can help you clean up example wording, validator mapping, ratings and coverage before confidential feedback enters the file.
Can a Friend or Family Member Be a Validator?
A friend or family member may have real first-hand knowledge of your work, especially in small firms or family businesses, but EGBC treats this as a bias and disclosure issue. The question is not only whether the person knows your work; it is whether their objectivity may be compromised or appear compromised.
EGBC’s policy requires both the applicant and the validator to disclose whether a personal relationship exists and what that relationship is. Inaccurate disclosure can be considered against the Code of Ethics and can affect the assessment of good character and good repute.
The policy names four situations that can raise bias concerns:
- The validator is a family member or personal friend.
- The validator had a prior personal association with the applicant.
- The validator is financially dependent on the applicant, such as a vendor or consultant to the applicant or the applicant’s firm.
- The Credentials Committee identifies another situation where conscious or unconscious bias may exist.
If a family member or personal friend is used and no replacement with equivalent first-hand knowledge is available, EGBC’s policy says the Credentials Committee or its designees will interview the applicant. In other bias situations, an interview may be required at the committee’s discretion.
What If You Cannot Get Someone to Validate Your Experience?
If part of your experience cannot be validated, do not ignore the gap. EGBC’s policy says credit may not be given for experience or key competencies that cannot be validated unless the circumstances require further consideration.
The policy specifically recognises that validators may be difficult to obtain in situations such as:
- emerging disciplines of engineering or geoscience,
- the death of a validator,
- inadequate company support,
- a closed employer, inaccessible supervisor or records problem that affects the ability to verify the work.
Where the issue is genuine, interviews may be necessary at the Credentials Committee’s discretion. The applicant’s job is to document the problem clearly, show what evidence is available, and avoid claiming unsupported competencies as if nothing is missing.
Gaps in your validator coverage? Get your employment history and examples organised.
Support can help you identify which examples are most vulnerable, where coverage is thin, and what explanation or alternate evidence may be needed before submission.
Can EGBC Contact People You Did Not Nominate?
Yes, in some circumstances. EGBC’s policy distinguishes between un-nominated validators and unsolicited validators. An un-nominated validator is someone EGBC staff may contact for more information about your suitability, such as a current supervisor who was not listed. The application form gives EGBC consent to obtain and release relevant application information for this purpose.
An unsolicited validator is different: this is a third party who volunteers an opinion about the applicant without being asked by EGBC or nominated by the applicant. If EGBC staff consider the person credible and experienced with the applicant’s work, they may contact them for more detail. EGBC attempts to protect privacy, but fairness, evidence and privacy law may require disclosure of the identity or information, including to the applicant.
For applicants, the practical lesson is simple: keep the file honest and consistent. Your validators, employment history, examples and declared relationships should all tell the same professional story.
EGBC Validators vs PEO Validators
Many searches around validators lead to Ontario’s PEO because PEO has its own competency-based assessment language and validator process. This article is about EGBC in British Columbia. Do not transfer validator counts, forms or limits from another province unless EGBC or the Competency Assessment System instructions for your own file say so.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How many validators do you need for EGBC?
First-time EGBC applicants need at least four validators. Together, they should cover as much of the applicant’s work history as possible, with at least four years covered.
2. Is there a maximum number of validators?
EGBC’s current validator policy publishes a minimum, not a maximum. If more validators are needed to cover different work periods or examples, plan around coverage and suitability.
3. Does an EGBC validator have to be a P.Eng?
Not always. Where possible, validators should be professional registrants or equivalent licensed practitioners. If a validator is not licensed, EGBC may require their resume and an explanation of why a registrant is not available.
4. Can my validators be outside Canada?
Yes, if they have first-hand knowledge of your work and are suitable for the experience being validated. For overseas work, an equivalent licensed practitioner in the country where the experience was gained may qualify.
5. What do EGBC validators rate?
They rate assigned competency examples on the 0-5 scale and comment on work details, character, communication, professional judgment, competency achievement and readiness for registration.
6. Can I see what my validator wrote about me?
No. Validator feedback is confidential and not visible to the applicant, including reasons for declining.
7. Can my validator decline to validate my experience?
Yes. A validator can decline if unwilling or unable to verify the experience. They must provide a reason, but that reason remains confidential.
8. Can a friend or family member be my validator?
Possibly, but the relationship must be disclosed by both sides, and it can trigger bias review. A family member or personal friend may lead to an interview if no equivalent replacement is available.
9. What happens if I cannot find a validator for part of my experience?
Credit may not be given for unvalidated experience unless the circumstances require further consideration. EGBC recognises issues such as emerging disciplines, death of a validator and inadequate company support.
10. How many validators do reinstatement applicants need?
A professional registrant applying for reinstatement after cancellation for more than 18 months needs at least two validators covering the period since they last held Professional Registrant status.
