A question often asked by new graduates and project owners alike is "What can an Associate Engineer sign?", because the regulation lists many categories with many conditions, and the scope for design work is not the same as for construction supervision. This article gathers the scope of work of a civil Associate Engineer under the Council of Engineers Regulation on Criteria and Qualifications of Controlled Engineering Practitioners at Each Level, Civil Engineering Branch, B.E. 2566 (2023), with every item in tables on one page.
Who Is an Associate Engineer, and Why Is the Scope of Work Limited?
Associate Engineer is the first grade of the professional engineering license (COE), issued to graduates of engineering programs accredited by the Council of Engineers who pass the knowledge examination. Because they have not yet accumulated much experience, the law clearly limits the size of work they may take responsibility for, unlike Professional Engineers and Senior Professional Engineers, who can design and supervise work of any size. An overview of all 4 grades is in Thai engineer license grades: Associate, Professional, Senior — what each can sign
There is only one rule to remember when reading the regulation: an Associate Engineer may do "only" the work on the specified list — any work not on the list, such as bridge design, is not permitted, rather than permitted by default.
What Design and Calculation Work Can a Civil Associate Engineer Do?
There are 10 items of design and calculation work a civil Associate Engineer may do, each with a size cap, as summarized in the table
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| Type of work | Size an Associate Engineer may design |
|---|---|
| Buildings | Up to 4 storeys, or any single storey up to 5 m high, and not a public building |
| Warehouses, silos, cold stores, granaries, distribution centers | Capacity up to 1,000 m³ |
| Dams, weirs, irrigation water-control structures | Up to 2.50 m high |
| Drainage pipes, culverts | Diameter up to 1.50 m or cross-sectional area up to 2 m² |
| Irrigation systems, drainage systems | Area up to 5,000 rai per project |
| Towers, chimneys, religious structures | Up to 15 m high |
| Underground structures, tunnels, retaining walls, embankments, irrigation canals | Depth or height up to 2.50 m |
| Fluid storage structures, e.g. water tanks | Capacity up to 500 m³ |
| Scaffolding, temporary shoring | Up to 25 m high |
| Concrete formwork for columns and walls | Up to 5 m high |
There is one special condition: for design work that requires seismic load calculation, an Associate Engineer may do it only after completing training in earthquake-resistant building design under criteria set by the Council of Engineers. Note also that the list contains no bridge work — bridge design of any size is therefore within the scope of Professional Engineers and above. The document that must be signed together with the drawings is the structural calculation report, which requires the same license grade.
What Construction Work Can an Associate Engineer Supervise?
An Associate Engineer's scope for construction supervision is much wider than for design: buildings up to 8 storeys including public buildings, and many types of work at any size, as summarized in the table
← Scroll to see the full table →
| Type of work | Size an Associate Engineer may supervise |
|---|---|
| Buildings (including public and earthquake-resistant buildings) | Up to 8 storeys |
| Buildings on slopes | Area up to 150 m² on slopes no steeper than 35 degrees |
| Warehouses, silos, cold stores, granaries | All sizes |
| Grandstands | Area up to 1,500 m² / up to 12 m high |
| Piers | For vessels up to 50 t |
| Dams, weirs, irrigation systems, public roads, drainage pipes | All sizes |
| Towers, chimneys | Up to 40 m high (religious structures up to 23 m) |
| Telecommunication towers | Up to 50 m high |
| Bridges | Span between pier centers up to 12 m |
| Underground structures, retaining walls | Depth or height up to 2.50 m |
| Fluid storage structures | All sizes |
| Prestressed concrete, precast concrete structures | All sizes |
| Pipe support structures | Pipe diameter up to 0.30 m |
| Amusement rides | Speed up to 6 km/h |
| Cranes | Up to 23 m high |
| Signboards | Up to 23 m high or area up to 50 m² |
| Concrete pile manufacturing | All sizes |
| Scaffolding, temporary shoring | Up to 42 m high |
| Concrete formwork | Columns up to 5 m high / beams-slabs with spans up to 8 m |
A common misunderstanding is that an Associate Engineer can supervise only what they can design. In fact, they can supervise buildings up to 8 storeys including public buildings, even though they cannot design public buildings at all. Project owners can therefore use an Associate Engineer as the construction supervisor for most work, but the designer's grade must be checked separately. The full document submission process is in Building permit process
Work an Associate Engineer Can Do of Every Type and Size
Inspection work and operation & maintenance work can be done by an Associate Engineer for every type and size. Inspection work means researching, analyzing, inspecting and certifying the results of inspections of civil engineering work, while operation & maintenance work means overseeing the use and maintenance of structures so they perform as designed. These two categories are the only exceptions where the regulation sets no size limit for Associate Engineers.
What Work Can an Associate Engineer Not Do?
In summary, under the regulation, the work a civil Associate Engineer cannot do at all, regardless of size, is:
- Project planning — feasibility studies and planning of engineering projects are within the scope of Professional Engineers and above
- Consulting — even Professional Engineers may only give advice; diagnosis and certification as a consultant belong to Senior Professional Engineers
- Bridge design — not on the Associate Engineer's list of design work (supervising construction of bridges with pier spans up to 12 m is permitted)
- Public building design — of any size, even single-storey buildings
- Work above the size caps in the tables — e.g. a 5-storey building or a 3 m deep retaining wall requires a Professional or Senior Professional Engineer
Signing work beyond the scope of one's license grade is an offense under the Engineer Act B.E. 2542 (1999), carrying both criminal and ethical penalties, and that set of drawings will not be approved when submitted for a building permit. If your work exceeds an Associate Engineer's scope, SPN's design team has engineers of the grade matching the size of the work to sign and certify it. See our services at Civil engineering design
More to Know About the B.E. 2566 (2023) Regulation
This regulation was published in the Royal Gazette on 21 June 2023 and took effect on 22 June 2023, replacing the B.E. 2551 (2008) version. Transitional provisions allow those already licensed to continue practicing under their former scope within the specified 3-year period. There is also a Special Associate Engineer grade, which may do only the work stated on each individual's license and does not use the same scope table as a regular Associate Engineer. An overview of all structural design work is in Guide to RC structural design and civil engineering
This content summarizes key points of the Council of Engineers Regulation, Civil Engineering Branch, B.E. 2566 (2023), for basic understanding only. The actual lists have further details and conditions by type of work. Practitioners and project owners should always check the full regulation and the current related laws.