California Licensed Structural Engineer (SE) Bus. & Prof. Code § 6736 Attorney Fee Petition Mechanics — BPELSG SE Specialty License (check.bpelsg.ca.gov) Primary Welch Anchor — CBC § 1701A Hospitals Schools 3-Story SE Requirement — ASCE/SEI 7-22 Redundancy Factor ρ SDC D Advisory [PURE KETCHUM] — AISC 360-22 Fillet Weld Minimum Throat Advisory [PURE KETCHUM] — TWO PRIVATE STANDARDS ON ONE PAGE — DISTINCT FROM Civil PE (§ 6730), GE (§ 6731), Architect (§ 5536) — Los Angeles County 7-Story Medical Office ρ = 1.0 Instead of 1.3 SDC D Partial Collapse $285K / San Bernardino County Steel Warehouse Fillet Weld Undersized Roof Collapse Four Workers Hospitalized $195K / Orange County High School DSA SE Rejected Plans Redesign $95K Three-Track Harm — CCP § 1021.5 Mandatory Attorney Fees — 13.25 hrs = $3,975–$6,625/yr

Statutory Framework: Bus. & Prof. Code § 6736 and the California Licensed Structural Engineer (SE) — CBC § 1701A and H&S Code § 3030 SE Requirement for Hospitals, Schools, and Buildings Over Three Stories — TWO PRIVATE STANDARDS: ASCE/SEI 7-22 Seismic Design [PURE KETCHUM] and AISC 360-22 Steel Construction [PURE KETCHUM] — CCP § 1021.5 Mandatory Attorney Fees

Bus. & Prof. Code § 6736 establishes the California Licensed Structural Engineer (SE) as a specialty license within the BPELSG professional engineering licensing framework, authorizing the holder to practice structural engineering in California including design of complex structural systems, seismic force-resisting system analysis, and preparation and stamping of structural drawings and calculations for buildings subject to the SE requirement. Unlike many states where “structural engineering” is a subspecialty of civil engineering, California § 6736 creates a legally independent SE license requiring separate examinations — the NCEES SE I (vertical forces) and SE II (lateral forces) examinations, covering structural dynamics, performance-based seismic design, complex steel and concrete connection design, and advanced lateral force-resisting system analysis — plus qualifying experience in structural engineering. California Building Code § 1701A implements the § 6736 SE requirement operationally: structural drawings and calculations for Risk Category III structures (assembly occupancies, schools, emergency shelters with occupant loads over 300), Risk Category IV structures (hospitals, fire stations, police stations, emergency operations centers), and buildings over three stories where designated by the local jurisdiction must bear the stamp and wet signature of a person licensed under Bus. & Prof. Code § 6736. Health & Safety Code § 3030 independently requires SE review for all California hospital and healthcare facility construction under HCAi (formerly OSHPD) jurisdiction, and Health & Safety Code § 17280 et seq. requires SE (through DSA) for all K–12 public school construction. When a Civil PE (§ 6730) or an unlicensed person signs structural documents for these project types — and structural analysis errors in those documents cause seismic damage, connection failure, or regulatory rejection — a CCP § 1021.5 fee petition is properly supported by two PURE KETCHUM private standards described below.

ASCE/SEI 7-22 MINIMUM DESIGN LOADS AND ASSOCIATED CRITERIA FOR BUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES — THE ONLY PAGE IN THE FEE-PETITION-MECHANICS SERIES WITH AN ASCE/SEI 7-22 STRUCTURAL ADVISORY — PRIVATE ASCE (FOUNDED 1852, RESTON VA; 2022 ED.) — PURE KETCHUM — NO STATUTORY FEE-SHIFTING: ASCE/SEI 7-22 is the primary structural loading standard incorporated by reference into the California Building Code and governs seismic design loads for all California buildings. Chapter 12 governs seismic design requirements for building structures, and three of its provisions are most commonly at issue in § 6736 unlicensed SE fee petitions. Section 12.3.4 establishes the seismic redundancy factor ρ applicable to Seismic Design Category D, E, and F structures: ρ = 1.3 is the default value for these high-seismicity categories, and ρ = 1.0 is permitted only when the structure qualifies as having minimum two bays of seismic force-resisting system in each direction of a moment frame, or when one of the conditions in Section 12.3.4.2 is satisfied by rigorous analysis. The factor ρ multiplies the seismic design story shear directly: using ρ = 1.0 instead of ρ = 1.3 reduces the design lateral force on the seismic force-resisting system by 23%, producing an unconservatively sized lateral system. For a single-bay moment frame in Seismic Design Category D — a configuration that fails the two-bay-minimum test and requires ρ = 1.3 — omitting the 1.3 factor results in beam-column connections and column base plates designed for 23% less lateral demand than required, potentially causing the frame to exceed allowable story drift limits under Section 12.12.1 during a design-level earthquake. Section 12.12.1 establishes the allowable story drift limit Δ𝑎 = 0.020hₛₓ for Risk Category II structures (0.015hₛₓ for Risk Category III and 0.010hₛₓ for Risk Category IV, where hₛₓ is the story height in the same units as the drift), and requires that the amplified deflection δₓ = C/Ⳉ δₓ𝑒 / I𝑒 per Section 12.8.6 be used in the drift calculation, not the elastic deflection from analysis directly. Section 12.7.3 governs fundamental period determination: the code period approximation methods (Method A using T𝑎 = C𝑡(hᵛ)ⁿ or Method B using the Rayleigh formula) may overestimate the building period by up to 20% relative to eigenvalue analysis, which reduces calculated seismic base shear V = Cₛ × W because higher periods map to lower spectral accelerations. Overestimating the period unconservatively reduces base shear, and the Section 12.7.3 upper-bound period cap T ≤ C𝑢 T𝑎 is intended to limit this effect; its omission in unlicensed structural calculations is a Section 12.7.3 deviation documented by the petitioner’s SE expert. In a § 6736 fee petition, ASCE/SEI 7-22 is used as a PURE KETCHUM advisory: the structural engineering expert documents what redundancy factor Section 12.3.4 required, how the incorrect ρ selection reduced lateral design forces, how the resulting undersized moment frame exceeded drift limits during the M 5.5 earthquake, and how the partial collapse caused the $285K harm. The American Society of Civil Engineers is a private nonprofit professional engineering organization; ASCE/SEI 7-22 creates no statutory fee-shifting and no private right of action of any kind.

AISC 360-22 SPECIFICATION FOR STRUCTURAL STEEL BUILDINGS — THE ONLY PAGE IN THE FEE-PETITION-MECHANICS SERIES WITH AN AISC 360-22 ADVISORY — PRIVATE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION (FOUNDED 1921, CHICAGO IL; 2022 ED.) — PURE KETCHUM — NO STATUTORY FEE-SHIFTING: AISC 360-22 is the governing specification for structural steel design incorporated by reference into the California Building Code and applied in all California structural steel construction. Three of its provisions are most commonly at issue in § 6736 unlicensed SE fee petitions involving steel structures. Section J2.4 establishes fillet weld minimum size requirements and weld strength: the minimum weld leg size a𝑤 is determined from Table J2.4 based on the thicker part being joined — for parts 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, the minimum fillet weld leg size is 1/4 inch; using a 3/16-inch weld where Table J2.4 requires 1/4 inch produces a weld with 75% of the required cross-sectional area and approximately 75% of the required nominal strength φRᵟ = 0.75 × 0.6F𝐸𝑋𝑋 × A𝑤 (where A𝑤 is the effective weld throat area = 0.707 × weld leg × weld length). A structural drawing that omits the minimum weld size specification leaves the fabricator without guidance, and field welding inspection records are the critical discovery target to establish the as-built weld size. Section D2 establishes two tensile member design limit states that must both be evaluated: (a) yielding on gross cross-section, φ𝑡Pᵟ = 0.90 F𝑦 A𝑔; and (b) fracture through effective net area, φ𝑡Pᵟ = 0.75 F𝑢 A𝑒; the design is governed by the lesser of the two values. Omitting the fracture limit state — using only the yielding criterion — overestimates tensile capacity whenever the net section area A𝑒 is less than approximately 0.75/0.90 × (F𝑦/F𝑢) × A𝑔, which is common in bolted connections where hole areas reduce net section. Section C3.2 establishes notional load requirements under the direct analysis method: minimum notional lateral loads N𝑖 = 0.002Y𝑖 must be applied at every floor level under all gravity load combinations to account for initial out-of-plumbness of the structure under gravity; these small lateral loads trigger P-delta analysis and prevent unconservative stability calculations. Omitting notional loads — failing to apply the 0.002Y𝑖 minimum at each floor — underestimates second-order (P-delta) amplification effects on column moments, which is particularly significant in partially braced frames where gravity loads produce additional lateral sway amplification. In a § 6736 fee petition, AISC 360-22 is used as a PURE KETCHUM advisory: the structural steel expert documents the minimum weld size required by Section J2.4 Table J2.4, the as-built weld size from fabrication records, the weld strength deficiency, and how the deficient weld failed under the design snow accumulation load — establishing causation for the $195K harm. The American Institute of Steel Construction is a private nonprofit technical institute; AISC 360-22 creates no statutory fee-shifting and no private right of action of any kind.

Three-Track Harm: Los Angeles County 7-Story Medical Office Partial Collapse SDC D ($285K), San Bernardino County Steel Warehouse Roof Collapse Four Workers Hospitalized ($195K), and Orange County High School DSA SE Rejection ($95K)

• LOS ANGELES COUNTY 7-STORY MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING STRUCTURAL REVIEW SIGNED BY CIVIL PE NOT SE CBC § 1701A REQUIRES SE FOR RISK CATEGORY III STRUCTURES OVER 3 STORIES ASCE/SEI 7-22 SECTION 12.3.4 REDUNDANCY FACTOR ρ = 1.0 USED INSTEAD OF ρ = 1.3 FOR SEISMIC DESIGN CATEGORY D SINGLE-BAY MOMENT FRAME IN LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION M 5.5 EARTHQUAKE LATERAL DISPLACEMENT 40% ABOVE ALLOWABLE DRIFT PARTIAL COLLAPSE 3RD-FLOOR MECHANICAL ROOM RED-TAGGED $285,000 EMERGENCY SHORING AND STRUCTURAL REPAIR: A seven-story medical office building in the San Gabriel Valley portion of Los Angeles County was designed with a special moment-resisting frame (SMRF) seismic force-resisting system. The structural drawings and calculations were signed and stamped by a licensed Civil PE who did not hold a § 6736 SE specialty license; the building, classified as Risk Category III under CBC § 1604.5 due to its medical office occupancy with over 300 occupants, required SE sign-off under CBC § 1701A. The structural calculations used a redundancy factor ρ = 1.0 for the Seismic Design Category D site classification. The building’s seismic force-resisting system in the longitudinal direction consisted of a single-bay SMRF — a configuration that fails the ASCE/SEI 7-22 Section 12.3.4.2 two-bay minimum required for ρ = 1.0 and mandates ρ = 1.3. At ρ = 1.0, the design seismic story shears in the longitudinal direction were 23% below the code-required values; beam-column connection design moment demands and column base plate anchor bolt designs were correspondingly undersized. During an M 5.5 earthquake, the building experienced maximum inter-story drift ratios of 2.8% in the longitudinal direction — 40% above the ASCE/SEI 7-22 Section 12.12.1 allowable drift limit of 2.0% for Risk Category III structures — causing plastic hinge formation beyond the design intent at three beam-column connections on the third floor, where the mechanical room penthouse imposed elevated mass. A section of the third-floor mechanical room floor slab fractured, red-tagging the mechanical equipment floor and triggering structural evacuation of portions of the occupied floors below. The property owner incurred $285,000 in emergency shoring, beam-column connection repair, column base plate replacement, and structural re-analysis costs, in addition to tenant displacement compensation for medical offices forced to relocate during repair operations.
• SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY STEEL WAREHOUSE EXPANSION UNLICENSED STRUCTURAL REVIEW AISC 360-22 SECTION J2.4 FILLET WELD MINIMUM THROAT SPECIFICATION MISSING FROM STRUCTURAL DRAWINGS FABRICATOR USED 3/16-INCH WELD WHERE 1/4-INCH MINIMUM REQUIRED ROOF PURLIN-TO-RAFTER CONNECTION 24-INCH SNOW ACCUMULATION LOAD WELD RUPTURE PARTIAL ROOF COLLAPSE FOUR WORKERS HOSPITALIZED $195,000 REPAIR AND OSHA CITATION: A refrigerated warehouse operator in San Bernardino County contracted for a 12,000-square-foot cold storage expansion addition with a steel roof framing system using wide-flange rafters at 20-foot spans and steel Z-purlin secondary framing at 5-foot spacing. The structural design was prepared by a sole practitioner holding only a Civil PE without SE licensure; the addition was attached to a pre-engineered metal building and the design used AISC 360-22 for the connection design. The structural drawings specified purlin-to-rafter connections using fillet welds but omitted any specification of the required weld size; no note referenced AISC 360-22 Table J2.4 or specified a minimum weld leg dimension. The fabricator, working from the structural drawings, used 3/16-inch fillet welds throughout the purlin-to-rafter connections based on standard shop practice for light framing. The rafter top flange was 1/2-inch thick plate; AISC 360-22 Section J2.4 Table J2.4 specifies a minimum 1/4-inch weld for material 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick. The 3/16-inch as-built weld had an effective throat of 0.134 inches versus the 0.177-inch effective throat of the required 1/4-inch weld — a 24% reduction in weld throat area and nominal strength. During a winter storm event that deposited 24 inches of wet snow on the roof — a load within the ASCE 7-22 ground snow load design envelope for the San Bernardino County location — four purlin-to-rafter weld connections on the north slope failed in shear. Eleven purlins over a 2,400-square-foot bay lost lateral support and the roof cladding descended, partially collapsing onto a cold storage staging area occupied by four warehouse workers, resulting in fractures, lacerations, and one severe crush injury requiring surgical intervention. Total repair costs, worker compensation claims, and Cal/OSHA citation penalties reached $195,000, with the unlicensed PE’s professional liability carrier disputing coverage for practice outside SE scope.
• ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM ADDITION STRUCTURAL DOCUMENTS SIGNED BY CIVIL PE WITHOUT SE LICENSE DIVISION OF STATE ARCHITECT (DSA) REQUIRED SE FOR ALL CALIFORNIA K–12 SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION UNDER H&S CODE § 3030 DSA REJECTED PLANS CONSTRUCTION HALTED STRUCTURAL DOCUMENTS HAD TO BE REENGINEERED BY LICENSED SE $95,000 DELAY COSTS AND REDESIGN FEES: An Orange County Unified School District sought to add a six-classroom modular-to-permanent conversion addition at a high school campus. The school district engaged a design team that included a Civil PE as structural engineer of record; the PE prepared and stamped structural drawings and calculations for the two-story, 7,200-square-foot classroom wing. The project was submitted to the Division of State Architect (DSA) for plan check under Health & Safety Code §§ 17280–17317 and § 3030, which require DSA plan check and SE sign-off for all California K–12 public school construction regardless of building size or height. During the DSA Tier 1 plan check review, the DSA plan checker noted that the structural drawings bore the stamp of a Civil PE (§ 6730) without an SE specialty license endorsement (§ 6736), and issued a plan check correction notice rejecting the submission and requiring that all structural drawings and calculations be prepared and stamped by a licensed SE under Bus. & Prof. Code § 6736 before DSA resubmission. Construction had already been partially mobilized based on anticipated DSA approval; the school district halted site mobilization and issued a design hold. A licensed SE was retained and performed a complete independent structural review, identifying several ASCE/SEI 7-22 Section 12.3.4 and Section 12.12.1 drift calculation issues in the original calculations that required structural redesign before DSA resubmission. The school district incurred $95,000 in combined costs: mobilization and demobilization charges from the general contractor, DSA expedited plan check fees for the corrected submission, the licensed SE’s redesign fees, and delay liquidated damages assessed against the district under the construction contract for the DSA hold period.

Distinct From Civil Engineer PE (Bus. & Prof. Code § 6730), Geotechnical Engineer GE (Bus. & Prof. Code § 6731), and Licensed Architect (Bus. & Prof. Code § 5536)

• DISTINCT FROM CIVIL ENGINEER PE (BUS. & PROF. CODE § 6730) — BROAD ENGINEERING SCOPE DOES NOT INCLUDE HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS, AND RISK CATEGORY III/IV BUILDINGS; SE REQUIRES SEPARATE SE EXAMINATION COVERING ADVANCED STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS AND SEISMIC DESIGN: Bus. & Prof. Code § 6730 licenses Civil Engineers (PE) with a broad engineering scope, but California Building Code § 1701A expressly requires that structural documents for Risk Category III and IV structures, hospitals, schools, and essential facilities bear the stamp of a person licensed under Bus. & Prof. Code § 6736 (SE), not merely a Civil PE under § 6730. The SE specialty license requires passage of the NCEES SE I and SE II examinations, which cover advanced structural dynamics and modal response spectrum analysis, performance-based earthquake engineering, seismic design of irregular structures, complex steel connection design including moment connections and seismic detailing under AISC 341, and complex reinforced concrete seismic design under ACI 318 Chapters 18 and 19 — content that is not tested in the NCEES PE examination and is beyond Civil PE scope. For fee petition purposes, the BPELSG check.bpelsg.ca.gov system shows a Civil PE (§ 6730) designation separately from SE (§ 6736); the presence of only a Civil PE designation on the structural engineer of record, without an SE endorsement, establishes the § 6736 violation when the project required SE by CBC § 1701A or H&S Code § 3030.
• DISTINCT FROM GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER GE (BUS. & PROF. CODE § 6731) — SUBSURFACE INVESTIGATION AND FOUNDATION ENGINEERING VERSUS ABOVE-GROUND STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS AND LATERAL FORCE-RESISTING FRAMES; THE TWO SPECIALTIES ADDRESS COMPLEMENTARY BUT DISTINCT ASPECTS OF BUILDING ENGINEERING: Bus. & Prof. Code § 6731 licenses Geotechnical Engineers (GE) for subsurface investigation, foundation engineering, bearing capacity analysis, retaining wall design, liquefaction assessment, and seismic site classification from below the foundation bearing elevation. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6736 licenses Structural Engineers (SE) for above-ground structural system design, lateral force-resisting frame analysis, beam-column connection design, roof and floor structural system design, and preparation of structural drawings for buildings subject to CBC § 1701A. A GE license (§ 6731) does not authorize structural frame design, moment frame analysis, fillet weld specification, or preparation of structural drawings for buildings requiring SE; an SE license (§ 6736) does not authorize geotechnical investigation, foundation recommendation preparation, or seismic site classification. On a complex California project, both a GE and an SE may be required simultaneously — the GE providing the foundation recommendations and site class determination that feed into the SE’s ASCE/SEI 7-22 seismic design. When only one is missing, the fee petition must identify the specific license (§ 6731 or § 6736) that was absent from the BPELSG registry at check.bpelsg.ca.gov.
• DISTINCT FROM LICENSED ARCHITECT (BUS. & PROF. CODE § 5536) — BUILDING DESIGN INCLUDING LIFE SAFETY AND ACCESSIBILITY VERSUS STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING CALCULATIONS AND STRUCTURAL DRAWINGS FOR COMPLEX STRUCTURES; CALIFORNIA ARCHITECTS BOARD REGULATION REQUIRES SE SEAL ON STRUCTURAL CALCULATIONS FOR COMPLEX STRUCTURES: Bus. & Prof. Code § 5536 licenses California Architects with authority to design buildings including site planning, building envelope, life safety systems, occupant egress, ADA accessibility compliance, and interior space planning. An Architect license does not authorize preparation of structural engineering calculations or structural drawings for complex structures; California Architects Board regulations, consistent with Bus. & Prof. Code § 6736, require that structural calculations for complex structures bear the seal of a licensed SE. Many California building projects require both an Architect and an SE — the Architect providing the building design, life safety compliance, and construction documents, the SE providing the structural drawings and calculations that the Architect incorporates by reference. On hospital and school projects (H&S Code § 3030; DSA jurisdiction), both an Architect and an SE must stamp their respective documents. An Architect cannot replace an SE on projects requiring SE under CBC § 1701A; a § 6736 fee petition requires confirming absence from the BPELSG SE specialty license registry at check.bpelsg.ca.gov, entirely separate from the California Architects State License Board registry at check.dca.ca.gov.

Billing Gaps 1–3 Summary (13.25 hrs/yr = $3,975–$6,625/yr)

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