How to get your license: Geologists, engineering geologists, or hydrogeologists by reciprocity

Requirements

To get a geologist license by reciprocity, you must:

Meet the education requirements through a degree or equivalent course work
Have at least 5 years of documented, verifiable professional geological experience with at least 3 years supervised by a licensed geologist.
- If your supervisor isn't a licensed geologist, the person verifying the experience must provide their resume to the Board for evaluation and approval.
- One year of full-time graduate study in geology or qualified related area counts as 1 year of experience – maximum of 2 years
- Geological research or teaching at a university or college is credited year-for-year if judged comparable to experience by the Board
- If you have only 1 experience to verify, you must also submit 1 person reference
Have passed the National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG®) Fundamentals of Geology and Practice of Geology examinations, or other Board-approved equivalent examinations
Be currently licensed, registered, or certified in good standing in a state or jurisdiction approved by the Board.

To get a specialty license by reciprocity, you must:

Have completed 1 of the following advanced studies pertinent to your chosen specialty.
- 18 semester or 27 quarter hours of graded academic course work
- 270 hours of seminars or workshops
- 540 hours of on-the-job training under the supervision of a geologist licensed in your chosen specialty, or others qualified to have responsible charge, as determined by the Board
Have at least 5 years of documented, verifiable experience in your chosen specialty, including at least 3 years under the supervision of a geologist licensed in your chosen specialty. If applying for 2 specialties, you must have at least 5 years of documented, verifiable experience in each specialty.
- If your supervisor isn't a geologist licensed in your chosen specialty, the person verifying the experience must provide their resume to the Board for evaluation and approval.
Be currently licensed, registered, or certified in good standing as a geologist in a state or jurisdiction approved by the Board and
- Pass a specialty exam adopted by, or acceptable to, the Board or
- Be currently licensed in the specialty in 1 of these states:
  - California – engineering geologist or hydrogeologist
  - Oregon – engineering geologist

Log in or sign up to apply online.

Send us the following:

If you are applying for a specialty license:

Completed List of Projects form for Engineering Geologist or Hydrogeologist.
Check or money order, payable to the Department of Licensing, for the fees (reciprocity geologist license fee, AND if requested, reciprocity specialty license and exam fees).
Geologist Licensing Board
Department of Licensing
PO Box 3777
Olympia, WA 98507-3777
Complete section 1 of an Employment and Experience Verification form for each work experience you are having verified.
- If you're only requesting 1 experience verification, you must also complete 1 Personal Reference form and have the reference return the form to the address shown at the top of the form.
Have your college or university send official transcripts to (no overnight mail accepted):
Geologist Licensing Board
Department of Licensing
PO Box 9012
Olympia, WA 98507-9012
Email: geologist@dol.wa.gov (email must come directly from the third party)
Complete the Applicant section of the Geologist Licensing and/or Exam History Certification. Send the form to the state where you are currently licensed and/or where you passed your exams to have them complete the Certification section of the form and return it to the address at the top of the form.

After we've reviewed and approved all your required documents:

If you applied for a geologist license only, we'll issue the geologist license.
If you applied for a specialty license, we'll let you know if you need to take a specialty exam.
- If you do need to take a specialty exam, we will contact you if any additional information is needed. Otherwise, you will receive an exam admission letter about 1 month before the exam date.
- If you don't need to take a specialty exam, we'll issue your geologist license with the appropriate specialty endorsement.