Preparer credential
Who is allowed to prepare a stormwater plan in your state
This decides whether a document you generate is your deliverable or a draft somebody else has to sign, and it is the question the rest of the market answers worst. We hold it as a structured gate rather than a boolean, because a boolean misrepresents nearly half the country.
7
States requiring a credentialed preparer
6
States where it depends on acreage or plan scope
27
States where we found no preparer credential
Counts are of jurisdictions confirmed against a primary source. 40 of 52 are confirmed; the rest render as not verified in the table below and must be confirmed with the permitting authority. 32 states reviewed against primary sources. States marked unverified were not confirmed and must render as not verified in the UI.
Why a boolean is wrong
States differ on three independent axes
Which credentials qualify, whether a state course is layered on top, and what triggers the gate at all.
Which credentials qualify
Georgia accepts six licences or the CPESC. South Carolina accepts three seals and explicitly rejects the CPESC. A tool that says only yes or no cannot tell you whether the person you already employ counts.
Whether a course is layered on
California and Georgia require a state specific course or exam on top of the underlying credential. Holding the licence is not the same as being qualified to prepare the plan.
What triggers the gate
Utah gates above five acres and Oregon at 20, so acreage decides it. New York gates on plan SCOPE instead: an erosion and sediment control only plan has no preparer credential at all.
Traps
Four ways this question is routinely answered wrong
These come from our own dataset notes, and each one is a case we found stated incorrectly elsewhere.
- Regulator-side credentials (agency staff) are not applicant-side gates: Michigan, Virginia plan reviewer and South Carolina certified plan reviewer are all regulator-side.
- A named role is not a credential: Colorado's Qualified Stormwater Manager and Arizona's Qualified Person are self-attested.
- Practice-act citations are conditional and routinely overstated. A PE stamp is NOT required in WA, CO, AZ, TX and most open states.
- State law is a floor. Local ordinances (e.g. Cook County MWRD in Illinois) can impose a stricter gate.
Every jurisdiction
The register
| Jurisdiction | Preparer gate | Who qualifies, or what triggers it |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Credential required | PE; CPESC; Landscape architect; Surveyor; PG; Forester; REM; Soil scientist |
| Alaska | Conditional | Sites above 20 acres. |
| Arizona | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Arkansas | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| California | Credential required | California PE or PG (self-certify); Landscape architect, AIH hydrologist, CPESC or CPSWQ plus CASQA training and exam |
| Colorado | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Connecticut | Credential required | Connecticut-licensed PE; Connecticut-licensed landscape architect |
| Delaware | Credential required | Licensed landscape architect; Licensed surveyor; PE |
| District of Columbia | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Florida | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Georgia | Credential required | Georgia-licensed engineer, architect, landscape architect, forester, geologist or surveyor; CPESC |
| Hawaii | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Idaho | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Illinois | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Indiana | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Iowa | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Kansas | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| Kentucky | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Louisiana | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Maine | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| Maryland | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Massachusetts | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| Michigan | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Minnesota | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| Mississippi | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Missouri | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| Montana | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| Nebraska | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Nevada | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| New Hampshire | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| New Jersey | Conditional | Plan scope rather than acreage: Engineering-related items only, not the whole plan. |
| New Mexico | Credential required | Qualified erosion control specialist, for example CPESC |
| New York | Conditional | Plan scope rather than acreage: Only where the plan includes the Stormwater Management Practice component. |
| North Carolina | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| North Dakota | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Ohio | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Oklahoma | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Oregon | Conditional | Sites of 20 acres or more. |
| Pennsylvania | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Puerto Rico | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Rhode Island | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| South Carolina | Credential required | PE seal; Registered landscape architect seal; Tier B surveyor seal |
| South Dakota | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Tennessee | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| Texas | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Utah | Conditional | Sites above 5 acres. |
| Vermont | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| Virginia | Conditional | Plan scope rather than acreage: The SWM plan is gated; the erosion and sediment control plan is not. |
| Washington | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| West Virginia | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
| Wisconsin | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Wyoming | Not verified | Reviewed but not confirmed against a primary source. Treat as not verified. |
Looking specifically at California? Do I need a QSD covers the Qualified SWPPP Developer question in full.
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