A Kentucky professional engineer (PE) license represents years of education, examination, and supervised experience — and a criminal charge can put all of it in jeopardy. Engineers are disciplined not only for professional errors but for conduct that calls their honesty or fitness into question, and a criminal case is exactly the kind of event that draws the Board’s attention. If you hold a PE license (or are an engineer intern working toward one) and you are facing criminal charges, the decisions you make in the first weeks will shape both your criminal case and your license. Start with our Kentucky licensing board defense overview, or call (859) 474-0001.

Who Regulates Engineers in Kentucky

Professional engineers and land surveyors in Kentucky are licensed and disciplined by the Kentucky State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors under KRS Chapter 322. The Board has authority to deny, suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline a license for grounds that include fraud or deceit, gross negligence or incompetence in practice, violations of the profession’s ethical standards, and criminal convictions that bear on your fitness to practice.

The Board’s disciplinary process is an administrative proceeding — separate from your criminal case, with its own rules, timelines, and consequences. Our guide to how Kentucky licensing board investigations work walks through that process step by step.

How a Criminal Charge Reaches the Board

Engineers are sometimes surprised that the Board learns of a criminal case at all. It happens several ways: renewal applications ask about criminal history; a conviction may be reported by courts or background checks; a competitor, client, or former employer may file a complaint; and news coverage of an arrest can prompt the Board to open its own inquiry. Complaints can even be filed anonymously — see our discussion of anonymous complaints against Kentucky licensed professionals.

The charges that most often create license exposure for engineers include:

Fraud, theft, and financial crimes — the most dangerous category, because they go directly to honesty and trustworthiness
Charges arising from projects — allegations tied to permitting, inspections, public contracts, or certifications
DUI and drug-related charges, particularly repeat offenses or anything suggesting impairment affecting practice
Assault or other felony charges that raise general fitness questions

Not every charge results in board discipline. What matters is how the charge relates to the practice of engineering and how you handle the reporting and response. The broader framework is covered in the impact of criminal charges on Kentucky professional licenses.

The Plea Decision Is a License Decision

The most common mistake we see: an engineer resolves a criminal case quickly — often with a plea that seems minor — without asking what the conviction does before the Board. A plea is an admission. It removes any argument that the underlying conduct did not happen, and it can convert a defensible board inquiry into a discipline case with a predetermined outcome. Before you accept any plea, you need to know how the Board is likely to treat that specific conviction, whether it triggers reporting obligations, and whether an alternative resolution — amended charges, diversion, deferred prosecution — would protect the license.

The same coordination applies in reverse: what you tell the Board can be used in the criminal case. Never respond to a board complaint or investigator while charges are pending without counsel coordinating both matters. Your due process rights in Kentucky board proceedings exist precisely so you are not forced to choose between defending your license and protecting yourself in court.

What to Do Right Now

Do not self-report or respond to the Board before getting legal advice on timing, wording, and what is actually required.
Do not discuss the criminal case with employers, colleagues, or clients — those conversations are discoverable.
Gather your records: the charging documents, your license and renewal history, and any correspondence from the Board.
Coordinate one strategy for the criminal case and the license case, run by counsel who handles both.

If Discipline Has Already Happened

A suspension or revocation is serious, but it is not always the end. Board decisions can be challenged — see appealing a Kentucky licensing board decision to circuit court — and engineers who have been disciplined can often pursue reinstatement after board discipline with a properly built record of rehabilitation.

Protect Your PE License — Call Clark + Harris

We defend Kentucky engineers in criminal court and before the licensing board, and we build one strategy that serves both. Your license is the product of a decade of work. Do not let a criminal charge take it by default.

Call (859) 474-0001 for a confidential consultation.

Related Resources

Licensed trade and design professionals answer to a state board as well as a court, and board action can outlast the criminal matter. Related guides:

Kentucky Engineer License Defense After Criminal Charges