The California Professional Geologist  (PG) License

Summary of the process to the PG License

1. Educational requirements. Please click here to see a spreadsheet summary of how the Geology Concentration in the EESS degree program meets the educational requirements.

2. Work experience requirements. Please click here for a summary.

3. Fundamentals of Geology exam.

1. • You can take this when you are close to finishing your required coursework, or soon after. It is good to take it early as you are finishing your educational requirements (otherwise you wait to take it with the PG exam) because it is a signal to employers that you are serious about pursuing the PG license.

4. The PG exam.

1. • This exam is taken after you complete the work experience requirements (which is approximately 3-5 years depending on the details of your work and its supervision under other PG licensees). 

5. The California Specific Exam (CSE).

1. • Information about the CSE can be found here. Other content information is here and here.

Information about each of these exams can also be found here. 

Here is a useful general document called Regulations Relating to the Practices of Geology and Geophysics. It's written in a lot of legalese, but the educational requirements are outlined in Section 3022 starting on page 7 through page 10.

BPELSG & ASBOG

Confusing acronyms. 

BPELSG is the California Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG). Think of this as the master website for licensing information in California.

ASBOG is the Association of State Boards of Geology. It is a national organization rather than California specific like BPELSG. Nonetheless there is a lot of overlap. More specifically, study materials are available through ASBOG, for example the Fundamentals of Geology exam.

ASBOG also has an informative poster about the Tasks of a Geologist.

Additional Professional Licenses

California Certified Hydrogeologist (CHG)

Professional Geologists are then eligible for a further certification as a Certified Hydrogeologist (CHG). Information about the examination process can be found here. Information about the exam content is here. 

California Professional Geophysicist (PGP)

A geophysicist license is also available independently of the PG license. The typical geology program will not satisfy the physics background, but a physics student with a Geology Minor typically will. 

Note for Geologists: The existence of a PGP license does not mean a PG cannot work with geophysical data in a professional capacity. It does however represent a specialized educational and work experience background that is appropriate to and may be required for some specialized job roles.

If you have questions about this license, please contact and of the geology faculty or email Cal Poly Geology.