How to Check If Someone Is a Genuine Structural Engineer (5 Easy Steps)

A client once paid £400 for a structural engineer's wall removal report, only for Liverpool City Council Building Control to reject it outright, because the person who wrote it wasn't actually qualified. No membership number, no insurance, nothing. She had to pay twice.

Here's the truth: in the UK, "structural engineer" isn't a locked title. Anyone can print a business card that says it. What's actually protected is Chartered Structural Engineer, the letters MIStructE or FIStructE after someone's name, awarded only by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) after formal exams and professional review.

So before you hire anyone: ask for their IStructE or ICE membership number, then verify it yourself on IStructE's public "Find an Engineer" directory. It takes two minutes and instantly confirms whether they're genuinely qualified, what grade they hold, and whether they're keeping up their CPD.

Skip this step, and you risk paying twice, just like the client above.

Read the full guide, including the red flags to watch for and what proper documentation looks like:

👉 Get your structural engineer verified the right way, or book a RICS-regulated structural engineering consultation in Liverpool: https://asg-consulting.co.uk/check-structural-engineer-credentials/