Do I need an engineer to stamp someone else's drawings?

A drawing may be prepared by a designer, architect, contractor, drafter, or another engineer, but authorship alone does not transfer engineering responsibility. I do not treat a signature request as a substitute for the records and review needed by the responsible engineer to identify what was evaluated, what was changed, and what remains outside the accepted scope.

• Name the original source, revision, and intended use of the drawings
• Define the engineering discipline, sheets, calculations, and deliverables
• Confirm project location, applicable authority process, and professional authorization
• Identify design-by-others, delegated-design, and construction responsibilities

The depth of review follows the risk and complexity of the work, but it must be more than a visual glance. Current backgrounds, calculations, dimensions, field observations, equipment or product data, soil information, and authority comments may all be necessary to verify the design basis and coordinate a responsible conclusion.

• Reperform or check governing load, capacity, deflection, and stability calculations
• Verify load paths, connections, foundations, and critical details
• Compare drawings, schedules, calculations, and existing-condition evidence
• Record review comments, revisions, unresolved assumptions, and limitations

If records are inadequate, work is outside competence, the design cannot be verified, or the applicable rules do not permit the proposed arrangement, the engineer should not accept the responsibility merely because a signature is requested. The result may be a redesign, a limited review with explicit boundaries, more investigation, or no seal.

• Do not market an isolated signature or guaranteed approval
• Use a written scope and review record before relying on a seal
• Coordinate changes with the original design team and authority as needed
• Preserve professional boundaries for architecture, construction, survey, and specialty work