NPPE Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield NPPE facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which of the following best states the elements that a plaintiff must prove in a negligence action against a professional engineer in Canada? → Duty of care, breach, causation, and damages
2. Which risk response strategy involves transferring a project risk to a third party, such as through insurance or a fixed-price contract? → Transfer
3. Which principle in risk management holds that it is better to prevent failures than to detect and correct them after they occur? → The prevention over detection principle (or 'prevention is better than cure')
4. An engineer working for a corporation is instructed by management to omit known safety concerns from a public report. The engineer should: → Refuse, because professional duties to public safety override employer instructions
5. Under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, a professional may be found negligent when: → The harm would not ordinarily occur without negligence and the professional had control
6. An engineer who also owns shares in a materials supplier recommends that supplier to a client without disclosure. This violates which core ethical principle? → Duty to act without conflict of interest and with full disclosure
7. When a third party (not a client) suffers harm due to a professional's negligent work, the third party may seek recovery under: → Negligence tort law, if foreseeable harm was caused
8. Which of the following is an example of an activity that falls under the reserved "scope of practice" for professional engineering and requires a licence? → Designing the structural support system for a public observation deck.
9. A professional engineer is approached by a competitor's former employee who offers proprietary design data. Accepting this information would: → Violate the engineer's professional duty to avoid unfair competitive practices
10. For a contract to be legally enforceable in Canada, several essential elements must be present. Which of the following is a required element? → An intention by the parties to create a legal relationship.
11. Under which doctrine can a licensed professional engineer be held personally liable even when acting as an employee of a corporation? → Personal professional liability
12. Under Canadian provincial engineering acts, which body typically has jurisdiction to investigate complaints against licensed engineers? → The provincial engineering regulator's complaints or investigation committee
13. Under professional accountability standards, when is an engineer permitted to affix their seal to drawings they did not personally prepare? → When they have reviewed, checked, and taken professional responsibility for the work
14. A licensed engineer assigns her rights under a professional services contract to a colleague without the client's consent. The most likely legal consequence is: → The assignment is void because professional contracts are personal in nature
15. What is the standard of proof applied in professional engineering discipline hearings in Canada? → Balance of probabilities (civil standard)
16. Which remedy is available to a provincial engineering regulator if an individual is continuing to practise engineering unlawfully despite warnings? → An injunction from the superior court to restrain unlicensed practice
17. Which action by a licensed engineer would most likely constitute grounds for disciplinary action? → Sealing drawings for a project type outside their demonstrated area of competence
18. A construction contract includes a 'time is of the essence' clause. The contractor finishes 10 days late due to unforeseen labor shortages. The owner may: → Terminate the contract and sue for all consequential losses
19. What abilities do mediators possess that arbitrators do not? → Meet with each party separately to talk about the disagreement
20. A Canadian engineering firm uses a confidential process that gives it a competitive advantage. The firm has not patented it. Which IP protection is available? → Trade secret protection, which requires reasonable efforts to maintain confidentiality
21. A professional engineer acting as a project supervisor can avoid personal liability under OHS legislation for a safety violation by demonstrating: → Due diligence — that they took all reasonable precautions to prevent the contravention
22. Why is continued professional development (CPD) considered a core element of professionalism? → It ensures practitioners remain competent as knowledge and technology evolve
23. In a qualitative risk assessment for an engineering project, risks are typically evaluated based on which two dimensions? → Probability of occurrence and severity of impact
24. Risky/Utility Analysis: What Is It? → Aims to ascertain whether the product's usefulness justifies its predicted hazards.
25. An engineer notices a colleague making a serious technical error that could harm the public. Professionalism requires the engineer to: → Report the error through appropriate channels to protect the public
26. An engineer's professional liability insurance policy typically covers claims arising from: → Errors, omissions, and negligent acts in the performance of professional services
27. In the context of professional liability, 'consequential damages' refers to: → Losses flowing indirectly from the breach, such as lost business profits
28. When a professional engineer's stamp is required on project documents, the stamp signifies that the engineer: → Takes professional and legal responsibility for the technical content
29. What is the Competition Act's common conviction? → Misleading advertising
30. Which principle underlies the prohibition against an engineer practising in an area outside their competence? → The duty to maintain and apply competence for the protection of the public