Preparer credential
Do I need a QSD to prepare my SWPPP?
In California, yes: the permit requires a Qualified SWPPP Developer. Everywhere else the honest answer is that the QSD role does not exist, and what matters is whether your own state has an equivalent gate. 11 states we verified require a credentialed preparer outright and 12 gate it conditionally.
California
Full California pageCalifornia requires a credentialed preparer. A plan generated here is a draft for that person to review, adopt and sign.
How a person qualifies
- California PE or PG (self-certify)
- Landscape architect, AIH hydrologist, CPESC or CPSWQ plus CASQA training and exam
The SWPPP shall be developed by a Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD). No PE stamp mandate.
Read this before you conclude anything
Four ways this question is answered wrong
Each of these comes from our dataset notes, and each is a case we found stated incorrectly in published guidance.
- Regulator-side credentials (agency staff) are not applicant-side gates: Michigan, Virginia plan reviewer and South Carolina certified plan reviewer are all regulator-side.
- A named role is not a credential: Colorado's Qualified Stormwater Manager and Arizona's Qualified Person are self-attested.
- Practice-act citations are conditional and routinely overstated. A PE stamp is NOT required in WA, CO, AZ, TX and most open states.
- State law is a floor. Local ordinances (e.g. Cook County MWRD in Illinois) can impose a stricter gate.
Every jurisdiction
The answer for your state
A jurisdiction we did not confirm against a primary source reads as not verified. That is a statement about our coverage, never a finding that no credential is required.
| Jurisdiction | Preparer gate | Who qualifies, or what triggers it |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Credential required | PE; CPESC; Landscape architect; Surveyor; PG; Forester; REM; Soil scientist |
| Alaska | Conditional | Sites above 20 acres. |
| Arizona | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Arkansas | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| California | Credential required | California PE or PG (self-certify); Landscape architect, AIH hydrologist, CPESC or CPSWQ plus CASQA training and exam |
| Colorado | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Connecticut | Credential required | Connecticut-licensed PE; Connecticut-licensed landscape architect |
| Delaware | Credential required | Licensed landscape architect; Licensed surveyor; PE |
| District of Columbia | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Florida | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Georgia | Credential required | Georgia-licensed engineer, architect, landscape architect, forester, geologist or surveyor; CPESC |
| Hawaii | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Idaho | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Illinois | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Indiana | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Iowa | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Kansas | Credential required | Kansas-licensed Professional Engineer (PE); Kansas-licensed geologist; Kansas-licensed architect; Kansas-licensed landscape architect; Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) |
| Kentucky | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Louisiana | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Maine | Credential required | Maine DEP certification in erosion control practices (or an equivalent certification accepted by the Department) |
| Maryland | Conditional | Conditional. See the state page. |
| Massachusetts | Conditional | Plan scope rather than acreage: Attaches when a project is subject to the MassDEP Stormwater Management Standards under the Wetlands Protection Act, 310 CMR 10.05(6)(k)-(q) — stormwater discharge within an Area Subject to Protection or the 100-ft Buffer Zone, filed via Notice of Intent (or 401 Water Quality Certification). Exempt per 310 CMR 10.05(6)(l): single-family homes; 4-lot/4-unit-or-fewer projects with no discharge affecting a critical area; emergency road/drainage repairs.. |
| Michigan | None found | Any person may prepare/design the Part 91 Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control (SESC) Plan, Michigan's SWPPP-equivalent (Mich. Admin. Code R 323.1703). No state-mandated license, certification or exam is imposed on the preparer.; The plan must be reviewed/approved by a person designated by the county or municipal Part 91 enforcing agency who is trained in soil erosion and sedimentation control (R 323.1707(1)) — a requirement on the agency reviewer, not on a private applicant's preparer.; Separately, under Permit-by-Rule (R 323.2190(2)(d)-(e)), erosion control measures must be under the supervision of, and inspected weekly plus within 24 hours of any discharge-producing rain event by, a Certified Storm Water Operator (CSWO) — an inspection/supervision credential, not a plan-preparation credential, applying to all sites 1+ acre regardless of size. |
| Minnesota | Credential required | Mandatory training under Permit Part 21.2 for individuals preparing the SWPPP, from a local/state/federal agency, professional organization, or other entity with expertise in erosion prevention, sediment control, permanent stormwater treatment, and the MN NPDES/SDS Construction Stormwater permit (no single named course; not a professional license); 3-year refresher required under Part 21.3 |
| Mississippi | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Missouri | None found | Any qualified preparer — no state-mandated certification, license, or training is required to prepare a SWPPP under MORA00000 |
| Montana | Credential required | Montana DEQ-approved SWPPP Preparer certification |
| Nebraska | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Nevada | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| New Hampshire | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| New Jersey | Credential required | NJ-licensed Professional Engineer (seal required for engineering-related items of the soil erosion & sediment control plan); NJ-licensed Architect (seal required for engineering-related items of the soil erosion & sediment control plan); Plan certification by the local Soil Conservation District (or State Soil Conservation Committee, or municipal soil erosion ordinance approval under N.J.S.A. 4:24-48) is required regardless of who prepares the plan |
| New Mexico | Credential required | Qualified erosion control specialist, for example CPESC |
| New York | Conditional | Plan scope rather than acreage: Only where the plan includes the Stormwater Management Practice component. |
| North Carolina | Conditional | Sites above 1 acres. |
| North Dakota | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Ohio | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Oklahoma | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Oregon | Conditional | Sites of 20 acres or more. |
| Pennsylvania | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Puerto Rico | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Rhode Island | Conditional | Sites above 5 acres. |
| South Carolina | Conditional | Sites above 2 acres. |
| South Dakota | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Tennessee | Conditional | Sites above 5 acres. |
| Texas | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Utah | Conditional | Sites above 5 acres. |
| Vermont | Conditional | Plan scope rather than acreage: Moderate risk projects only, per Appendix A's Risk Evaluation questionnaire: Overall Risk Score 1 or less = Low Risk (Site Drawing under the Low Risk Site Handbook, no stated preparer credential); Overall Risk Score 2 to 4 = Moderate Risk (site-specific EPSC Plan, Subpart 3.2 credential applies); Overall Risk Score 5 or higher, or 5+ acres concurrent earth disturbance, or a 14+ day stabilization schedule = ineligible for the general permit, requires an Individual Discharge Permit. |
| Virginia | Conditional | Plan scope rather than acreage: The SWM plan is gated; the erosion and sediment control plan is not. |
| Washington | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| West Virginia | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Wisconsin | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
| Wyoming | None found | No state level preparer credential found. |
Screen your site
Get the credential answer with the rest of the determination
Pick your state and the tool returns the gate for your actual acreage, alongside the coverage verdict and the requirements.
FAQ
Common questions about SWPPP preparers
What is a QSD?
A Qualified SWPPP Developer is a California specific role. Under the state's construction general permit the plan must be developed by a QSD, and a person qualifies either by holding a California PE or PG and self certifying, or by holding one of several other credentials (landscape architect, AIH hydrologist, CPESC or CPSWQ) together with the state training and exam. It is a California term of art, not a national one.
Do I need a QSD outside California?
No, because the role does not exist outside California. What can exist is an equivalent gate under a different name. Several states require a licensed engineer or another credentialed person to prepare the plan, sometimes only above an acreage threshold or only where the plan carries a particular component. Check your own state on the table below rather than assuming California's rule travels.
Is a Qualified Stormwater Manager or a Qualified Person the same thing?
No, and this is the trap that catches people most often. A named role in a permit is not automatically a credential. Colorado's Qualified Stormwater Manager and Arizona's Qualified Person are self attested: the permit names a responsibility, it does not require an external qualification to hold it. Treating a named role as a credential leads people to hire a consultant they did not need, and treating a real credential as a named role leads to a plan that is not valid.
Does a professional engineer have to stamp my SWPPP?
Usually not, and practice act citations on this point are routinely overstated. A PE stamp is not required as a general matter in Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and most states with no preparer gate. Where a state does require a licensed engineer, it is because its own permit says so, and the state page cites the section that says it.
Who checks the plan is prepared by the right person?
The permitting authority at review, and an inspector at the site. There is a second trap here worth knowing: some credentials are regulator side, not applicant side. Michigan, the Virginia plan reviewer and the South Carolina certified plan reviewer are all qualifications for the people who REVIEW plans, not the people who write them, so seeing them named does not mean you need one.
If a credential applies, can I still use a generated plan?
Yes, as a draft. Where a credentialed preparer is required, a generated document is a complete draft for that person to review, amend and sign. It saves them the assembly work; it does not replace their signature, and it says so on its face. In a state with no preparer gate, an operator can adopt it directly.
Settle the preparer question before anyone starts drafting
Free to screen, and in a gated state our document is an honest draft for your credentialed preparer to sign.