Is there an official list of recommended study materials for the NPPE exam?

Yes, the owners/administrators of the exam have published an official list of recommended study materials within the NPPE Candidate Guide. The basic list consists of four books and nine guides/articles.

The four (4) books that can be purchased from publishers/book retailers are:

1. Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience: Practice & Ethics. Fifth or Sixth Edition. Gordon C. Andrews, Patricia Shaw, John McPhee.
2. Practical Law of Architecture, Engineering, and Geoscience. Second or Third Canadian Edition. Brian M. Samuels and Doug R. Sanders.
3. Practical Guide to Ethics and Professional Practice for Engineers and Geoscientists. First Edition. Brian M. Samuels and Doug R. Sanders.
4. Law for Professional Engineers: Canadian and Global Insights. Fifth Edition, 2019 by Donald L. Marston.

The nine (9) guides/articles that can be accessed freely online are:

1. A Guide to Copyright
2. A Guide to Industrial Designs
3. A Guide to Patents
4. A Guide to Trademarks
5. Concepts of Professionalism (*)
6. Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act*
7. Guideline for Ethical Practice (*)
8. Occupational Health and Safety Act*
9. Royal Bank of Canada article – “The Soul of Professionalism” (*)

NOTE: The articles marked * are particular to APEGA, who are the owners/administrators of the exam. The adapted version of the NPPE Candidate Guide for the other associations would probably list their own particular equivalent information. And, since the exam cannot address particular information of one association that is not the same in all others (because the NPPE exam is the same across Canada; i.e., the multiple-choice-questions are the same), then it is an indication that the marked material cannot be in the exam unless a related question addresses a very general issue that would be the same across associations. The articles marked (*) are still particular to APEGA, however, the material can be seen as applying equally to all associations.