TechCalcs.com - General State Board PDH Information

The information listed represents a summary of accepted information by most state licensing boards. We make no guarantee regarding the accuracy or completeness of the data listed nor its acceptability by all state licensing boards. It is the responsibility of each engineer to investigate the Board's specific rules and definitions to ensure his/her own compliance.

Overview

Continuing Education PDH Requirements

Thirty (30) states currently require, and one (1) other state will shortly require, PDH credits to fulfill the licensing board's continuing education, continuing professional competency (CPC) or continuing professional development (CPD) requirement when renewing a professional engineer license.

The licensing, continuing education, and renewal requirements vary by state board; therefore, select from the list on this page the state board for which you are registered, or wish to register, with to get more specific information.

The reference information provided on this site includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Number of PDHs required each renewal period.

PDH carryover limitations.

License renewal dates.

Record keeping responsibilities.

Exceptions to PDH requirements.

Course types, topics, and content guidance.

Requirements of pre-approved courses.

Requirements of pre-approved providers.

Board's acceptance of online courses.

Board's Contact Information.

Map to Board's office location.

Links to specific content on Board's website.

What happens if I do not comply with the continuing education requirements?

Obtaining the proper number of PDH credits by the deadline set by the board is a condition of licensure renewal. If, after renewal, it is found that the licensee did not comply, disciplinary proceedings is generally initiated. For the specific requirements of a state licensing board, please contact the board in question or visit their website for more information.

PDH Unit Conversions

Generally Accepted Units

Unit	PDH Units †
1 University or College semester hour	45
1 University or College quarter hour	30
1 Continuing Education Unit (CEU)	10
1 Contact Hour of acceptable professional development	1

† Units may vary by state. Listed values are the more commonly accepted number of units.

Units Accepted By Some State Boards

Unit	PDH Units ‡
1 College semester hour (audited)	15
1 College quarter hour (audited)	10
Teaching a course that awards a semester hour, quarter hours, CEU, or PDH (for first time only)	2 times listed unit
Publish paper, article, or book	10 max.
Receiving a United States patent	10 max.
Participation in professional and technical society	1 to 2

‡ The unit values lists may not accepted by all state boards and the total number of units awarded may vary greatly if accepted by the board.

PDH Record Keeping

For many states, it is the engineer's responsibility to maintain records of continuing education activities and to submit the records to the board upon request. The majority of states that mandate continuing education for engineers do not require that the course provider submit a record of successful course completion to the state board. Florida requires information to be submitted.

North Carolina and Florida are the only two states that require course providers to submit records to the state board. Course providers will submit completed course records periodically to those state boards.

Should
you stamp drawings
for a project when you
did not prepare all
segments of the project?

Get the answer
to this question and
1 PDH FREE
here.

Glossary

Contact Hour

See "nominal contact hour".

Continuing Education Unit (CEU)

A unit of credit used for some continuing education courses.

Dual Registrant

An individual who is registered as both a professional engineer and a professional land surveyor.

Engineer Intern

An individual who has qualified for, taken, and has passed an an eight (8) hour written examination in the fundamentals of engineering.

Nominal Contact Hour

A nominal contact hour consists of a minimum of 50 minutes.

PDH

Professional Development Hour. A nominal contact hour of instruction or presentation of board accepted content or activity.

Professional Engineer

An individual who has been duly registered or licensed as a professional engineer by a state board and has direct control of, supervision of, and legal responsibility for all engineering work performed.

Provider

See "sponsor".

Sponsor

An individual, organization, association, institution, or other entity which provides an educational activity for the purpose of fulfilling the continuing professional competency or development requirements of the state board.