Continuing Education Requirements for GA PEs

The Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors regulates the practice of engineering and establishes continuing education standards. Engineers in Georgia must earn 30 professional development hour credits every two years. Ethics courses are accepted but not required. Georgia does not pre-approve course providers or courses. License renewal is done on December 31st of even numbered years.

Listed below are the Georgia professional engineer (PE) license renewal requirements.

We prepared a detailed summary and review of the Georgia continuing education requirements (read the article).

Engineering Continuing Education Requirements for Georgia

As a professional engineer practicing in Georgia, there will be a time when you need to renew your license. When that occurs, you will probably be asking: what are the continuing education requirements for Georgia engineers?

To renew your license, you have to earn 30 personal development hours (PDH) every 2 years. You are allowed to carry 15 PDH forward into the next renewal cycle. In Georgia, all professional engineering licenses are renewed on December 31st of even-numbered years. Your continuing education for license renewal may also be referred to as “continuing professional competency” in Georgia.

Georgia PDH Credits

The professional engineering licenses are managed by the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (the Board).

You renew your license every 2 years, with all engineering licenses being renewed on December 31st of even-numbered years. You are required to earn 30 PDH during each renewal period. If you earn more than the required amount, they can be carried over to the next period, maxing out at 15 PDH. You are not required to take ethics or state law courses as part of your continuing education requirements for Georgia engineers, but if you do, they will be accepted for license renewal.

You have the ability to renew your license online, and you are obligated to certify that you have fulfilled the requirements, but you don’t have to submit any continuing education documentation during the renewal process. The Board will randomly audit engineers to ensure they have met the requirements.

If that occurs, you must provide acceptable proof that you completed the courses you said you completed. Thus, you should keep copies of your continuing education documentation for at least 4 years. If the Board denies any of your course credits, you are given 180 days to correct the deficiencies.

Georgia PE License Renewal Date

All professional engineers in Georgia have to renew their license every 2 years. License renewal takes place on December 31st of even-numbered years.

You can renew your license online at the Board’s website. It is your responsibility to ensure that your license is current by submitting the necessary information and fees prior to the renewal deadline. Anyone who fails to renew their license on time could be sanctioned by the Board.

If your license has lapsed and you continue to provide engineering services to the state, the Board will find you guilty of practicing without a license. Administrative lapses result in disciplinary actions every year.

If you have engineering licenses in multiple states, you will have to report any disciplinary actions taken by the Georgia Board to other engineering boards. If you fail to notify the others in a timely manner, this could result in the other boards doling out disciplinary actions against you.

Georgia PDH Record Keeping Requirements

You are required by state rules to maintain your continuing education records for at least 4 years. You don’t have to submit them during the license renewal process, but if you are audited, you are expected to provide the records to the Board in a timely manner.

It is your responsibility to keep track of your continuing education records. The Board recommends keeping them in an organized filing system—either one you create on your own or one you obtain from a third party. You might consider using PDH-Pro to assist with your record keeping, as they retain and give you access to your records online. You are allowed to present electronic files to the Board as proof that you have fulfilled your continuing education requirements for Georgia engineers.

When presenting certificates of completion, they must include the following information:

• Sponsor name
• Title of course and brief description
• Location of the course
• Date the course was taken
• Name of instructor
• Number of PDH awarded

The Board does not accept payment receipts or copies of course agenda as proof that you completed a course.

Continuing Education Accepted by the Georgia Board

When it comes to the course you can take to fulfill your continuing education requirements for Georgia engineers, there are many options to help you fulfill the 30 PDH. According to the state regulations, the courses must be relevant to your field of engineering. The Board will also accept courses that cover managerial, technical, and ethical topics. The key criterion for each course is that they must advance your technical and professional competency.

You can find the specifics of these requirements outlined in O.C.G.A. 43-15-6(b) and Board Rule 180-11.

Some of the courses you can take include:

Online Courses

The Board accepts online courses and does not limit how many of these PDH credits you can earn, as long as they meet the continuing education requirements.

Live Webinars

These courses are offered online and are similar to live seminars and classes. You have the ability to interact with the instructor and other students, which can make this continuing education course enjoyable as well as provide valuable information.

Seminars

If you have the ability to attend conferences or take college courses, you can use these as a way to fulfill your continuing education requirements for Georgia engineers. Often taught on-site by subject matter experts, seminars are a great way to obtain your PDH credits for license renewal.

Other ways that you can earn PDH credits include:

• Taking college courses and earning a passing grade
• Completing short courses or tutorials that are available via correspondence, videotape, or TV
• Being a presenter at an in-house course, worship, or seminar
• Giving a professional or technical presentation at conventions, conferences, or meetings
• Teaching a course
• Authoring and publishing a paper
• Being an active participant in a professional society
• Earning a patent

Pre-Approval of Continuing Education Activities

The Board does not pre-approve continuing education courses or sponsors. You are responsible for determining if the course meets the continuing education requirements for Georgia engineers.

Free Continuing Education Courses

There are numerous options available to you for free continuing education courses. You might consider looking at technical and professional societies, as many of them offer free courses to their members who pay their dues. Should you present at a conference or teach a course, the Board will give you credit for that and apply it to your continuing education requirements for Georgia engineers.