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Continuing Education Requirements for Montana Engineers

CEU Requirements for Montana Professional EngineersMontana Engineering Continuing Education requirements

Are you a Montana professional engineer? If so, you may be wondering what the continuing education requirements are for PEs in the state of Montana.

The Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors requires a completion of 30 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) of continuing education to renew a Professional Engineer license, biennially. If more than 30 PDHs are met, a maximum of 15 PDHs may be carried over to the next renewal period. The renewal deadline is June 30th on even-numbered years. Required course content has a “clear purpose and objective which will maintain, improve, or expand the skills and knowledge relevant to the licensee’s field of practice.”

Refer to our Montana PE renewal page for more information.

Required Montana PDH Credits

The Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (also known as “The Board”) renews licenses over a biennial period. 30 PDHs are required in education that maintains, improves, or expands the skills relevant to the licensee’s field of practice. The Board does not offer or require pre-approval of course content or course providers.

Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Online renewal is available at the Montana Department of Labor & Industry. The Board requires records including completion certificates that verify attendance for continuing education PDHs. The Board does not list specific ethics or state rules/law courses required for renewal. PDH records must be kept for at least 3 years.

License Renewal Dates

The registration renewal deadline is June 30th on even-numbered years. If the license is not renewed within the two-year period, the license automatically terminates, and the terminated license may not be activated again. A new license must be obtained. A license may also be considered lapsed for a period of 45 days after the renewal due date, as determined by the Board. However, the lapsed licensee will be subject to a renewal penalty fee during this period. PDH records must be maintained for three years in case of audit or verification purposes.

Engineering Ethics and Professional Conduct

There are currently no required courses detailed by the Board for continuing education, and this includes courses on ethics, professional conduct and state rules/laws. The Board does have final authority, however, on courses, credit, and PDH value for courses and education deemed valid for renewal.

Records Keeping Requirements for Engineers

Engineers are required to keep PDH records for at least three years. The Board accepts the following forms of records (this is, however, not an exhaustive list): 1) Records in the form of logs, including the type of activity claimed, the duration, location, sponsoring organization, PDH hours earned, and the instructor’s or speaker’s name; 2) Records in the form of completion certificates, or other attendance verification records; 3) Records maintained by the professional development registry for engineers and surveyors (PDRES), or like repositories. These records must be provided to the Board upon renewal and for audit or verification purposes.

Continuing Education Activities Accepted by the Board

The Board accepts the following activities for the 30 PDHs: 1) one college or unit semester hour (worth 45 PDHs); 2) one college or unit quarter hour (30 PDHs); 3) one continuing education unit (10 PDHs); 4) one hour professional development in course work, seminars, or technical presentations (1 PDH); 5) a relevant published, paper, article or book (10 PDHs); 6) active participation in technical or professional society (2 PDHs); 7) a granted patent (10 PDHs); 8) teaching a college course, seminar, or technical presentation (worth double the PDH value of taking the course or presentation, valid only for first-time instances of teaching the course); and 9) Self-study (10 PDHs). Online courses are accepted. There are some restrictions on online courses (i.e. with self-study). Webinars are allowed, with some restrictions. Self-study is defined as “a formatted review of new subject matter or technical information such as video tape series, Internet courses that do not include final examination, etc.”

To summarize, the Board accepts taking or teaching college courses, seminars, technical presentations, published papers, articles, books, participation in professional or technical societies, granted patents, and self-study toward obtaining the 30 PDHs required for renewal. There is no PDH value given for outreach work, and only a maximum of 10 PDHs may be from self-study. The Board has final authority on courses, credit, PDH value and ways to obtain PDHs.

Pre-Approval of Continuing Education Activities

There is no pre-approval required or given by the Board for continuing education activities and obtaining PDHs. Licensees are responsible in determining the eligibility of courses and course providers.

Sources of Free Continuing Education Courses

Free PDH continuing education courses are available at the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). They offer 15 free PDH courses to members. The American Society of Civil Engineers offers 10 free courses to new members. Finally, the private company PDH-Pro offers a free on-demand online engineering webinar, and a promotional free engineering course.

Engineering Licensing Requirements

To apply to become a licensed Professional Engineer in Montana, you are required to have a Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate degree in engineering as approved by the Board. In most cases, you are required to have certification as an Engineer Intern. In all cases, you must have a specific record of progressive engineering experience, ranging from 2 to 20 years (depending on your degree). Supervised experience under a licensed engineer may be required. You are required to have references as requested by the Board. You must also pass the Principles and Practices of Engineering exam. Online application is available, application fees apply. Full details are available online.

Engineering Discipline Restrictions for Continuing Education

The Board does not have discipline restrictions for continuing education, but PDH emphasis should be on maintaining, expanding and improving the skills and knowledge necessary for the licensee’s specific field of work. However, the number of PDHs required for engineer-surveyors is 30, and at least one-third of the PDHs is to be obtained in each profession.

Conclusion

Licensed Professional Engineers in Montana must obtain 30 PDHs over a biennial period. These PDHs may be obtained from taking or teaching college courses, seminars, professional development workshops, publishing articles, books, or papers, gaining patents, technical society participation, and online self-study. Only a maximum of 15 PDHs may be carried over to the next renewal