Arkansas Professional Engineer Renewal
Arkansas professional engineers generally report 30 professional development hours during each biennial renewal period. Qualifying activities must have a clear educational purpose and maintain, improve, or expand knowledge relevant to the engineer’s field of practice.
Complete 30 qualifying PDH per biennial renewal period. Up to 30 excess PDH may carry forward, records must be retained for three years, and a licensee selected for audit generally has 30 days to provide a log and supporting documents.
Core Requirement
| Requirement | Arkansas PE rule |
|---|---|
| Total education | At least 30 PDH during each biennial renewal period. |
| Carryover | Up to 30 PDH earned above the requirement may be carried into the immediately subsequent renewal period. |
| Required PE subjects | No separate ethics, Arkansas-law, or other subject allocation is stated for PE-only renewal. Courses must be relevant to the licensee’s field of practice. |
| Dual PE/PS license | A dual licensee generally reports 40 PDH, with at least 10 in engineering and 10 in surveying. Separate surveying-subject rules apply. |
| Final credit authority | The Board has final authority over courses, credit, PDH values, and other methods of earning credit. |
| Renewal certification | The renewal application requires a continuing-education certification stating the PDH claimed. |
Qualifying Education
A qualifying course or activity must have a clear purpose and objective and maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge relevant to the engineer’s field of practice.
Course Format
Arkansas rules recognize correspondence, televised, videotaped, audiotaped, and other short courses or tutorials. The current rule does not state a general numerical cap on online course credit for professional engineers.
A course must still satisfy the educational-purpose and professional-relevance tests. Keep documentation demonstrating attendance or successful completion and the number of PDH earned.
Exceptions
A new licensee by examination or comity is exempt from the professional-development requirement for the first renewal period.
The Board may approve an exemption for physical disability, illness, or another qualifying circumstance when the licensee supplies supporting documentation.
A licensee who uses the Board’s inactive designation and certifies that no remuneration is being received for professional engineering services is exempt while inactive.
A professional engineer who is at least 65 years old and has at least 25 years of acceptable professional experience may request the exemption on Board-supplied forms.
Documentation and Audit
The licensee must maintain a log showing the activity type, sponsoring organization, location, duration, instructor or speaker, and PDH earned. Completion certificates or other attendance evidence should support the log.
The Board may conduct random audits after a renewal period. Its rule provides for a two-percent random sample and requires a selected licensee to submit the Board form, CE log, and supporting documents within 30 days.
Official Sources