Section outline

  • Kentucky Professional Engineer Renewal

    Kentucky PE Continuing Education Requirements

    Kentucky professional engineers complete 30 professional development hours during each two-calendar-year reporting period before their biennial license renewal.

    Authority: Kentucky State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors  |  Reviewed: August 3, 2026

    Quick answer for Kentucky PEs

    Complete 30 PDH during the two calendar years preceding the June 30 renewal deadline. Up to 15 excess PDH may carry into the next reporting period. Technical, ethical, and managerial subjects may qualify, but Kentucky does not state a separate ethics-hour minimum.

    30 PDH Required per reporting period
    2 years Calendar-year reporting period
    15 PDH Maximum carryover
    4% Random audit of timely renewals

    Core Requirement

    Kentucky requires 30 PDH for each reporting period

    Requirement Kentucky PE rule
    Total education 30 PDH during each reporting period.
    Reporting period The two calendar years—January 1 through December 31—preceding the June 30 license-renewal deadline.
    Ethics Kentucky permits relevant ethical subjects but does not prescribe a separate minimum number of ethics PDH.
    Carryover Up to 15 PDH earned beyond the requirement may be carried into the next reporting period.
    Repeated courses Credit is allowed only when an activity is substantially different from a course for which credit was claimed or granted during the current reporting period.
    Renewal deadline June 30 of the licensee’s biennial renewal year.

    Course Eligibility

    Activities must directly support professional growth

    Qualifying education must be relevant to engineering practice, contain technical, ethical, or managerial subject matter, be an organized learning program, and be conducted by someone with appropriate education, training, or expertise.

    Qualifying activities include

    • College or university courses
    • Continuing-education courses
    • Short courses and tutorials
    • Live or archived webinars and distance education
    • Seminars, workshops, conferences, and technical presentations
    • Qualifying first-time teaching or instruction
    • Engineering publications and accepted licensing-exam items
    • Authorized professional-society participation

    Excluded activities include

    • Unstructured self-study
    • In-service training
    • Orientation to institutional policies or practices
    • Time used to sell or advertise a product
    • Courses unrelated to engineering growth and development
    • Substantially repeated courses within the same reporting period
    Credit conversion: A contact hour of at least 50 minutes generally equals 1 PDH. One CEU equals 10 PDH, one university semester hour equals 45 PDH, and one university quarter hour equals 30 PDH.

    Online and Distance Education

    Structured online courses may satisfy the full requirement

    Kentucky expressly recognizes short courses, tutorials, webinars, and distance-education courses delivered live online or as archived prerecorded or correspondence programs. The PE regulation does not establish a separate numerical cap for qualifying distance education.

    However, self-study is excluded. An online activity should therefore be an organized provider-led program with defined content and evidence of successful completion—not informal reading, viewing, or personal research.

    Distance education is not the same as self-study: Kentucky accepts structured archived and correspondence programs but expressly excludes self-study. Keep provider documentation showing the course’s organized format and completion requirements.

    Exemptions and Extensions

    Initial licensure can reduce the first requirement

    Initially licensed

    The calendar year in which a PE is initially licensed by Kentucky is exempt. If initial licensure occurs during the first calendar year of the reporting period, 15 PDH are required for that period.

    Active-duty military

    A licensee on active duty in the United States Armed Forces is exempt for the years in which the licensee was on active duty.

    Long-standing license

    A licensee first licensed before January 1, 1972, who has continuously kept the license in good standing is exempt.

    Inactive, retired, or hardship

    Inactive or retired former licensees are exempt. A physical disability, illness, or other extenuating circumstance may support a written, documented extension requested during the applicable calendar year.

    Reporting and Audit

    Certify compliance and preserve complete supporting records

    At biennial renewal, the PE certifies whether the CPD requirement was met. Kentucky requires the licensee to maintain an activity log and attendance evidence supporting every PDH claimed.

    The current regulation does not state a fixed records-retention duration. As a practical minimum, preserve the complete reporting-period file through renewal and any audit, investigation, carryover use, or compliance resolution.

    Kentucky’s audit deadlines are strict: Four percent of licensees renewing before September 1 are randomly selected. Every licensee renewing on or after September 1 is audited. Requested records are due within 30 days; disallowed credit generally must be substantiated or replaced within 60 days.

    Official Sources

    Confirm current Kentucky requirements before renewal

    Informational notice: This summary addresses Kentucky continuing professional development for professional engineers. It is not legal advice or a guarantee that any particular activity will receive credit. The Kentucky Board has final authority, and requirements may change after the review date.

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