Missouri Professional Engineer Renewal
Missouri professional engineers complete 30 professional development hours during the two calendar years immediately preceding their biennial renewal.
Authority: Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Professional Landscape Architects | Reviewed: August 3, 2026
Complete 30 qualifying PDH during the two calendar years before renewal. Up to 15 excess PDH may carry into the next period. Missouri does not prescribe a PE ethics-hour minimum, accepts qualifying correspondence and recorded courses when the requirements are met, and requires correspondence courses to conclude with a final graded test.
Core Requirement
| Requirement | Missouri PE rule |
|---|---|
| Total education | 30 professional development hours must be successfully completed within the two immediately preceding calendar years. |
| Ethics | Missouri does not specify a mandatory ethics-hour allocation for professional engineers. Technical, ethical, and managerial content may qualify when relevant to engineering practice. |
| Carryover | Up to 15 excess PDH completed during the preceding two calendar years may be applied to the next two-year period. |
| Renewal date | Licenses renew biennially by December 31. A license first issued in an odd-numbered year renews in odd-numbered years; one first issued in an even-numbered year renews in even-numbered years. |
| Initial-year renewal | New licensees renew by December 31 of the initial licensure year. A PE licensed for fewer than 12 months does not report PDH at that first renewal. |
| Repeated courses | Credit is awarded only for the first occurrence of attending or teaching a qualifying course or seminar during each two-year renewal period. |
| Out-of-state education | PDH may be earned outside Missouri when the content satisfies the state rule. |
Acceptable Activities
Education should maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge obtained for initial licensure or develop new knowledge relevant to engineering practice. The content may be technical, ethical, or managerial.
Online and Correspondence Education
Missouri expressly recognizes correspondence, televised, and videotaped courses, as well as tutorials, workshops, short courses, and qualifying in-house education. The rule does not establish a separate numerical limit for these formats.
A correspondence course must require evidence of achievement through a final graded test. A structured online course with professional content, an examination, individual registration, and a completion certificate is well aligned with these requirements, subject to the Board’s final determination.
Exemptions and License Status
A professional engineer who has held the Missouri license for fewer than 12 months at the first renewal does not need to report professional development hours for that renewal.
A licensee who served honorably on full-time active military duty may renew without completing PDH for the renewal period during which the service occurred.
A PE who is retired or not actively practicing may elect inactive status and is not required to accumulate PDH, but cannot practice engineering while inactive.
Reactivation requires the applicable fee and 30 PDH completed during the two years immediately before reactivation.
Documentation and Audit
The licensee is responsible for maintaining records supporting every claimed credit for four years. The Board may randomly audit a portion of licensees each renewal period or audit a particular licensee following a complaint.
If records are lost or destroyed, the licensee must notify the Board in writing within 30 days. When an audit disallows credit, the licensee may have up to three months from the renewal date to substantiate the original claim or earn replacement credit.
Official Sources