Section outline

  • New York Professional Engineer Registration

    New York PE Continuing Education Requirements

    New York professional engineers complete 36 hours of acceptable continuing education during each three-year registration period, including at least 1 hour in professional ethics.

    Authority: New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions  |  Reviewed: August 3, 2026

    Quick answer for New York PEs

    Complete 36 continuing-education hours every three years, including at least 1 professional-ethics hour. Up to 6 excess hours may transfer to the next registration period. Courses and structured online educational activities must address an acceptable subject and come from a sponsor recognized or approved by NYSED. Retain records for at least six years.

    36 hours Required every three years
    1 hour Professional ethics minimum
    6 hours Maximum carryover
    6 years Record retention

    Core Requirement

    New York requires 36 hours during each triennial period

    Requirement New York PE rule
    Total education Complete at least 36 hours of acceptable continuing education during each three-year registration period.
    Professional ethics At least 1 hour must focus substantially on ethics relating to professional practice.
    Acceptable subjects Education must contribute to professional engineering practice and may include engineering, architecture, land surveying, geology, or relevant law and ethics topics that support professional practice and public health, safety, or welfare.
    Carryover No more than 6 hours completed during one triennial period may transfer to the subsequent registration period.
    Short registration period A registration period shorter than three years is generally prorated at 1 continuing-education hour for each month, up to 36 hours.
    Registration A New York professional license remains valid unless surrendered or revoked, but the engineer must renew registration every three years to practice in New York.
    Renewal month New York registration periods are generally adjusted so that registration expires during the licensee’s birth month.

    Acceptable Activities and Sponsors

    Both the sponsor and learning activity must qualify

    New York recognizes approved courses of learning and specified educational activities. A technically relevant course is not automatically acceptable unless its sponsor also satisfies NYSED’s approval requirements.

    Common qualifying activities

    • University and college courses
    • Professional-development and technical-training courses
    • Live seminars and interactive webinars
    • Structured online and self-study programs
    • Preparing and teaching an approved course
    • Peer-reviewed published professional work
    • Technical presentations at approved conferences
    • Qualifying engineering patents
    • Structured educational tours
    • Approved technical or regulatory committee service

    Recognized sponsor pathways

    • A sponsor directly approved by NYSED
    • An organization NYSED recognizes as able to approve sponsors or programs
    • An eligible postsecondary institution with an acceptable accredited program
    • A sponsor approved by another jurisdiction’s licensing authority under substantially equivalent standards
    • An organization deemed approved under Part 68

    Direct appearance in NYSED’s sponsor directory is one approval route, but it is not the only route available under Part 68.

    Approval from another jurisdiction: Under 8 NYCRR 68.14(i)(2)(iii), NYSED deems a sponsor approved when it is approved by another jurisdiction’s licensing authority or agency under standards substantially equivalent to NYSED’s. This is a sponsor-approval pathway, not an exemption from New York’s course requirements. The course must still have an acceptable subject, format, assessment, duration, and completion record.
    Selected credit rules: A stand-alone continuing-education session lasting at least 50 minutes may receive 1 hour. Otherwise, NYSED generally calculates PDH using 60 minutes of instruction. A semester-hour equals 15 hours and a quarter-hour equals 10 hours. A qualifying peer-reviewed work or engineering patent earns 9 hours. Committee service earns 1 hour for every 2 hours of service, limited to 9 hours per registration period.

    Online and Structured Self-Study Education

    Structured online education is accepted from an eligible sponsor

    Part 68 recognizes educational activities consisting of structured study delivered through audio, audiovisual, written, online, and other media when provided by an approved sponsor. These activities include on-demand courses without live interaction as well as live webinars with immediate real-time instructor interaction.

    Structured on-demand educational activities must include a testing instrument or another approved method of assessing participant learning. Examples include questions presented during the course, a final quiz, course codes, participation prompts, and a completion attestation.

    The current regulation does not state a general numerical limit on structured online educational activities. Online learning may therefore potentially supply the full requirement when the sponsor, subject, format, assessment, instructional duration, and completion documentation satisfy NYSED’s standards.

    Independent informal study does not qualify. NYSED also states that self-reporting forms are never acceptable in place of sponsor-issued completion evidence.

    Online-PDH qualifies through New York’s other-jurisdiction approval pathway: Although Online-PDH does not appear in NYSED’s own sponsor directory, it is approved by state engineering licensing authorities whose provider-approval standards are substantially equivalent to NYSED’s requirements. Online-PDH maintains documentation of those approvals, their effective dates, and the applicable provider standards. Qualifying Online-PDH courses use acceptable professional-engineering subjects, structured instruction, participant assessment and verification, appropriate instructional durations, and sponsor-issued completion certificates. Courses meeting these requirements may be claimed for New York continuing-education credit under 8 NYCRR 68.14(i)(2)(iii).

    Exemptions and Special Situations

    The initial registration period is generally exempt

    First New York license

    A licensee is generally exempt during the triennial registration period in which first licensed in New York. This exemption does not apply when the first New York license was issued by endorsement of another jurisdiction’s license.

    Not practicing in New York

    A licensee not engaged in professional practice, as evidenced by not being registered to practice in New York, is exempt while inactive. Additional education is required before resuming practice.

    Public-sector exemption

    A narrow grandfathered exemption may apply to certain engineers who held qualifying full-time New York public employment on December 31, 2003 and continuously meet the detailed employment and outside-practice conditions.

    Adjustment for hardship

    NYSED may adjust—not automatically waive—the requirement for documented poor health, disability, extended active military duty, or another circumstance beyond the licensee’s control that makes timely compliance impossible.

    Returning after a lapse: A licensee resuming practice must satisfy the requirement applicable to the last registration period and complete 1 additional hour for each month of lapsed registration, up to 12 hours, during the 12 months before the new registration period.

    Documentation and Audit

    Retain sponsor-issued records for at least six years

    At renewal, the engineer certifies compliance rather than routinely submitting every certificate. NYSED audits random samples and may require records for each course or activity.

    A completion record must identify the learning activity, course title, subject, hours, sponsor and identifying number, attendance or participation verification, date, and location. Sponsors must provide certificates of completion. NYSED expressly rejects self-reporting forms as continuing-education evidence.

    Official Sources

    Confirm current New York requirements before registration renewal

    Informational notice: This summary addresses New York continuing-education requirements for professional engineers. It is not legal advice or a guarantee that any particular course or sponsor will be accepted. NYSED has final authority, and requirements may change after the review date.

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