South Carolina Professional Engineer Renewal
South Carolina professional engineers complete 30 professional development hours during each biennial renewal period, with limits on nontechnical content and daily credit.
Authority: South Carolina State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors | Reviewed: August 3, 2026
Complete 30 PDH every two years. No more than 15 PDH may be business or nontechnical subjects, no more than 12 PDH may be earned in one calendar day, and up to 15 excess hours may carry forward. Online courses qualify when completion or attendance is properly verified; simple offline reading-and-workbook correspondence does not qualify.
Core Requirement
| Requirement | South Carolina PE rule |
|---|---|
| Total education | Complete 30 PDH during each two-year renewal period. The current 2026–2028 cycle began July 1, 2026. |
| Technical content | No more than 50% of the requirement may consist of business or nontechnical subjects. At least 15 PDH must therefore be technical professional education. |
| Ethics | South Carolina does not establish a separate ethics-hour minimum for professional engineers, although relevant professional ethics may qualify. |
| Daily maximum | No more than 12 PDH may be obtained during one calendar day. |
| Carryover | Up to 15 excess PDH may carry into the next period. Claiming carryover makes the previous renewal period subject to audit verification. |
| Course approval | The Board does not preapprove courses, programs, sponsoring organizations, or providers. The Board has final authority during review or audit. |
| Dual PE/PS licensees | Complete 30 total PDH, with at least 10 hours obtained separately for engineering and at least 10 obtained separately for surveying. |
| Renewal date | Individual PE licenses expire June 30 in even-numbered years. |
Acceptable Activities
A qualifying course or activity must have a clear purpose and objective related to the licensee’s field of practice. Regular employment duties are not professional-development activities.
Online and Distance Education
South Carolina recognizes live internet programs, archived prerecorded programs, webinars, and qualifying distance-education courses offered for documented individual or group study.
According to the Board’s February 2026 FAQ, an online course without provider-documented attendance may qualify only when an examination is required for course completion and the provider issues a completion certificate.
When the provider documents attendance and issues a certificate of attendance, an examination is not required.
The Board rejects a correspondence format in which a customer merely purchases technical reading, answers workbook questions, and returns them for grading. The Board states that this method does not document actual instructional time or participation.
Exemptions and Special Situations
New licensees by examination or comity are exempt from continuing professional competency requirements during their first South Carolina renewal period.
A qualifying licensee serving on active military duty is exempt from continuing education and the renewal fee when the required active-duty documentation is supplied.
A licensee may apply before renewal for an exemption or extension based on disability, illness, or another extenuating circumstance and must provide supporting documentation.
Qualifying retired registrants are exempt. Engineers continuously licensed by the South Carolina Board before January 1, 1969, are also exempt.
Documentation and Audit
The licensee must maintain a detailed activity log and completion or attendance evidence for at least two renewal cycles. Documentation is submitted only when the Board selects the licensee for audit or otherwise requests it.
If the Board disallows claimed hours, the licensee has 90 days to correct the deficiency. Failure to correct it causes the license to be automatically deemed lapsed.
Official Sources