South Dakota Professional Engineer Renewal
South Dakota professional engineers generally complete 30 professional development hours during each biennial renewal period, including at least 20 PDH in technical subjects relevant to the licensee’s field of practice.
Authority: South Dakota Board of Technical Professions | Reviewed: August 3, 2026
The Board’s current instructions require a PDF-formatted PDH log for the two-year period with renewal or reinstatement. Keep supporting certificates and other evidence for at least three years after renewal. If audited, supporting documentation is due within 30 calendar days.
Core Requirements
| Requirement | South Dakota rule |
|---|---|
| Total hours | Complete at least 30 PDH during the biennium immediately preceding license renewal. |
| Technical subjects | At least 20 of the 30 PDH must address technical subjects leading to further professional development in the licensee’s field of practice. |
| Management subjects | No more than 10 PDH may address professional-management subjects such as professional business practice, total quality management, and ethics. |
| Ethics | Ethics is an acceptable professional-management subject, but South Dakota does not establish a separate mandatory ethics-hour minimum. |
| Renewal cycle | Individual licenses renew every two years. The licensee must follow the personal expiration date and renewal notice issued by the Board. |
| Carryover | Up to 15 excess PDH may be carried into the immediately following biennium only. |
| Course approval | The Board does not preapprove courses or providers. The licensee is responsible for choosing qualifying education, and the Board remains the final authority on credit. |
Course Eligibility
A qualifying activity must have clear purposes and objectives and maintain, improve, or expand the engineer’s skills and knowledge relevant to the field of practice.
Limit: These subjects may account for no more than 10 of the required 30 PDH.
Activities and Credit
| Activity | Credit or condition |
|---|---|
| Professional course or seminar | 30–49 minutes earns 0.5 PDH; 50–79 minutes earns 1 PDH; 80–109 minutes earns 1.5 PDH. Longer programs use actual time rounded to the nearest half hour. |
| Online, correspondence, or recorded course | Acceptable when it includes testing completed with a verifiable passing score. |
| Self-study | Internet study, books, articles, and audio or video materials may qualify when testing or examination produces a formal, recorded passing score. |
| College education | One semester hour equals 45 PDH; one quarter hour equals 30 PDH. |
| Continuing education unit | One CEU equals 10 PDH. |
| Teaching or presenting | Two PDH per instructional hour, but only for teaching the course or seminar for the first time and not for full- or part-time faculty. |
| Professional organizations | Two PDH per organization during the biennium, with a maximum of 6 PDH. |
| Published work or patent | Each qualifying published paper, article, or book earns 10 PDH; each patent earns 10 PDH. |
A relevant Online-PDH course with defined objectives, organized study material, a recorded examination result, and a completion certificate is structured to address South Dakota’s tested online-course requirements. The licensee must classify the subject correctly, and the Board retains final authority over credit.
Renewal Documentation
The Board’s current instructions require the completed PDH log in PDF format during renewal or reinstatement. The log is certified under penalty of perjury.
Completion certificates ordinarily should not be mailed with the log, but they must remain available for audit. Maintain sufficient records for at least three years after the renewal date.
Special Situations
A person licensed in more than one profession regulated by the Board completes a combined 30 PDH, with at least one-third obtained in each profession.
A licensee serving more than 120 consecutive days of temporary active duty during the biennium may qualify for an exemption with supporting documentation.
Physical disability, illness, or another extenuating circumstance during the final six months of the biennium may support a temporary exemption when documented for the Board.
Inactive and retired licensees are exempt while in that status but may not practice. Reactivation can require delinquent PDH or 15 PDH for each exempted year, up to 30 PDH, depending on the circumstances.
Official Sources