West Virginia Professional Engineer Renewal
West Virginia Professional Engineers must complete 30 professional development hours during each biennial renewal period.
Professional Engineers certify compliance and report their total completed and requested carryover PDH during renewal. Detailed course records are generally retained by the engineer and submitted only if requested by the Board for continuing education verification.
Core Requirements
| Requirement | West Virginia rule |
|---|---|
| Total hours | Complete at least 30 professional development hours during the applicable biennial renewal period. |
| Qualifying content | Professional development activities should maintain, improve, or expand the registrant’s skills and knowledge relevant to professional engineering practice. |
| Ethics and HSW | Ethics and public health, safety, and welfare subjects may qualify when relevant to engineering practice. The current rule does not establish a separate mandatory ethics or HSW-hour minimum. |
| Carryover | Up to 15 excess PDH may be carried forward into the immediately following biennial renewal period. |
| Renewal reporting | Registrants certify compliance and report the total PDH completed and the number of carryover hours requested for the next renewal period. |
| Course preapproval | The Board does not preapprove individual continuing education course offerings. The registrant is responsible for selecting appropriate activities and documenting completion. |
| Final authority | The Board retains final authority to determine whether a claimed activity and its supporting documentation satisfy the continuing education requirements. |
Course Standards
Activities and Credit
| Activity | West Virginia credit rule |
|---|---|
| Courses and seminars | One hour of coursework, seminars, professional conventions, or workshops equals one PDH. |
| Continuing education units | One continuing education unit equals 10 PDH. |
| Semester coursework | One semester credit hour equals 15 PDH. A typical three-credit semester course therefore equals 45 PDH. |
| Quarter coursework | One quarter credit hour equals 10 PDH. A typical three-credit quarter course therefore equals 30 PDH. |
| Teaching | One hour of teaching qualifying coursework, seminars, professional conventions, or workshops equals two PDH. |
| Publications and patents | Each published paper or patent concerning an engineering subject earns 10 PDH. |
An Online-PDH course that is relevant to professional engineering practice, provides defined educational content, includes a final assessment, documents successful completion, and issues a detailed certificate is generally consistent with West Virginia’s recognized online and correspondence education formats. Final acceptance remains with the Board.
Records and Audit
Each registrant must maintain records supporting all professional development credit claimed. The records must be retained for three renewal periods and supplied to the Board when requested for approval or verification.
Any registrant may be audited. The Board randomly selects approximately 3% to 5% of renewals and may also audit renewal submissions containing questionable continuing education claims.
Special Circumstances
A new registrant licensed by examination or reciprocity is exempt from the professional development requirement for the first renewal period.
A registrant serving on active duty in the United States armed forces for more than 120 consecutive days during a calendar year is exempt from the PDH requirement for that year.
A registrant experiencing physical disability, illness, or other extenuating circumstances may receive an exemption subject to Board review, approval, and supporting documentation.
A registrant who reports a retired occupation and certifies that no remuneration is received for professional engineering services may qualify for the retired exemption.
Official Sources