Minnesota Professional Engineer Renewal
Minnesota professional engineers complete 24 professional development hours during each two-year renewal period, including 2 hours in professional ethics earned during the current period.
Complete 24 qualifying PDH per biennium, including 2 professional-ethics PDH earned in that same period. Up to 12 excess hours may carry forward as general credit. Qualifying online and self-study courses are permitted, and records must be retained for four years after the end of the period to which they apply.
Core Requirement
| Requirement | Minnesota PE rule |
|---|---|
| Total education | 24 professional development hours during the two-year period before biennial renewal, except for permitted carryover. |
| Professional ethics | At least 2 PDH must address professional ethics. The ethics subject need not be profession-specific, but the hours must be earned in the current period. |
| PDH measurement | One PDH is no less than 50 minutes of qualifying instruction or participation. |
| Carryover | Up to 50 percent of the biennial requirement—12 excess PDH—may carry forward from the preceding period as general credit. Carried hours cannot satisfy the new period’s ethics requirement. |
| Renewal cycle | The Board uses a statewide biennial cycle. For example, hours applied to the July 1, 2026–June 30, 2028 license period were earned July 1, 2024–June 30, 2026, or through the earlier renewal date. |
| Provider approval | The Board does not preapprove providers, courses, or activities. The licensee determines whether an activity satisfies Minnesota Statutes section 326.107, subject to final Board review. |
Acceptable Activities
Qualifying learning must enhance or expand professional skills, knowledge, and abilities and directly benefit the public health, safety, or welfare. Technical, nontechnical, regulatory, ethical, and business-practice subjects can qualify when they meet that standard.
Online and Self-Study Education
Minnesota recognizes televised or videotaped courses and self-study college or noncollege courses that end with an examination or another verification process. The statute and Board guidance do not state a separate cap on online PDH.
A structured Moodle course may therefore qualify when its subject directly supports competent professional practice, meets the program-quality criteria, verifies completion, and provides complete documentation. Course format alone does not guarantee acceptance.
Exceptions and Special Situations
A new licensee is automatically exempt from reporting continuing education for the first biennial renewal. Hours earned during that exempt period cannot be carried into the next period.
A licensee affected by serious illness, injury, another extenuating circumstance, or more than 120 consecutive days of active military duty may apply for an exemption. The documented request must be made before submitting the renewal.
A dual license or certificate holder must earn at least one-third of the total required hours in each profession. The remaining one-third may be divided between the two; 2 of the total 24 PDH must be ethics.
If rejected credits reduce the accepted total below 24 PDH, the Board provides notice and a 180-day cure period to substantiate the hours or earn replacements. Replacement hours used to cure the shortage cannot also count in the next biennium.
Documentation and Audit
Licensees must maintain continuing-education records for four years after the end of the licensure period to which the credits apply. The Board may request them when verifying a renewal, conducting a random audit, or investigating a complaint.
Do not routinely send course documentation with renewal. Retain it and provide it when requested. Each record should establish the date, subject, duration, sponsor, PDH earned, and proof of participation.
Official Sources