New York Professional Engineer Registration
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.
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.
Core Requirement
| 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. |
| Diversity and inclusion | The current professional-engineering continuing-education regulation does not prescribe a separate diversity, equity, or inclusion course requirement. |
| Acceptable subjects | Education must contribute to professional engineering practice and may include engineering, architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, interior design, geology, or relevant law and ethics topics. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
Acceptable Activities and Sponsors
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.
Direct appearance in NYSED’s sponsor directory is therefore one approval route—not the only route available under Part 68.
Online and Self-Study Education
Current 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.
The current regulation does not state the former 18-hour overall limitation on educational activities. Consequently, structured online learning can potentially supply all 36 hours when the sponsor, subject, delivery, assessment, and completion documentation meet NYSED requirements.
Independent informal study is not sufficient. NYSED also states that self-reporting forms are never acceptable in place of sponsor-issued completion evidence.
Exemptions and Special Situations
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.
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.
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.
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.
Documentation and Audit
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