Wisconsin Professional Engineer Renewal
Wisconsin Professional Engineers must complete 30 PDH each biennium, including 2 PDH in professional conduct and ethics and at least 13 PDH through real-time interactive education.
Wisconsin requires participants to be present or logged in at the same time, able to communicate directly with one another, and able to ask the instructor questions. Self-paced reading and on-demand courses do not satisfy this 13-PDH component.
Core Requirements
| Requirement | Wisconsin rule |
|---|---|
| Total hours | Complete at least 30 approved PDH or equivalent continuing-education units pertinent to professional engineering during each biennium. |
| Conduct and ethics | At least 2 of the 30 PDH must address professional conduct and ethics. |
| Interactive education | At least 13 PDH must involve real-time instructor and participant interaction in a classroom, computer conference, or interactive video conference. |
| Self-paced limit | Because 13 PDH must be interactive, no more than 17 of the required 30 PDH can ordinarily be satisfied entirely through noninteractive, self-paced activities. |
| Carryover | Up to 15 excess PDH may be carried into the next biennium. Carried hours do not replace the new biennium's ethics and real-time-interaction minimums. |
| Provider approval | Courses, providers, and activities do not require preapproval. The Professional Engineer Section has final discretion over acceptance. |
| Biennium | The Wisconsin PE biennium runs from August 1 of an even-numbered year through July 31 of the next even-numbered year. |
Course Formats
Qualifying Credit
| Activity | Wisconsin treatment |
|---|---|
| Courses and seminars | Qualify when pertinent to engineering practice, organized for learning, taught by qualified persons, and supported by attendance or completion evidence. |
| College coursework | College-level engineering coursework may qualify using the conversion factors established in Chapter A-E 13. |
| Teaching or presenting | Initial preparation and presentation of qualifying engineering education may earn credit under the activity limits in the rule. |
| Professional societies | Active participation in professional or technical societies may earn credit, but the tracking form identifies a maximum of 4 PDH for this category. |
| Self-directed course | The activity should have a clear professional purpose, structured content, completion verification, and sufficient evidence to establish the PDH claimed. |
| Repeated activity | Do not claim duplicate credit for substantially the same activity unless the current rule clearly permits it and the new learning can be documented. |
A relevant self-paced Online-PDH course with organized material, assessment, completion tracking, and a detailed certificate may be used toward Wisconsin's noninteractive portion, subject to Section review. Unless delivered as a qualifying live, interactive event, it should not be counted toward the mandatory 13 interactive PDH.
Records and Audit
Use the Professional Engineer Section's approved tracking form and retain supporting documentation for at least the three most recent biennia. The form and certificates are not routinely submitted with renewal; provide them only when requested.
The Section may conduct an audit or request additional proof. A registrant who receives written notice of an apparent deficiency generally has 30 days to provide evidence of compliance.
Special Circumstances
The CE requirement does not apply to the biennium in which the Wisconsin PE license is first issued.
The Section may grant a full or partial waiver or an extension after reviewing a timely request and supporting documentation. Approval is discretionary.
A limited nonpractice waiver is available only to qualifying long-term licensees who meet the rule's licensure-date, consecutive-registration, retirement, and affidavit requirements.
Late-renewal and out-of-state applicants have separate proof requirements. An applicant expired more than five years must follow DSPS's late-renewal procedure.
Official Sources