Continuing education

Professional Engineers licensed in Florida must take 18 continuing education (CE) course hours every two years in order to renew their licenses.

Of the 18 hours, one hour must relate to the Florida laws and rules of Professional Engineers from a Board-approved provider, and one hour must relate to professional ethics. Four hours must relate to area of practice. The remaining 12 hours may be related to any topic pertinent to the practice of engineering.

Up to four hours of the continuing education course hours may be obtained by serving as an officer for a Board-recognized professional or technical engineering society. The required hours relating to Florida law and rules, and ethics may also be earned by a PE serving as a member of the Legislature or as an elected state or local official.

Continuing education hours may be earned by presenting or attending seminars, in-house or non-classroom courses, workshops, or professional or technical presentations made at meetings, webinars, conventions, or conferences, including those presented by vendors with specific knowledge related to the licensee’s area of practice.

Refer to Section 471.017(3), Florida Statutes, and Rule 61G15-22, F.A.C., for a full description of continuing education requirements for licensed engineers. You can view the statute in its entirety by going to the Statutes and Rules page under the Legal section of our website.

CONTINUING EDUCATION RECORD RETENTION RULE FOR LICENSEES

Professional Engineers licensed in Florida are required to retain sufficient records demonstrating completion of qualifying professional development hours for at least four years.

Rule 61G15-22.006, F.A.C., Demonstrating Compliance; Audits; Investigations.

(1) In order to demonstrate compliance with continuing education requirements, licensees must affirmatively declare completion of the continuing education requirements upon licensure renewal.

(2) The Board reserves the right to require licensees to provide the documentation showing that the continuing education requirements are met.

(a) In addition, licensees audited in the previous biennium who failed to demonstrate compliance will be included with the group of licensees audited for the current renewal
cycle.

(b) Licensees whose void license was reactivated during the previous renewal cycle will
be included within the group of licensees audited for the current renewal cycle.

(c) A failure to produce documentation of compliance with continuing education requirements during an audit will result in the opening of a disciplinary complaint against the licensee for violation of paragraph 61G15‐19.001(6)(s), F.A.C. If a violation is proven, the penalty shall be within the guidelines established by sub‐subparagraph 61G15‐19.004(2)(g)4.i., F.A.C.

(3) The licensee shall retain such receipts, vouchers, certificates, or other papers as may be necessary to document completion of the continuing education pursuant to an audit for four (4) years from the date of completion of the continuing education activity.

In addition, the Board shall use attendance information submitted by the provider to determine whether licensees can demonstrate compliance.

(4) In addition to auditing licensee compliance as provided in subsection (2), to monitor licensee compliance with continuing education requirements, any investigation conducted pursuant to Section 455.225, F.S., shall be expanded to include investigation of compliance with continuing education.

If you have any questions regarding record retention of CE hours or reporting please contact the Board office at (850) 521-0500, ext. 113, or email cedesk@fbpe.org.

*** ATTENTION CONTINUING EDUCATION PROVIDERS ***

Beginning with the 2023-2025 biennium, providers of the Florida laws and rules courses must report the results of Professional Engineers completing their course. All other CE providers are not required to report CE credits for engineers to FBPE, though providers must provide certificates to licensees as required by rule.

Laws and rules certificates must be reported through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations’ online provider reporting portal using a DBPR online services account at MyFloridaLicense.com.

The Board is in the process of revising rules regarding CE reporting. After two renewal periods during which too many PEs were failing the audit, Florida statutes required that PEs must start reporting their certificates. Because the Florida laws and rules course can only be offered by Board-approved providers, those providers must report completions of their course by Florida PEs.

If you have any questions regarding CE provider renewal, please feel free to contact the Board office at (850) 521-0500, ext. 113, or cedesk@fbpe.org.

COMMON QUESTIONS REGARDING CONTINUING EDUCATION

Click one of the commonly asked questions below to expand the answer.

For Professional Engineers

For Professional Engineers

What is considered proof of continuing education?

Here are some of the records you can provide to verify continuing education:

  • Continuing-education courses: Provide completion certificates, which must have the course title, name of the provider, the number of credits awarded, and the date.
  • Serving in an elected office: Serving as a member of the Legislature or as an elected state or local official meets requirements for the laws-and-rules and ethics courses.
  • Teaching a college course: Provide a letter from the university or college that lists the name of the course, the dates taught, and the first time that the course was taught by the PE. You may only use the teaching of a college course once, regardless of whether you updated the course materials. Also, full-time faculty may not use the teaching of college courses as substitute CE credit.
  • Peer-reviewed paper: Provide the paper and include the date of the peer review and who conducted the review.
  • Patent: Provide documentation from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assigning the patent number.
  • Presenting a “lunch and learn”: Provide a letter from whomever requested the presentation, with the topic, date, and length of time of the presentation.
  • Presentation to professional or technical society: Provide a letter from the organization with the topic, date, and length of time of the presentation.
  • Serving as an officer of a professional or technical society: Provide a letter from the organization that indicates what office was held and the term of the service. CE credits are not earned until the end of each calendar year of completed service.

For complete information on demonstrating compliance with continuing-education requirements, please see Rule 61G15-22.006, Florida Administrative Code.

Can I count a CE course that I was ordered by the Board to take?

No. If you are ordered to take continuing-education courses to fulfill the requirements from a previous renewal, those CE credits cannot be used again to meet the current renewal requirements, even if they are taken within the same biennium.

Let’s say, for example, you failed to complete the Florida laws-and-rules course in the 2023 audit, and were required to complete that course late to bring you into compliance. When it is time to renew your license in 2025, you may not use that same CE provider or CE certificate to meet the current continuing-education requirements.

In addition, if disciplinary action ordered by the Board requires you to complete a course in engineering ethics and professionalism, that course cannot be used to meet CE requirements.

Does Florida accept CE credits that I earned to meet another state's continuing education requirements?

With the exception of the one-hour Florida Laws & Rules requirement, you may apply continuing education credit earned for another state’s engineering license to your 18 hours, assuming it meets the criteria set forth in 471.017, F.S., Renewal of License, and Rule 61G15-22.001, F.A.C., Continuing Education Requirements. And CE providers must meet the requirements detailed in Rule 61G15‐22.011, F.A.C., Board Approval of Continuing Education Providers.

A list of Board-approved CE providers and courses can be found on myfloridalicense.com. If you are unsure if a provider or course is approved or acceptable, call the Board office at (850) 521-0500, and ask to speak to a representative in the Continuing Education department.

Refer to Rule 61G15-22.003, F.A.C., Demonstrating Compliance, which provides that all licensees are responsible for maintaining the appropriate documentation necessary to evidence completion of CE each biennium.

Isn't there some training required for the Florida Building Code?

Yes. Chapter 471.0195, F.S., Florida Building Code Training for Engineers, requires Professional Engineers take and report an Advanced Building Code course applicable to the licensee’s area of practice prior to participating in the design of engineering projects covered by the code.

Please see the Advanced Building Code course page for more information.

Do I have to report my continuing education?

Yes. Beginning with the 2023-2025 biennium, PEs licensed in Florida must use the free NCEES CPC Tracking system to report their continuing education.

Because too many PEs were failing the continuing-education audit, everyone is now required to report their continuing education.

If you registered with NCEES for an exam or created an NCEES Record account anytime since October 2010, you already have an NCEES account. If you don’t have a free NCEES account, you will need to create one.

We have step-by-step instructions on our website that will help you set up a free NCEES account and begin uploading your CE documentation.

As you complete your CE courses, start uploading your documents to your NCEES CPC Tracking account, but do not send your CE report to FBPE until after you have completed all of your continuing education courses.

FBPE to start verifying completion once renewal closes.

Only Florida laws and rules course results will be directly reported by CE providers. Log into your account at myfloridalicense.com to confirm that it shows you have completed your Florida laws and rules course. If it does not, please contact your course’s provider.

When do I report my continuing education to the Board?

Wait until you have completed all 18 hours of required continuing education, then report it to the Board from within the free NCEES CPC Tracking system.

You should start uploading your CE documentation as soon as you complete a course. Follow the step-by-step instructions on our website.

But remember: Do not send your CE report to FBPE until after you have completed all of your continuing education courses.

Only Florida laws and rules course results will be directly reported by CE providers. Log into your account at myfloridalicense.com to confirm that it shows you have completed your Florida laws and rules course. If it does not, please contact your course’s provider.

Can I fax or email my CE certificates to the Board?

No. You must upload CE documentation to the free NCEES CPC Tracking system. See the instructions for setting up a free account and uploading your documentation.

Rule 61G15-22.006, Demonstrating Compliance, F.A.C., requires all Florida-licensed PEs to retain receipts, certificates, or other documentation as may be necessary to demonstrate completion of continuing education for four years from the date of completion of the CE course.

Only Florida laws and rules courses will be reported directly by CE providers. Log into your account at myfloridalicense.com to confirm that it shows you have completed the course. If it does not, please contact your course’s provider.

Also, Professional Engineers who complete the Advanced Building Code course must provide documentation to the Board so that it may be added to your record, pursuant to Section 471.0195, Florida Statutes.

Do unused or extra CE credits carry over to the next biennium?

No. All CE credits must be earned within the single biennium for which they are claimed. See Rule 61G15-22.001(2), Continuing Education Requirements, F.A.C.

For CE Providers

For CE Providers

If I am a CE Provider how do I add new courses?

If you need to add courses to your listing, please email Nancy Wilkins at cedesk@fbpe.org, and include your provider name and license number; the name of the course; and the PDH value of the course. You will then receive a number for that course.

Is there a separate application for providing a Florida laws and rules course?

Yes. The application for providing a Florida laws and rules course available on the Provider Application Process and Renewal page under the Continuing Education section.

Do CE providers have to report CE credits to FBPE?

No. Providers are not required to report CE credits to FBPE. Rule 61G15-22.006, F.A.C., Demonstrating Compliance; Audits; Investigations, F.A.C., requires Professional Engineer licensees to maintain sufficient records demonstrating completion of qualifying professional development hours for at least four years. CE providers must provide completion certificates to course participants/licensees. Those licensees may be subject to an audit after renewal.

How long is a CE provider required to hold onto a participant’s records?

As a provider, you should be aware that you are obligated to provide certificates of completion to all course attendees and you are also required to maintain accurate records for four years. Failure to comply with this rule may result in a loss of your provider license and the ability to provide continuing education courses to Florida engineers.

How often am I required to renew my provider license, and can I renew my license online?

You are required to renew your provider license every two years. This can be done online using the renewal system at myfloridalicense.com. You will need to create an account, if you have not created one already. You will need your license number and activation code (the last four digits of your FEIN) to access your account.

How much is the fee for renewal of my CE provider license?

The renewal fee for continuing education providers is $250.