Frequently Asked Questions/Online Help
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1. Are the PDH credits awarded by PDH Center through PDHonline.com/PDHcenter.com/PDHonline.org recognized by the various state boards of registration for PE & PLS?
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Professional Engineer (PE):
We are an Approved PDH Course Provider (Sponsor) for PE in
ALL the states that require approval or have pre-approval program. These states are:
- Florida
- Indiana
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- New York*
- North Carolina
The following state PE boards require mandatory continuing education,
but do not pre-approve any continuing
education provider or activity. They leave the choice up to you:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
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Approved Sponsor/Provider
All of
our online courses comply with the Continuing Professional Competency
Guidelines published by National Council of Examiners for Engineering
and Surveying ()
and, therefore, should be
acceptable to all the state boards requiring mandatory continuing
education. In order for your state board to accept your PDH's,
you need to choose courses that will maintain, improve, or expand
the skills and knowledge related to your field of practice.
PDH Online | PDH Center (PDHonline.com/PDHonline.org/PDHcenter.com) is a Board Approved or Recognized
Sponsor/Provider of continuing education activities for Professional
Engineers in the following states:
*Attention NY Licensed PE & PLS:
PDHonline.org, Inc./PDH Center is a New York State Board Approved Continuing Education Sponsor.
There are
two categories of acceptable continuing education in the state of New
York:
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Educational
Activities: A maximum of 18 hours may be in educational activities
for professional engineers and a maximum of 8 hours may be in educational
activities for land surveyors. Acceptable educational activities include
online courses, audio/video courses, and other structured self-study
programs that include a testing instrument and are offered by an approved
sponsor. PDH online courses in the following areas
belong to this category and are accepted by the New York State Board:
-
Technical courses in all subject areas.
- Courses related to laws and regulations governing the practice of engineering and/or land surveying in the state of New York.
- Courses related to matters of laws and ethics that contribute to the health and welfare of the public.
Note: New York State Board does not accept courses that do not directly contribute to the professional practice in the state of New York, which include:
- Courses related to office management, risk management, leadership, marketing, accounting, financial planning, insurance, real estate, and basic CAD.
- Courses addressing the laws and rules for practicing engineering and/or land surveying in states other than the New York state.
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Live Courses: A minimum of 18 hours of continuing
education must be completed in live courses for professional engineers
and a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education must be completed
in live courses for land surveyors. All 36 hours for professional
engineers or 24 hours for land surveyors may be completed through
acceptable live courses. Acceptable live courses include webinars, seminars,
workshops, lectures, technical presentations, telecourses, teleconferences,
and other instructional methods that provide a student the opportunity
for immediate interaction with an instructor/presenter. Our webinars belong to this category and are accepted by the New York State Board as continuing education courses.
In
addition, we are a Board Approved or Recognized Sponsor/Provider of continuing education
activities for Professional Land Surveyors in the following states:
To our knowledge, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York are the only six states that currently pre-approve courses or providers (vendors)
in both engineering and surveying fields. Although Kentucky
has separate pre-approval programs for land surveyors' continuing education
activities, they usually accept courses pre-approved by another jurisdiction.
In other states that have mandatory Continuing Professional Competency
(CPC) requirements, it is generally the responsibility of the engineers
and surveyors to select courses that meet the state guidelines. The typical
state guidelines define a qualified course as one whose purpose and objective
are clear with a content that will "maintain, improve, or expand the skills
and knowledge of the licensee's field of practice".
Designation as an Approved Sponsor/Provider indicates recognition
by the Board of our online courses as meeting the required standards.
Professional engineers and land surveyors in Florida, Indiana, and New York as well as professional land surveyors in Maryland, Missouri, Texas, Kentucky,
New Jersey, and Vermont are required to take continuing education courses from
Approved Providers. In New Jersey and North Carolina, engineers
and surveyors are not required to take courses from Approved Sponsors,
but if they do, they are assured that their PDH credits will be accepted
by the Board.
As
an approved continuing education provider, PDH Online | PDH Center (PDHonline.com/PDHcenter.com/PDHonline.org)
maintains records of all online PDH activities for at least seven (7)
years. Our records include the name of the attendee who satisfactorily
completed the course, type of activity claimed, date of activity, instructor's
name, sponsoring organization, and the PDH credits earned. Copies of these
records may be requested by sending emails to
for audit verification purposes.
Note:
Most
states requiring CPC (CPD or PDH) do not pre-approve courses or providers (vendors),
and leave the choice to the licensees.
Click on
for more information.
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Land Surveyor (LS):
We are an Approved PDH Course Provider (Sponsor) for LS in
the following states:
- Florida (Our CEP# 0002496)
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Missouri
- New Jersey
- New York*
- North Carolina
- Texas
- Vermont
The following state LS boards require mandatory continuing education,
but do not pre-approve any continuing
education provider or activity. They leave the choice up to you:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Our courses have not been directly registered with and approved by the
following state LS boards:
- Delaware
- Kentucky**
- Tennessee
**Kentucky land surveyors may take PDH online courses specifically approved by other state land surveying boards since KY LS Board accepts courses approved by their counterparts in other states.
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2. How may I become a PDHonline course provider?
If you are interested in becoming a PDHonline course provider, you should submit
a resume, a brief biography, and a list of proposed course topics to .
We will review your educational background and practical experience, and will
notify you of our decision within three business days. For more information,
please click ""
on the top menu bar.
3. Why do you have several almost identical websites?
To provide the highest quality service
with the least interruption, we operate several mirror sites for the convenience
of our valued customers. , , , and
are just some of the websites maintained by our organization. If you
have difficulty accessing one of our websites, please try to access another
one. All of our online courses are available through any of the above websites.
You may use the same user ID and password on any of our websites.
4. Do you report PDH credits to all the state boards?
We submit periodic reports only to state boards that require reporting from approved continuing education providers. For example, we report to both the Florida Professional Land Surveyors Board and the Florida Professional Engineers Board, the latter requires us to report the FL Laws and Rules Course (R225) only.
These reports include the names and license numbers of all registrants who complete PDHonline courses within the reporting period, along with the PDH credits earned. Please make sure that you have entered your PE or PLS numbers in your profile. Currently, we submit our reports weekly. If you do not see your course credits on the board website after two weeks, please let us know.
5. Do you offer live seminars?
Yes, we offer live web seminars (webinars) through the Internet for certain topics. You can attend our webinars from your home or office using a computer, a tablet or a smartphone.
Our live webinar program has been approved by the New York State Board for Engineering and Land Surveying, and is acceptable to all other state boards. Please click "" for the upcoming webinar schedule.
6. Do you offer courses on Florida Board Laws and Ethics?
For FL PE: Yes. Please check out our Florida Approved Courses for PE.
For FL LS: You no longer need to take the course in SOP (standard of practice) or MTS (minimum technical standard) after 2017.
7. Are your courses acceptable to the Pennsylvania PE & LS Board?
Yes, our courses are acceptable to PA Board as long as they maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge of your professional practice. You need to complete 24 credits (PDHs) by the September 30 renewal date (odd year).
To eliminate any confusion about continuing education requirements for PE & LS licensed in PA, we have posted below the latest notice from the Pennsylvania Board.
** Special Notice: Continuing Education Requirements **
PA State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists eNewsletter (June 9, 2010)
BOARD CONTINUING EDUCATION (CE) GOES INTO EFFECT FOR 2009-2011 RENEWAL CYCLE
24 CREDITS MUST BE COMPLETED BY SEPT. 30, 2011
THE BOARD HAS DECIDED TO GRANT A MORATORIUM FROM DISCIPLINARY ACTION PROVIDED ANY CE CREDIT DEFICIENCIES ARE COMPLETED BY APRIL 1, 2012.
In its e-newsletter sent May 14, the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists attempted to update licensees on the upcoming requirements for mandatory continuing education (CE) to be set forth in regulations of the Board. THAT INFORMATION IS NOW OUT OF DATE AND SHOULD BE DISREGARDED.
This special mailing is intended to provide licensees with the most current information concerning mandatory continuing education. Please accept our apologies for any confusion that may have resulted.
On May 12, the legislature enacted and Governor Rendell signed into law Act 25 which amended the Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law (the Law) to clarify the requirements for mandatory continuing education and to make it easier to meet your requirements and to provide more choice in CE courses, seminars, workshops and conferences.
Act 25 specifically eliminated the need for the board to pre-approve CE courses. Now, the board CE requirements are based upon the provision of the model law and rules of the National Council of Examiners in Engineer and Surveying (NCEES), which is the national organization of licensing boards. This change in the Law expands the number of CE courses and activities that will be acceptable for credit.
In addition, Act 25 specifies that the first CE cycle of 24 credits must be completed, no ifs, ands or buts, by the Sept. 30, 2011 renewal cycle. This is a change from the prior directive. But the board has come up with a way to smooth the transition for you so that no one is disadvantaged or is unfairly disciplined for any CE deficiencies that may result from confusion over the CE deadline.
In order to accommodate licensees who are just now learning of this deadline, the board has decided to grant a moratorium from disciplinary action for anyone who has not completed the 24 CE credits by the Sept. 30, 2011, renewal date provided any and all CE credits short of the mandatory 24 are completed by April 1, 2012. If you fail to make up the CE deficit by the April 2012 deadline, you will be facing disciplinary action and you will not be permitted to double count CE earned after the September deadline for the following renewal cycle.
The best course of action is to begin doing your CE today. Any CE credits that you have earned as far back as Oct. 1, 2009, will be acceptable at the time of renewal.
** End of Special Notice **
8. Do you report to the Florida Board?
Yes, we currently submit periodic reports to the Florida Professional Engineers (PE) Board for the Florida Laws and Rules course and to the Florida Professional Land Surveyors (PLS) Board for courses with numbers ending in the suffix F.
To ensure your PDH credits are reported, please provide your Florida PE or PLS license number in your profile. If your credits are not reflected after two weeks, please reach out via our Contact Us page. Be sure to include the course number and your Florida PE or PLS license number in your message so we can promptly address the issue.
9. Are all PDHonline courses acceptable to the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCBELS)?
Although we are a NCBELS-approved sponsor for continuing education of engineers and land surveyors, NC Board does not automatically accept all of our courses. As an NC licensee, you must choose courses that will result in the maintenance, improvement, or expansion of skills and knowledge relevant to your field of practice. In particular, the following types of courses or activities are not acceptable for CPC credit in North Carolina:
Executive Coaching
Estate or financial planning
Basic computer/software (e.g. Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.)
Sight-seeing and tours
Visiting vendor/exhibitor displays
Sales presentations or sales seminars (e.g. increasing sales, maximizing profitability, marketing, etc.)
Self-study
Personal improvement
General business meetings
Regular employment activities
Research
Company procedure and policy workshops
In addition, the Board has final authority with respect to the approval of courses, credit, PDH value for courses, and methods for licensees to earn credit.
10. Can I view your sample certificate?
Yes, please click for details.
11. Are you an AIA/CES Registered Provider?
Currently, PDHonline.com / PDHonline.org is NOT an AIA/CES Registered Provider.
PDHonline.com / PDHonline.org was an AIA/CES Registered Provider between August 1, 2004 and December 31, 2020. Our AIA/CES Registered Provider Number was J681.
If
you could not find the answer to your question, please send your question through
"Contact Us".
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