Architect Continuing Education (CE) Requirements by State (2026)
Licensed architects must complete continuing education to renew their license, most commonly measured in Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) hours or learning units (LUs). Requirements are set by each state architecture licensing board and vary widely — from 12 or 24 HSW hours per renewal, sometimes with mandatory topics such as accessibility, building codes, or disaster-resilient design, to no continuing education requirement at all. Compare requirements across all states below.
Each figure below is checked against its cited source — the official state licensing board where available — and recorded with the exact source excerpt on the state's page. How we compile & verify this data →
National Overview
Across the 48 states covered here, all 48 require architect continuing education to renew a license. Among the states that do mandate CE, totals range from 8 to 36 hours per cycle (averaging about 20), and most run on a 2-year cycle.
The most commonly mandated subject is health, safety & welfare (hsw), required in 37 of these states. Online CE is accepted in every state that requires it, though several cap self-study or independent-study hours. The national coordinating body is NCARB. Use the table below to compare each state's hours, cycle, and mandatory topics.
All States Comparison
| State | Hours | Cycle | Online? | Key Topics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Alaska | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | — | View → |
| Arkansas | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| California | 10 | 2 yr | Yes | Disability access requirements, Zero Net Carbon Design (ZNCD) | View → |
| Colorado | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Connecticut | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Delaware | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Florida | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW), Advanced Florida Building Code | View → |
| Georgia | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Public Protection (Health, Safety & Welfare) Subjects | View → |
| Hawaii | 16 | 2 yr | Yes | Public Protection / Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Idaho | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Illinois | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Public Protection / Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW), Sexual Harassment Prevention Training | View → |
| Indiana | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Iowa | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Kansas | 30 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety, Property & Welfare (HSPW) | View → |
| Kentucky | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Louisiana | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Maine | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Maryland | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Massachusetts | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Michigan | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Minnesota | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Professional ethics, Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Mississippi | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Missouri | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Montana | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Nebraska | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Professional ethics, Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) / technical subjects | View → |
| Nevada | 8 | 1 yr | Yes | Code-related research or learning, Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| New Jersey | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| New Mexico | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| New York | 36 | 3 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| North Carolina | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Ohio | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Oklahoma | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Oregon | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Pennsylvania | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Rhode Island | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| South Carolina | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| South Dakota | 30 | 2 yr | Yes | Technical / Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) subjects | View → |
| Tennessee | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) / technical competency | View → |
| Texas | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Sustainable / energy-efficient design, Barrier-free / accessibility design | View → |
| Utah | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Vermont | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Virginia | 16 | 2 yr | Yes | — | View → |
| Washington | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| West Virginia | 12 | 1 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Wisconsin | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |
| Wyoming | 24 | 2 yr | Yes | Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW) | View → |