Alaska Land Surveyor CE (PDH) Requirements (2026): 24 Hours Every 2 Years

Requirements Overview

The Alaska Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS) requires every professional land surveyor to complete 24 professional development hours (PDH) during the 24 months immediately preceding each biennial registration renewal (12 AAC 36.510). The requirement is a single lump sum for the two-year period — there is no separate per-year minimum.

Qualifying courses and activities must be in technical and professional subjects related to the scope of surveying practice and must address the public's health, safety, and welfare (HSW). Alaska does not pre-approve courses or providers, so the surveyor is responsible for judging whether an activity counts and for keeping records that verify the hours.

Excess hours help a little: up to 12 PDH earned beyond the required 24 may be carried forward into the next biennial period. A surveyor who also holds another Alaska registration still needs only the single 24-PDH minimum.

How You Can Complete Your CE

Alaska CE Rules & Limits

Details specific to Alaska that generic CE guides tend to miss:

• Carry-over — Up to 12 excess PDH earned beyond the required 24 may be carried forward into the next biennial registration period.
• The 24 PDH are measured over the 24 months immediately preceding the registration period (biennial renewal), not a calendar-year basis.
• Courses and activities must be in technical and professional subjects related to the surveyor's scope of practice and must address the public's health, safety, and welfare (HSW).
• The board does not pre-approve courses or providers — the registrant is responsible for determining that an activity qualifies and for keeping records to verify PDH.
• A surveyor who holds more than one Alaska registration (for example, engineer and land surveyor) still needs only the single-registration minimum of 24 PDH.

Tips for Alaska PLSs

• Because Alaska does not pre-approve providers, keep documentation showing each activity was technical/professional, tied to surveying, and HSW-related — you are the one who must defend the hours in an audit.
• Track the 24-month window that ends at your registration date, not a calendar year. The full 24 PDH must fall within those two years.
• Bank ahead when you can: up to 12 excess PDH roll into the next biennium, so a heavy course year can cover part of the following cycle.
• If you hold both an engineer and a land surveyor registration in Alaska, you do not double the hours — a single 24-PDH block satisfies both.
• Retain your PDH records; the board can request them to verify compliance even though it never pre-approves the courses.

Sources

Other Professions in Alaska

All Land Surveyor CE Requirements by State

Open any other state's Land Surveyor CE (PDH) requirements, or see the full Land Surveyor CE hub to compare every state in one table.