Colorado Land Surveyor CE (PDH) Requirements (2026): 30 Hours Every 2 Years

Requirements Overview

The Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (the "AES" board, within DORA) requires every active-license land surveyor to complete continuing education. The requirement is 30 CEH per two-year reporting period, with no per-year minimum — you can spread the hours across the two years however you like. Licenses expire October 31 in odd-numbered years, and the CE reporting period is tracked on calendar years.

All hours must be in land surveying subjects — basic surveying, boundary law, description writing, the public land survey system, and surveying sciences such as photogrammetry, topography, laser scanning, and LiDAR. There is no mandatory ethics hour; an ethics-for-surveyors course is optional and capped at 2 CEH per period. If you exceed 30 hours, up to 15 CEH carry forward into the next period.

A distinctive Colorado quirk: professional engineers on the same board have no CE requirement at all — the obligation applies only to land surveyors and architects.

Exemptions

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  Initial License By Examination — Land Surveyors who receive their initial Colorado license through the examination method during the current license period are not required to complete CE until after the first renewal of their license.
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  Inactive License — A Land Surveyor who holds an Inactive license is exempt from CE requirements for renewal; inactive licensees may not practice or hold out as a land surveyor.
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  Military — A licensee may request a military exemption to licensing fees and CE requirements per DORA's military license renewal provisions.
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  Hardship — The Board may grant exceptions to CE requirements for reasons of individual hardship, including health or other good cause, at its sole discretion. A licensee is not eligible under this provision for two consecutive license periods except in the case of military service; requests must be submitted in writing with supporting documentation.

How You Can Complete Your CE

Colorado CE Rules & Limits

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

• Carry-over — If a licensee exceeds the 30 CEH required during the two-year reporting period, a maximum of 15 hours may be carried forward into the next reporting period.
• The requirement is 30 CEH per two-year reporting period. Licenses expire October 31 in odd-numbered years, but the CE reporting period is tracked on calendar years (January 1–December 31). There is no per-year minimum for surveyors.
• CE must be in land surveying subjects: technical and professional topics such as basic surveying, boundary law, description writing, the public land survey system, and surveying sciences (construction staking, hydrographic surveying, photogrammetry, topography, laser scanning, LiDAR). One CEH = 50–60 minutes of structured instruction; additional 15-minute increments count as 0.25 CEH.
• There is no mandatory ethics or subject-specific hour requirement. An ethics-for-land-surveyors course is optional and capped at a maximum of 2 CEH per license period.
• The Board does not pre-approve courses; the licensee is responsible for compliance. Records must be retained for at least 6 years and are not submitted unless requested. Audits of compliance are conducted after each renewal reporting period.
• Professional Engineers licensed by the same board are NOT required to complete CE — the CE obligation applies to land surveyors and architects only.
• Statutory basis: C.R.S. § 12-120-104(3)(c), enacted by HB19-1040 (2019); board rules at 4 CCR 730-1.

Tips for Colorado PLSs

• Track your hours by the two-year reporting period, not by course date — you need 30 CEH total with no annual split, so you can front-load or back-load as your schedule allows.
• Keep every hour in a land surveying subject (boundary law, PLSS, description writing, surveying sciences); general or unrelated coursework will not count toward the 30 CEH.
• Don't rely on ethics to fill hours — an ethics-for-land-surveyors course is capped at just 2 CEH per license period, and no ethics hours are actually required.
• If you overshoot 30 hours, you can carry a maximum of 15 CEH into the next reporting period — useful after a long conference or certificate program.
• The Board does not pre-approve courses and audits compliance after each period, so retain your certificates for at least 6 years even though you don't submit them unless asked.

Sources

PLS Requirements in Nearby States

Other Professions in Colorado

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.