Louisiana Land Surveyor CE (PDH) Requirements (2026): 16 Hours Every 2 Years
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Requirements Overview
The Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board (LAPELS) requires every professional land surveyor to complete continuing professional development (CPD) measured in Professional Development Hours (PDH). The requirement is set per calendar year, not per renewal: you must earn 8 PDH in land-surveying-related activities each year, so a full two-year renewal period covers 16 PDH.
Two of those hours are subject-specific each year — at least 1 PDH in professional ethics and at least 1 PDH in the Louisiana standards of practice for boundary surveys (LAC Title 46, Part LXI, §3105.B). Excess hours carry forward: up to 7 PDH can roll into the following calendar year, though not across a subsequent biennium.
Surveyors who also hold a Louisiana PE license (dual licensees) follow a different rule — 15 PDH per year, with at least one-third earned separately for each profession.
Mandatory Topics
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional ethics | 1 | Every renewal | At least one PDH per calendar year must be earned in professional ethics — the standard of professional conduct and responsibility required of a professional land surveyor. |
| Standards of practice for boundary surveys in Louisiana | 1 | Every renewal | At least one PDH per calendar year must be earned in the standards of practice for boundary surveys in Louisiana. |
Exemptions
- New Licensees — New licensees are exempt from the CPD requirements during the calendar year in which they are licensed.
- Active Military Duty — Licensees serving on active duty in the U.S. Military for a period exceeding 180 consecutive days in a calendar year are exempt for that calendar year.
- Disability, Serious Illness, Or Injury — Licensees prevented from satisfying the CPD requirements during a calendar year by disability, serious illness, or serious injury may be granted an exemption for that year with supporting physician documentation.
How You Can Complete Your CE
Louisiana CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to Louisiana that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- Annual minimum — at least 8 hours must be completed each year of the cycle, not just by the renewal deadline.
- Carry-over — Up to a maximum of 7 excess PDHs may be carried forward into the subsequent calendar year (not the subsequent biennium). Carried-over hours may include those earned in professional ethics and the Louisiana boundary-survey standards of practice.
- The requirement is measured per calendar year: 8 PDH each calendar year, including at least 1 PDH in professional ethics and at least 1 PDH in the standards of practice for boundary surveys in Louisiana (LAC Title 46 Part LXI §3105.B).
- Dual licensees (licensed as both a professional engineer and professional land surveyor) must earn 15 PDH per calendar year, with at least one-third of the required PDH earned separately for each profession (§3105.C).
- Up to 7 excess PDH may be carried forward into the next calendar year, but not into a subsequent biennium (§3105.D).
- Licenses renew on a biennial cycle; the renewal form certifies CPD compliance. Licensees must keep a board-approved professional development activity log of all PDH claimed each calendar year.
Tips for Louisiana PLSs
- Track your hours by calendar year, not by renewal date. The 8-PDH minimum resets every January, so a two-year renewal really means meeting 8 PDH in each of the two years — you cannot bank all 16 in one year.
- Each year, lock in the two mandatory PDH first: 1 hour of professional ethics and 1 hour on Louisiana boundary-survey standards of practice. These are specific subject requirements, not generic technical hours.
- You can carry up to 7 excess PDH into the next calendar year — useful if you take a long course — but carried-over hours do not roll across into a new biennium, so plan the timing.
- Keep a board-approved CPD activity log of everything you claim. LAPELS renewal is by certification, meaning you self-certify compliance on the renewal form and must be able to produce the log if audited.
- Newly licensed surveyors are exempt from CPD during the calendar year they are first licensed; confirm your first full compliance year with LAPELS before assuming a course counts.
Sources
- Cross-checked against the official published rules of the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board (LAPELS)
- Each stated figure recorded with its exact source excerpt
- 1 source cited — 1 primary (official board)
PLS Requirements in Nearby States
Other Professions in Louisiana
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