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

Requirements Overview

The Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), through its Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors Licensing Board, requires every professional land surveyor to complete 30 hours of qualified continuing professional education during each two-year renewal period. The cycle ends on March 31 of each odd-numbered year, when CE compliance and the renewal fee are both due (Utah Admin. Code R156-22-304).

Utah does not break the 30 hours into mandated subjects. The education simply has to be directly related to the ethics, business, or technical content of surveying practice, so ethics counts but is not a fixed carve-out. Courses are credited in blocks of at least 50 minutes, and online or home-study courses count for unlimited hours as long as the course verifies your registration and participation through a test.

Excess hours help: up to 15 hours can be carried forward into the next two-year period. Miss the deadline and the penalty is steep — you must complete double the number of hours you fell short by before you can renew or reinstate.

How You Can Complete Your CE

Utah CE Rules & Limits

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

• Carry-over — A licensee may carry forward a maximum of 15 hours of qualified continuing professional education into the next two-year period (Utah Admin. Code R156-22-304).
• The 30-hour requirement runs on a two-year cycle ending March 31 of each odd-numbered year; CE compliance and the renewal fee are due at that time (Utah Admin. Code R156-22-304).
• Continuing education must be directly related to the ethics, business, or technical content of professional practice. Utah does not mandate a fixed number of ethics or laws-and-rules hours, but ethics is an eligible and encouraged subject.
• Up to 15 hours may be carried forward into the next two-year period.
• Online/Internet and home-study courses count for unlimited hours, provided the course verifies registration and participation by means of a test; credit is granted in blocks of at least 50 minutes.
• Activity caps: a maximum of 15 hours for teaching and a maximum of 5 hours for preparing papers, articles, or books directly related to practice.
• A licensee who first becomes licensed during the two-year period receives a pro-rata reduction for the portion of the period before licensure.
• A licensee who fails to timely complete the required hours must complete double the number of hours missed to renew or reinstate. Keep CE records for four years after the close of the two-year period.

Tips for Utah PLSs

• Anchor your planning to March 31 of the next odd-numbered year (for example, 2027, 2029). That is your compliance and renewal deadline, not your original license-issue date.
• You do not need a set number of ethics or laws hours in Utah, but the topic must relate to the ethics, business, or technical side of surveying — keep documentation showing the connection to practice.
• Take online or home-study courses freely: they count for unlimited hours as long as the course verifies your participation with a test. Credit is awarded in blocks of at least 50 minutes.
• Bank ahead when you can — up to 15 hours carry forward into the next two-year period, so a long course near the deadline is not wasted.
• Do not miss the deadline. Utah requires double the shortfall hours to renew or reinstate, and you must keep CE records for four years after the cycle closes in case of audit.

Sources

PLS Requirements in Nearby States

Other Professions in Utah

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.