New York PE CE (PDH) Requirements (2026): 36 Hours Every 3 Years

Requirements Overview

New York's State Education Department (NYSED), through the State Board for Engineering, Land Surveying and Geology, sets a 36-hour continuing education requirement per three-year registration period, with at least 1 hour substantially focused on professional ethics. The rules sit in Education Law Article 145 (sections 7211-7212) and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education 68.11-68.12.

All hours must be earned through a NYSED-approved New York State sponsor in an approved subject and format; self-reporting forms, independent study, and book clubs are not accepted, though NCEES CPC Tracking transcripts now are. There is no annual minimum — you may complete hours anytime before your registration expires. Up to 6 hours may carry into the next period. PEs in their first registration period after passing the exam are exempt, but those who got their first NY license by transfer must complete 1 hour per month of the period.

Mandatory Topics

Renewal Pathways

Exemptions

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  Newly Licensed (Initial Registration Period) — A PE in their first three-year registration period after passing the licensing examinations is not required to complete continuing education during that initial period.

  Applies only to those who just received their first license via examination (Q6).

  Does NOT apply to those who received their first NY license by transfer from another jurisdiction, who must complete 1 hour per month of the registration period (Q7).
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  Public Sector Exemption — A PE directly employed full-time by the State of New York, its agencies, public authorities, public benefit corporations or local government units on December 31, 2003 in a position requiring engineering licensure, and either represented by a collective bargaining unit or designated managerial/confidential under Article 14 of the Civil Service Law.

  If the licensee practices engineering in New York State outside that government service, the exemption no longer applies; they must then complete 1 hour/month of CE from the time services are provided until the next registration period, and 36 hours per period thereafter.

  Does not apply to licensed land surveyors.
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  Adjustment For Hardship (Not An Exemption) — The Department may grant an adjustment to the requirement for poor health certified by a physician, a specific physical or mental disability, extended active duty with the U.S. Armed forces, or extreme hardship. This is expressly an adjustment, not an exemption.

  Must be requested from the State Board via the Registration Remittance Addendum with written documentation of the circumstances.

How You Can Complete Your CE

New York CE Rules & Limits

Details specific to New York that generic CE guides tend to miss:

• Carry-over — Beginning January 1, 2022, a maximum of 6 continuing education hours completed during one triennial registration period may be transferred to the subsequent triennial registration period. Note: college-course teaching credit exceeding the 18-hour engineer cap may not be carried over.
• An hour of continuing education is one contact hour of at least 50 minutes in duration; CE hours are commonly referred to as Professional Development Hours (PDH). 1 PDH is generally 60 minutes of instruction, but a stand-alone one-hour session may award 1 PDH for 50 minutes.
• 1 CEU = 10 contact hours; one semester hour of college coursework = 15 contact hours; one quarter hour = 10 contact hours.
• Effective January 1, 2004; licensees renewing on or after January 1, 2005 became subject to CE, with the full 36-hour requirement applying to registrations renewing on or after January 1, 2007.
• Governing law: Education Law Article 145 sections 7211 and 7212, and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education sections 68.11 and 68.12.
• Records/certificates of completion must be retained for 6 years and provided on audit; self-reporting forms are never acceptable.
• Activity-specific caps: authoring a published article = 9 hours each; obtaining a patent = 9 hours each; committee/task-force service = 1 hour per 2 hours, up to 9 hours per period; teaching a college course = up to 18 contact hours per registration period for engineers.
• If a licensee fails to complete the required hours, the Department may at its discretion issue a one-year, non-renewable conditional registration requiring make-up of the prior period's hours plus 1 hour/month during the conditional year.
• NYSED now accepts NCEES CPC Tracking transcripts as evidence of meeting NY CE requirements; do not submit certificates unless instructed.

Provider Requirements

All continuing education must be administered by a NYSED-approved New York State sponsor (provider), in an approved subject area, and in an approved format. Approved courses/activities may come from a NYSED-approved sponsor, an entity NYSED recognizes as able to approve courses on a course-by-course basis, or a college/university with at least one ABET-accredited program. Authorized approving entities/sponsors include LA CES, ACECNY, RCEP, IACET, NCSEA, The Practicing Institute of Engineering (P.I.E.), NYSCPG, AIPG, AIA (HSW only), The Shaw Fund, SED-registered/ABET-accredited degree-granting institutions, sponsors approved by another jurisdiction under substantially equivalent standards, and OSHA, EPA, FHA, NHI, FEMA, Office of Homeland Security, and U.S. Department of Energy. Courses requiring a self-reporting form are not accepted. Independent study and informal study/book clubs are not accepted. NCEES CPC Tracking transcripts are now accepted as evidence of meeting the requirement.

Tips for New York PEs

• Confirm your CE sponsor is NYSED-approved (or that credit flows through NCEES CPC Tracking) — courses requiring a self-reporting form, independent study, and book clubs are explicitly not accepted.
• One of your 36 hours must substantially cover professional ethics each period; if it is embedded in another course it must run at least 60 minutes and be named in the title and on the completion certificate.
• You can carry a maximum of 6 excess hours into the next three-year period, so over-earning beyond that cap has limited value.
• If you were newly licensed by examination, you are exempt for your first registration period — but if you obtained your NY license by transfer from another state, you owe 1 hour for every month of the period.
• There is no yearly minimum; NYSED now accepts NCEES CPC Tracking transcripts as evidence, and you must keep completion records for six years for audits.

Sources

PE Requirements in Nearby States

Other Professions in New York

All Professional Engineer CE Requirements by State

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