State of Alabama Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors
Rick Huett
100 North Union St. Ste. 382
Montgomery, AL 36104
334 242-5568
334 242-5105 FAX
rick.huett@bels.alabama.gov

Completion Requirements
15 PDH annually.

A dual licensee (professional engineer and professional land surveyor) can cross claim PDH's when course material is applicable to both licenses.

The State of Alabama Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors does NOT pre-approve or endorse any continuing professional competency activities. The licensee is responsible for reporting their activities to the board and should be ready to defend those activities if audited and challenged.

Please Note: The board does not encourage meeting continuing professional competency requirements through internet, audio, video or correspondence courses. If you choose to take one of these kinds of courses, the course must require the participant to show evidence of achievement and completion and/or a final graded test.

Self study courses are not accepted.

Renewal Dates
Renewal occurs December 31 annually.

Statute
330-X-13-.02

Special Designations or Stipulations
All professional land surveyors are required to earn 6 PDH credits on Standards for Practice for Surveying every four years. The 6 hours MUST be specifically on Alabama's Standards for Practice and can not be based on another state's standards.

All new professional land surveyor licensees must complete this requirement within 24 months, before or after, becoming a licensed surveyor.

Continuing education must be relevant to the practice of land surveying and may include technical, ethical or managerial content.

Audit Potential
Random

Allowed Carry-Over Hours
15 PDH per renewal period

Applicable Course Study
Continuing education activities for which credit may be given include, but are not limited to:
(1) Successfully completing or auditing of college or university courses,
(2) Successfully completing courses which are awarded continuing educational units (CEU),
(3) Attending seminars, tutorials, short courses, correspondence courses, televised courses or videotaped courses.
(4) Teaching or instructing as described in (1) through (3) above,
(5) Authoring published papers, articles, or books,
(6) Making presentations at technical meetings,
(7) Attending qualifying program presentations at related technical or professional meetings, and
(8) Receiving a United States patent.

All such activities described in (1) through (8) above must be relevant to the practice of land surveying and may include technical, ethical, or managerial content.

Continuing professional competency activities must meet the following criteria:
(1) There is a clear purpose and objective for each activity which will maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge obtained prior to initial licensure or to develop new and relevant skills and knowledge.
(2) The content of each presentation is well organized and presented in a sequential manner.
(3) There is evidence of preplanning which should include the opportunity for input by the target group to be served.
(4) The presentation will be made by persons who are well qualified by education or experience.
(5) There is a provision for individual participant registration which will include information required for record keeping and reporting.

The conversion to PDH units from other units is as follows:
(1) 1 university semester hour of credit = 45 PDH
(2) 1 university quarter hour of credit = 30 PDH
(3) 1 continuing education unit (CEU) = 10 PDH
(4) 1 hour acceptable professional development education = 1 PDH

Credit for qualifying courses successfully completed which offer PDHs based on semester hours, quarter hours, or CEUs is specified above. All other activities permit the earning of 1 PDH credit for each contact hour with the following exceptions:
(1) Successful auditing of university or college courses permits PDH credit of 1/3 that shown above.
(2) Teaching or instructing qualifying courses or making presentations at technical meetings earn PDH credit twice that of the participants.
(3) Authorship of papers, articles or books cannot be claimed until actually published. Receipt of US patents cannot be claimed until the patent is actually awarded. Credit earned will equal preparation time spent not to exceed 10 PDH per publication or patent.
(4) The board does not encourage meeting continuing professional competency requirements through correspondence courses. Correspondence course PDH may be acceptable, however the licensee should submit, if requested, supporting documentation to demonstrate high quality education from the course.
(5) The board will not accept self study, regular employment including repetitive teaching of the same course without updating demonstrations, membership on boards or committees, enrollment without attending the course, conversational language courses for personal use, and other activities not relevant to land surveying and not educational in nature.

Proof of Compliance
The responsibility of maintaining records which can be used to support credits claimed is the responsibility of the licensee.

Records required include but are not limited to:
(1) A log showing the type of activity claimed, sponsoring organization, location, duration, instructor's or speaker's name, and PDH credits earned.
(2) Attendance verification records in the form of completion certificates, signed attendance receipts, paid receipts, a copy of a listing of attendees signed by the sponsoring organization, or other documents supporting evidence of attendance.

These records must be maintained for a period of four years, and copies must be furnished to the board, if requested, for auditing purposes.

Non-CompliancE Penalties
During the renewal period, if a licensee fails to furnish the required continuing professional competency form, properly completed or signed, the right to practice as a licensed professional land surveyor in the State of Alabama will lapse on December 31.

Disallowed Credits
If the Board disallows claimed PDH credit after renewal has been processed, the licensee will have 180 days after notification to substantiate the original claim or to earn other credit to meet the minimum standard.

Exceptions and Exemptions
A licensee may be exempt from the professional development educational requirements for one of the following reasons:
(1) A new licensee by way of examination is awarded 15 PDH towards their first renewal.
(2) A non-career military licensee serving on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States for a period of time exceeding 120 consecutive days in a calendar year shall be exempt from obtaining the professional development hours required during that year.
(3) A licensee employed as a professional land surveyor and assigned to duty outside the United States for a period of time exceeding 120 consecutive days in a calendar year shall be exempt from obtaining the professional development hours required during that year.
(4) A licensee who has experienced during the past year a serious illness or injury of a nature and duration which has prohibited completing continuing professional competency requirements this past renewal period may be exempted in order to give the licensee sufficient time to recuperate and begin to earn the necessary professional development hours for the next renewal period. Supporting documentation such as a letter from a physician must be furnished to the Board. This exemption is not to exceed one renewal period and is granted as specified by the Board.
(5) Licensees who list their occupation as Retired or Inactive on the Board approved renewal form and who certify that they are not currently practicing surveying shall be exempt from the professional development hours required. In the event such a person elects to return to active practice of professional land surveying, to include reinstating a lapsed license, professional development hours must be earned for each year exempted not to exceed the annual requirement for 2 years before the person returns to active practice. The hours required for reinstatement are to bring the license to active status. When the reinstated license renewal is due, the licensee will also be required to obtain the professional development hours for the renewal period.

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