Iowa Engineering & Land Surveying Examining Board
Gleean Coates
1918 South East Hulsizer
Ankeny, IA 50021
515 281-7360
515 281-7411 FAX
gleean.coates@comm7.state.ia.us

Only 10 hours maximum can be taken in online courses.

Dual License: The continuing education requirement for biennial licensure renewal for active licensure in engineering and land surveying is 20 PDH in engineering and 20 PDH in land surveying. The number of professional development hours which may be carried forward into the next biennium shall not exceed 10 hours for each profession. A licensee may have active status in one profession and inactive in the other. In that case, the licensee shall meet the continuing education requirements for registration in the profession in which active registration is maintained.

The Iowa Board does not actively pre-approve any continuing education materials from any providers. The licensee is responsible for reporting locating a quality source of continuing education and reporting their activities to the Board and should be ready to defend those activities if audited and challenged.

Please Note:
If an Iowa Engineer, Land Surveyor or both RESIDES and is LICENSED in a state that has MANDATORY CE Requirements AND completes the continuing education requirements for their state of residence, then on the renewal form for Iowa they check off the ‘Out of State Affidavit’ verifying that they have completed this requirement.

Which means that it is possible that an Iowa Engineer, Land Surveyor or both can take more than the 10 hour maximum in online courses. For this to happen though they must meet ALL of these requirements:

• Resides AND is Licensed in a state other than Iowa
• The state they reside in has a Mandatory CE Requirement
• They have completed the CE for the state they reside in

If they meet all these requirements then they need to check off the ‘Out of State Affidavit’ on their Iowa Renewal Application.

Renewal Dates
Renewals occur December 31 on a biennial basis determined by the original date of licensure.

Statutes
Iowa Administrative Rules, Chapter 193C

Special Designations or Stipulations
A new licensee shall satisfy one-half the biennial continuing education requirement at the first renewal following initial registration.

A person who wishes to reinstate a lapsed or inactive licensure of one year or more must satisfy one of the following requirements:
(1) Satisfaction of one-half the biennial requirement multiplied by the number of years of lapsed or inactive status. The minimum continuing education requirement shall be one-half the biennial requirement. The maximum continuing education requirement shall be one and one-half times the biennial requirement. The requirement shall be satisfied within the biennium prior to reinstatement
(2) Successful completion of the Principles and Practice Examination within one year immediately prior to application for reinstatement.

Lapsed licensees of one year or more may not reinstate to inactive status.

Audit Potential
Random

Allowable Carryover Hours
0

Applicable Course of Study
Continuing education activities which satisfy the professional development criteria are those which relate to engineering or land surveying practice or management. It is recognized that an engineer’s specialized skills must have as their foundation a fundamental knowledge of chemistry, physics, mathematics, graphics, computations, communication, and humanities and social sciences. However, continuing education in the fundamentals alone will not be sufficient to maintain, improve, or expand engineering skills and knowledge. For that reason, licensees will be limited in their use of fundamental courses in proportion to ABET criteria for accreditation of engineering curricula.

Continuing education activities are classified as:

Group 1 activities are intended to maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge obtained prior to initial licensure. Quantities listed are maximum per renewal:
(1) Mathematics and basic sciences - 10 PDH maximum
Math beyond Trigonometry
Basic sciences:
Chemistry
Physics
Life sciences
Earth sciences
(2) Engineering sciences - 10 PDH maximum
Mechanics
Thermodynamics
Electrical and electrical circuits
Materials science
*Computer science
*Courses in computer science will generally be considered a part of the Engineering Sciences category in the ABET criterion and therefore limited to a maximum of 10 PDH per renewal period.
(3) *Humanities and social sciences - 5 PDH maximum
Philosophy
Religion
History
Literature
Fine arts
Sociology
Psychology
Political science
Anthropology
Economics
Foreign languages
Professional ethics
Social responsibility
(4) Engineering curriculum courses - 10 PDH maximum
Accounting
Industrial management
Finance
Personnel administration
Engineering economy
English
Speech
*Computer applications
*Courses in CAD and fundamental computer applications will generally not be applicable in either Group 1 or Group 2 activities. The computer is viewed as a tool available to the engineer or land surveyor, much as a pencil or hand-held calculator is a tool. Only computer courses which have the solution of engineering or land surveying problems as a purpose will be considered acceptable. An example of this might be a course which trains an engineer in the utilization of a specific software package to perform structural analysis. The concept of the computer as a tool does not apply to a computer engineer.

Group 2 activities are intended to develop new and relevant skills and knowledge.

Credit for participation in activities in the group is unlimited, subject to maximum carry-over.
Typical areas include:
Postgraduate level engineering science or design
New technology
Environmental regulation
Courses in management of engineering or land surveying activity (regular work duties do not qualify)

Independent study. To be readily acceptable by the board, independent study as defined in
rule 7.2(542B,272C) must meet all of the following criteria:

a. A written evaluation process is completed by the independent study provider; and
b. A certificate of satisfactory completion is issued by the provider; and
c. An evaluation assessment is issued to the licensee by the provider; and
d. Documentation supporting such independent studies is maintained by the licensee and provided
to the board as required by subrule 7.8(2).

A maximum of ten professional development hours of independent study activity will be allowed per
biennium per licensee.

Types of continuing education activities which will be excluded from allowable continuing education are those in which it is not self-evident that the activity relates directly to the licensee's practice of professional engineering or land surveying or the management of the business concerns of the licensee's practice, or which do not comply with the board's administrative rules.

Activities which do not qualify as continuing education are as follows:
(1) Regular employment
(2) Toastmasters club meetings
(3) Service club meetings or activities
(4) Personal estate planning
(5) Banquet speeches unrelated to engineering
(6) Professional society business meeting portions of technical seminars
(7) Financial planning/investment seminars
(8) Foreign travel not related to engineering study abroad
(9) Personal self-improvement courses
(10) Real estate licensing courses
(11) Stress management
(12) Trade shows
(13) Peer review
(14) Accreditation review

Independent study - Independent study by a licensee may be accepted by the board when:
(1) A written evaluation process is completed by the independent study provider; and
(2) A certificate of satisfactory completion is issued by the provider; and
(3) Evaluation assessment is issued to the licensee by the provider; and
(4) Documentation supporting such independent studies is to be provided to the board at the time of license renewal if such activities are being claimed for professional development hours (PDH).

A maximum of 10 PDHs of independent study courses will be allowed per biennium per licensee.

Credit for qualifying college or community college courses will be based upon course credit established by the college.

Credit for qualifying seminars and workshops will be based on one PDH unit for each hour of attendance. Attendance at qualifying programs presented at professional or technical society meetings will earn PDH units for the actual time of each program.

Credit for active participation in professional and technical societies (limited to 2 PDH per renewal per organization) requires that a licensee serve as an officer or actively participates in a committee of the organization. PDH credits are earned for a minimum of one year's service.

Credit for published material is earned in the biennium of publication.

Credit for patents is earned in the biennium the patent is issued.

PDH conversion. The unit for the professional development requirements is the professional development hour (PDH). Conversion from other units of continuing education to PDH is as follows:
(a) 1 College or unit semester hour = 45 PDH
(b) 1 College or unit quarter hour = 30 PDH
(c) 1 Continuing Education Unit = 10 PDH
(d) 1 Hour of professional development in course work, seminars, or professional or technical presentations made at meetings, conventions or conferences = 1 PDH
(e) For teaching apply multiple of 2 (Teaching credit is valid for teaching a course or seminar for the first time only. Teaching credit does not apply to full-time faculty.)
(f) Each published paper, article, or book = 10 PDH
(g) Active participation in professional and technical society (Each organization, per renewal)= 2 PDH
(h) Each patent = 10 PDH

Proof of Compliance
At the time of application for registration renewal, each registrant shall report on a form provided by the board the professional development activities undertaken during the preceding period to satisfy the PDH requirements.

Record keeping. Maintaining records to be used to support credits claimed is the responsibility of the licensee. These records must be maintained for a period of three years and the board may request copies for audit verification purposes.

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, or other documents supporting evidence of attendance; or
(3) Records as maintained by the Professional Development Registry for Engineers and Surveyors (PDRES) or similar repositories.

Audit: The board may audit registrants by random selection or in cases requiring additional information. For each activity listed on the renewal form, persons chosen for audit should furnish:
(1) Proof of attendance;
(2) Verification of the hours claimed; and
(3) Information about the course content.

Non-Compliance Penalties
A licensee who does not satisfy the continuing education requirements for licensure renewal will be placed on probationary status and notified of the fact before April 1 following the renewal date. The licensee must show that the deficiencies have been satisfied before July 1 following the renewal date. If the deficiencies are not made up within the specified period of time, the individual’s licensure shall be classified as lapsed without further hearing.

An individual who applies for licensure renewal after licensure has lapsed and has not satisfied the continuing education requirements will be notified of the fact within 30 days of receipt of the renewal. The licensee must show that the deficiencies have been satisfied before July 1 following the renewal date unless granted additional time by the board due to extenuating circumstances.

Disallowed Credits
The board has final authority with respect to approval of courses, credit, PDH value for courses, and other methods of earning credit.

Exceptions and Exemptions
Hardships and extenuating circumstances. The board may in individual cases involving hardship or extenuating circumstances grant waivers of the continuing education requirements for a period of time not to exceed one year. No waiver or extension of time shall be granted unless the licensee makes a written request to the board for such action.

Land surveyors who are not engaged in land surveying practice which requires registration in Iowa may be granted inactive status. No inactive licensee may practice in Iowa unless otherwise exempted in Iowa Code chapter 542B. Inactive licensees are exempt from continuing education requirements.

The continuing education requirements may be reduced in proportion to the following:
(1) Periods of time exceeding 120 consecutive days that the licensee serves honorably on active duty in the military services.
(2) Periods of time that the licensee is licensed in another state or district having continuing education requirements for professional engineering or land surveying, equal to or more stringent than the requirements of these rules and meets all requirements of that state or district for practice therein.
(3) Periods of time exceeding 120 consecutive days that the licensee is an employee working as a professional engineer or land surveyor, and assigned to duty outside the United States of America.

Did you find outdated or incorrect information? Let us know by sending an email to cen@csinet.org

Back to Continuing Education Requirements Map
Return to Home