Montana Department of Labor & Industry
Board for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors
Judi Moe, Licensing Certification Technician
301 South Park, 4th Floor
P.O. Box 200513
Helena, MT 59620-0513
406 841-2367
406 841-2305 FAX
dlibsdpels@state.mt.us

The Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors has final authority with respect to approval of courses, credit, and PDH value for courses and other methods of earning credit.

Dual License: The number of PDH units required by dual licensees shall remain 30, at least 1/3 of which shall be obtained in each profession (engineering and land surveying).

Renewal Dates
Renewal occurs June 30 of even years.

The department will notify every licensee by mailing a letter to the address of record 30 to 60 days prior to the date of expiration of the license.

Statutes
Administrative Rules of Montana, (ARM), Title 8, Chapter 48, Sub-Chapter 9

Special Designations or Stipulations
None

Audit Potential
Random

Allowable Carryover Hours
15 PDH per renewal period

Applicable Course of Study
Continuing education activities for which PDH units may be earned are as follows:
(1) successful completion of college courses; (Credit for college or community college approved courses will be based upon course credit established by the college.)
(2) successful completion of continuing education courses;
(3) successful completion of correspondence, televised, videotaped and other short courses/tutorials;
(4) presenting or attending qualifying seminars, in-house courses, workshops or professional or technical presentations made at meetings, conventions or conferences; (Credit for qualifying seminars and workshops will be based on 1 PDH unit for each hour of attendance. Attendance at qualifying programs presented at professional and/or technical society meetings will earn PDH units for the actual time of each program.)
(5) teaching or instruction in (1) through (3), above;
(6) authoring published papers, articles or books; (Credit determination for each published paper, article or book is the responsibility of the license (subject to review as required by the board).)
(7) active participation in professional or technical societies; (Credit for active participation in professional and technical societies (limited to 2 PDH per organization) requires that a licensee serve as an officer and/or actively participate in a committee of the organization. PDH credits are not earned until the end of each year of service is completed.)
(8) patents. (Credit determination for each patent is the responsibility of the licensee (subject to review as required by the board).)

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

Proof of Compliance
All renewal applications will require the completion of a continuing education form specified by the board outlining PDH credit claimed.

The responsibility of maintaining records to 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 or other documents supporting evidence of attendance; or
(3) records as maintained by the professional development registry for engineers and surveyors (PDRES) or other similar repositories.

These records must be maintained for a period of 3 years and copies may be requested by the board for audit verification purposes.

Non-Compliance Penalties
Failure on the part of any licensee to renew the license as required shall not deprive such person of the right to renewal.

The fee to be paid for the renewal of a license after June 30th of even years shall be increased 10% for each month or fraction of a month that payment of renewal is delayed; provided, however, that the maximum fee for delayed renewal shall not exceed 50% of the normal renewal fee.

If the process of renewal is not completed within one year of the expiration date of the certificate, the applicant shall be considered a new applicant with all pertinent laws and rules applying.

If a license is not renewed by the board due to failure of the licensee to meet continuing education requirements, the board will notify the licensee in writing and the licensee shall have 90 days past date of notification to obtain continuing education acceptable to the board. If the licensee notifies the board in writing that the licensee intends to obtain the required continuing education within the 90-day period, the license expiration date will automatically be extended to the end of the 90-day period.

Failure to obtain continuing education acceptable to the board with the 90-day grace period will result in non-renewal of the license.

A licensee whose license is not renewed by the end of the 90-day period for failing to obtain the satisfactory PDH will be required to reapply, pay the appropriate fee and obtain the necessary PDH during the non-renewal period (not to exceed the annual requirement for 2 years acceptable to the board.)

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
A licensee may be exempt from the professional development educational requirements for one of the following reasons:
(1) New licensees by way of examination or reciprocity shall be exempt for their first renewal period;
(2) A licensee serving on temporary active duty in the armed forces of the United States for a period of time exceeding 120 consecutive days in a year shall be exempt from obtaining the professional development hours required during that year;
(3) Licensees experiencing physical disability, illness or other extenuating circumstances as reviewed and approved by the board may be exempt. Supporting documentation must be furnished to the board;
(4) Licensees who list their occupation as "retired" on the board approved renewal form and who further certify that they are no longer receiving any remuneration from providing professional engineering or land-surveying services shall be exempt from the professional development hours required. In the event such a person elects to return to active practice of professional engineering or land surveying, professional development hours must be earned before returning to active practice for each year exempted not to exceed the annual requirement for two years.

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

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