How to Track PDH Hours

Step by step

1. Find your board’s current rules — look up every state or jurisdiction where you hold a license. The NCEES licensing board directory links to each board. For each one, note the renewal date, the renewal period, the number of hours, any required topics such as ethics, whether hours carry over, and which activities qualify. Write the source and the date you checked at the top of your log, because rules change.
2. Set up one log per renewal period — make a simple table with these columns: date, activity type, provider, topic, delivery mode, location, instructor or speaker, duration, PDHs claimed, certificate file and notes. A spreadsheet works, and so does a paper or digital planner page. The columns follow the log contents the NCEES Model Rules describe.
3. Log each activity the day you finish it — add the row while the details are fresh. Record the actual contact time, not the advertised time, and convert it to PDHs the way your board says. The NCEES guidelines define a PDH as a nominal contact hour and say claimed PDHs should not exceed actual contact clock hours. Be specific: “Attended training at work” is not enough; the course title and provider are.
4. File the proof next to the row — save the certificate, transcript or attendance letter from the provider and name the file to match the row, for example 2027-04-12_provider_topic.pdf. The NCEES guidelines say documentation should come from the activity provider, not the licensee. At the end of the period, combine the certificates into one file with a PDF merger so an audit request takes minutes.
5. Check progress every quarter — once a quarter, total the hours for each board and compare them with what is still required, including any required topic. If you hold licenses in several states with different renewal dates, check each one separately. A quarterly check spreads the hours out and avoids buying whatever course is available in the last month.
6. Report, then keep the records — report the hours at renewal as your board asks, then archive the log and the certificates together. Keep them for at least as long as your board says it may audit. Some engineers also record courses in the free NCEES CPC Tracking service, which compares completed courses with a state’s requirements.

What PDH hours are

Many licensing boards require licensed professional engineers to show continuing professional competency (CPC) before they renew. The usual unit is the professional development hour, or PDH. The NCEES CPC Guidelines define it as a nominal contact hour of instruction or presentation, and say a continuing education unit (CEU) equals 10 PDHs. Qualifying activities are meant to maintain or improve skills relevant to your practice; regular duties at work do not count.

NCEES also publishes a CPC Standard that boards can choose to accept: 15 PDHs per calendar year, no carryover, with at least 1 PDH on engineering or surveying ethics. It is a model, not your state’s rule. NCEES encourages boards to let licensees meet either the board’s own requirement or this standard, so check which your board accepts.

Why the requirements vary by state

Engineering licenses are issued by state and territorial boards, and each board writes its own rules. The NCEES Model Law permits a board to require continuing competency but does not force it, and the NCEES CPC Tracking page says renewal periods are set by each state licensing board. Boards differ on renewal cycles, required topics, carryover, which activities qualify and whether courses must be preapproved.

That is why this article does not list any state’s numbers. A number copied from a forum or an old article can be wrong for your state or out of date. Your board’s current rules are the only source that counts.

Where to find your state board’s rules

Start at the NCEES licensing board directory, which lists the engineering boards for U.S. states and territories with links to each one. On your board’s site, look for the renewal or continuing education page and the administrative rules behind it. If anything is unclear, such as whether a particular online course qualifies, email the board and keep its reply with your log.

• Renewal date and length of the renewal period.
• Hours required per period, and any required topics.
• Carryover rules and limits.
• Qualifying and non-qualifying activities, and any course preapproval.
• What records to keep, for how long, and how audits work.

What auditors look for

The NCEES guidelines say keeping adequate records is the licensee’s responsibility and boards may audit licensees to verify what they reported. The log should show the type of activity, sponsoring organization, location, duration, instructor or speaker and PDHs earned, and you should be able to back each row with documentation from the provider. Treat it like any other controlled record: one list, consistent names, proof attached, the same way a training skills matrix ties each person to evidence.

If you also keep an engineering notebook or track training for a team, the habits overlap. The training effectiveness guide covers how organizations show that training actually worked, which is a different question from whether hours were logged.

Worked examples

Common mistakes

• Using a number from another state or an old article. Check your own board’s current rules and note the date you checked.
• Logging the advertised hours instead of actual contact time. Record the time you actually spent in the activity and convert it as your board says.
• Keeping the log but not the certificates. Save the provider’s proof for every row, named to match the row.
• Vague entries such as “training at work”. Write the course title, provider, instructor, date and mode.
• Leaving all hours to the last month. Check totals every quarter and spread activities across the period.
• Tracking several licenses in one total. Total each board separately against its own rules and renewal date.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Continuing Professional Competency Guidelines (August 2024), NCEES
2. NCEES Continuing Professional Competency Standard (August 2024), NCEES
3. CPC Tracking, NCEES
4. Member Licensing Board Directory, NCEES

See also

• Training effectiveness in manufacturing (Training & Safety guide)
• Training / skills matrix template
• How to keep an engineering notebook
• How to track action items from meetings
• Free PDF merger
• Engineering calculators