Alabama PE and architect license renewal: what firms need to track

Last checked Sep 28, 2026. Not yet confirmed with the Alabama boards. Confirm anything you act on with the board. Not legal advice.

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Alabama, you track three kinds of dates: each person’s license expiration, the end of each person’s CE period, and the firm’s own registration. Engineers answer to the Alabama State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Architects answer to the Alabama State Board for Registration of Architects. Worth knowing up front: an A/E firm keeps two firm registrations.

PE license renewal in Alabama

PE licenses are renewed every two years and expire December 31. Firm certificates are renewed every two years and expire January 31.

The board: Alabama State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Look up each engineer’s current expiration date on the board’s license lookup rather than trusting the date on an old spreadsheet.

License numbers: Strip "PE", "No.", "#", spaces and leading zeros; keep digits. This is how SealBench reads the numbers on an imported roster; it isn’t a board rule.

PE continuing education (PDH)

• Hours: 30 PDH every two years. Biennial renewal. All licenses expire December 31 of the renewal year, and the PDH are counted per renewal period ending at that expiry. PDH earned in the previous period after the previous renewal was submitted also count (Ala. Admin. Code 330-X-13-.01(1), 330-X-13-.02(4)).
• Limits on some activities: professional society service (at most 6), educational outreach (at most 3) and professional service (at most 20) hours.
• Carryover: Up to 15 PDH may be carried into the next renewal period (330-X-13-.02(4)1).
• New licensees: New licensees are awarded 30 PDH toward their first renewal, so the first renewal is effectively exempt (330-X-13-.02(9)(e)). The rule does not separate comity licensees from exam licensees (not yet confirmed: for comity).
• Records: Keep completion documents for 4 years (330-X-13-.02(12)).
• Reporting: Licensee lists PDH claimed and certifies on the online renewal. The Board runs a random audit, and audited licensees upload certificates (330-X-13-.02(11), (14)).

Architect license renewal and CE in Alabama

The architect rules on this page come from our rule tables and haven’t been checked against the architecture board’s rules yet. Check with the board before you rely on them.

Individual registration is annual, January 1 to December 31; fee due by December 31. Late renewal with penalty through March 31, then the registration lapses and must be reinstated. Firm COA is annual, May 1 to April 30. The board: Alabama State Board for Registration of Architects; each architect’s date is on the license lookup.

• Hours: 12 hours every year, all in health, safety and welfare (HSW) topics. Calendar year (January 1 - December 31), reported with the annual renewal.
• Carryover: No carry-over of continuing education hours is permitted (100-X-3-.04(1)).
• New licensees: First-time registrants by exam or NCARB certificate are exempt for their first renewal; not for reinstatements (100-X-3-.02(2)(a)). Emeritus and some active-duty military are also exempt.
• Records: Retain documentation for one year from the date the hours are reported on the renewal (100-X-3-.05(2)).
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Alabama needs a firm credential from the board: Certificate of Authorization (CA). Any firm that practices or offers engineering needs a Certificate of Authorization. A licensee practicing in his or her own given name is exempt, and so is in-house work for the firm itself or a parent or subsidiary. The firm must name an Alabama PE as managing agent who is not occasional or part-time, plus a resident PE employee in each branch office. Notify the board within 30 days of a change, and the firm may not practice until a new managing agent is named.

Architecture firms

A firm offering architecture needs a firm credential: Certificate of Authorization. A corporation, PC, PA, partnership or LLC that practices architecture needs a Certificate of Authorization (Code of Ala. 34-2-37; Ala. Admin. Code 100-X-8). At least two-thirds of officers, partners, directors or members must be architects and/or professional engineers licensed in any US jurisdiction and be voting stockholders. At least one stockholding officer/partner/director/member must be an Alabama-registered architect who can bind the entity and exercises responsible control; that architect's name and seal go on all documents. The firm must notify the Board in writing within 30 days of dissolution, reorganization, or a change in the architect(s) in responsible control. A newly registered architect's firm must apply for a COA within 30 days of notice of registration. COAs run May 1 to April 30 each year.

Ownership: Two-thirds or more of officers, partners, directors, members (per legal structure) must be architects and/or professional engineers licensed in any US jurisdiction who are also voting stockholders; at least one must be an Alabama-registered architect with authority to bind the entity.

Architect in charge: A stockholding officer, partner, director or member who is an Alabama-registered architect must exercise responsible control over the architectural services and sign the contracts; other officers may not direct that architect's professional judgment. Change in the responsible architect must be reported to the Board within 30 days (a notice deadline, not a replacement deadline).

Firm renewal: COA expires April 30 each year regardless of issue date; renewal opens April 1. Statute says invalid May 1 unless renewed; rule 100-X-8-.03 says it lapses if not renewed by May 30.

Firms that offer both

Architects have their own board (Board for Registration of Architects); engineers are licensed by the separate Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. The architects' COA ownership test counts PEs, but a firm offering both services needs the architects' COA plus the engineering board's firm certificate. Engineering-side requirement not verified here.

Firm numbers: Keep digits between "CA-" and "-E".

Who can seal drawings in Alabama

Alabama issues a PE license without limiting it by discipline; engineers seal only work within their competence, which your firm judges. A PE may be given a voluntary 'Structural' roster designation, but the rules say it is not required to practice engineering.

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. PEs may perform architectural services incidental to their engineering practice, but may not practice architecture (Code 34-2-32(d)). An architect is required for buildings of 2,500 sq ft or more, and for any assembly, education, auditorium, or church building regardless of size, and for changes to a more restrictive occupancy. Exempt: detached single-family residences, farm buildings, utility structures by utility employees, and other buildings under 2,500 sq ft not used for assembly. A PE may seal the 'shell' of a metal building, but once occupancy is set an architect is required (100-X-4-.07).

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Alabama license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Alabama with other states on who can seal drawings, by state.

Common mistakes

• Treating an engineer’s license as the firm’s. A licensed PE can’t make up for a missing Certificate of Authorization (CA). In Alabama the firm needs its own before it offers engineering, and the four sheet checks fail without it.
• Registering an A/E firm with only one board. Alabama regulates engineering and architecture firms separately, so a firm that offers both keeps two registrations and two renewal dates.
• Losing the firm’s qualifying engineer without noticing. If the person the firm’s registration depends on leaves, the registration can be at risk. Our data doesn’t record a replacement deadline for Alabama, so ask the board. See what to do the day someone gives notice.

Where to file

SealBench never files anything with a board for you. Renewals, CE reports and firm registrations go to the board directly:

• Alabama State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (engineers and engineering firms)
• Alabama engineer license lookup
• Alabama State Board for Registration of Architects (architects and architecture firms)
• Alabama architect license lookup

How SealBench helps

SealBench keeps every PE and architect license and every firm registration on your roster in one list, soonest expiration first. Reminders at 90, 60 and 30 days before each date are coming soon. It counts each person’s CE hours and required topics against Alabama’s rules, and Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a Alabama permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.