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

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

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Arkansas, 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 Arkansas State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors. Architects answer to the Arkansas State Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers (ASBALAID). Worth knowing up front: architect CE runs on its own period, not the license term; an A/E firm keeps two firm registrations.

PE license renewal in Arkansas

PE licenses and firm COAs expire every two years. PE licenses expire December 31, with even-numbered licenses renewing in even years and odd-numbered licenses in odd years (not yet confirmed).

The board: Arkansas State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional 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: Digits only. 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. PE licenses expire every two years and the 30 PDH are counted per renewal period ending at expiry. Provider summaries say licenses expire December 31, with odd-numbered licenses renewing in odd years and even-numbered licenses in even years (not yet confirmed).
• Carryover: Up to 30 PDH may be carried forward into the next renewal period (17 CAR 285-1003(1)(B)). Dual PE/PS licensees may carry up to 40, no more than 30 in either profession.
• New licensees: New licensees by exam or by comity are exempt for their first renewal period (17 CAR 285-1007(1)).
• Records: Keep the PDH log and attendance records for 3 years (17 CAR 285-1006(c)).
• Reporting: Licensee completes a CE certificate on the renewal stating PDH claimed. The Board may run random audits (2% sample of those claiming an exemption or reporting short hours, drawn at least 180 days after the period ends) (17 CAR 285-1008, 285-1009).

Architect license renewal and CE in Arkansas

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 and expires July 31 each year. Certificate of Authorization renews annually ($250 fee); the rules say it is valid until January 31 (wording unclear). The board: Arkansas State Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers (ASBALAID); 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); affidavit filed at the July 31 renewal for the preceding calendar year.
• Carryover: No carryover from the previous calendar year (Rules Section X.D.2).
• New licensees: First-time registrants by exam and first-time reciprocal registrants are exempt for their first renewal period (Rules Section X.B.1). Emeritus and some active-duty military exempt.
• Records: Six years from the date of award (Rules Section X.E.2).
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Arkansas needs a firm credential from the board: Certificate of Authorization (COA). Any business entity offering engineering to the public needs a Certificate of Authorization. A sole proprietor practicing in his or her own name (with last name and initials) is exempt. At least one Arkansas PE must be designated in responsible charge. An occasional, part-time or consulting engineer may not be designated unless he or she is an officer or owner. Changes must be filed within 30 days.

Architecture firms

A firm offering architecture needs a firm credential: Certificate of Authorization. Corporations, professional corporations and partnerships may not offer architecture until they hold a Certificate of Authorization from the board (Rules Section XI.A). By statute, two-thirds of the partners or directors must be registered in any state to practice architecture or engineering (Ark. Code 17-15-303). The person in charge of the architectural practice must be a partner or director and an Arkansas-registered architect. Each office must be under the day-to-day supervision of an Arkansas architect in full authority and responsible control who is regularly employed in that office. Any change in the information given to the board must be reported within 30 days. The COA is renewed annually.

Ownership: Two-thirds of the partners (partnership) or two-thirds of the directors (corporation) must be registered in any state to practice architecture or engineering; the person in charge of the architecture practice must be a partner/director registered as an architect in Arkansas (Ark. Code 17-15-303).

Architect in charge: The firm must employ one or more Arkansas-registered architects in full authority and responsible control of its architectural practice, meaning regularly employed persons in that office with unrestricted control and legal accountability. Every office preparing drawings/specifications must have an Arkansas architect in that office in full authority and responsible control (Rules Section XI.B.3-4). Changes reported within 30 days (a notice deadline).

Firm renewal: Annual. Rule XI.A.1 says the certificate is valid until January 31; renewal fee listed as annual. Exact COA expiry date should be confirmed.

Firms that offer both

Architects are licensed by ASBALAID; engineers by the separate Arkansas State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors. The architects' COA counts engineers toward the two-thirds rule, but an A/E firm needs the architects' COA plus the engineering board's firm authorization (engineering side not verified here).

Firm numbers: Digits only.

Who can seal drawings in Arkansas

Arkansas issues a PE license without limiting it by discipline; engineers seal only work within their competence, which your firm judges. The board rules reviewed contain no separate structural engineer license (not yet confirmed).

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. Engineers may do architectural work incidental to engineering practice without using the title architect (Ark. Code 17-15-102, 17-15-302(a)(1)). The Act affirms that engineers may design buildings for equipment, vehicles, goods, processes or other utilitarian functions, including support office space, within their competency. Non-architects (residents not using the title) may design personal-use buildings not open to the public, single-family to fourplex dwellings, and buildings with total value up to $100,000 (17-15-302(a)(4)). Statute text read from a 2013 board compilation; check for later amendments.

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Arkansas license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Arkansas 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 (COA). In Arkansas 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. Arkansas 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 Arkansas, so ask the board. See what to do the day someone gives notice.
• Counting architect CE against the license dates. For architects the CE period and the license term don’t line up. Calendar year (January 1 - December 31); affidavit filed at the July 31 renewal for the preceding calendar year.
• Assuming every engineer renews on the same date. Arkansas doesn’t use one statewide date for everyone. PE licenses and firm COAs expire every two years. PE licenses expire December 31, with even-numbered licenses renewing in even years and odd-numbered licenses in odd years (not yet confirmed). Read each person’s date from the board’s lookup.

Where to file

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

• Arkansas State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors (engineers and engineering firms)
• Arkansas engineer license lookup
• Arkansas State Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers (ASBALAID) (architects and architecture firms)

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 Arkansas’s rules, and Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a Arkansas permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.