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

Last checked September 29, 2026. The engineering firm rules here were checked against official sources on that date. CE and architect rules come from our rule tables and aren’t yet confirmed with the Georgia boards. Not legal advice.

Engineers: the Georgia PE license renewal and CE page has the next deadline, every CE rule with its source, and what changed recently.

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Georgia, you track each person’s license expiration, each person’s CE period, and the engineering firm’s COA. Two boards are involved. Engineers answer to the Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Architects answer to the Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers, part of the Secretary of State’s licensing boards.

The two professions run on different clocks. Engineers renew every year. Architects renew every two years, in June of odd years.

PE license renewal in Georgia

Georgia PE licenses renew every year. A 2022 change to the law (O.C.G.A. 43-15-17(b)) switched renewal from every two years to every year.

Our rule table says all PE licenses expire December 31, which would make the next deadline December 31, 2026. That date comes from our older table and outside summaries. The board’s home page only says renewal is yearly and that 2025 renewals opened October 22, 2025. Check each engineer on the board’s site rather than trusting an old spreadsheet.

Our table also notes that Georgia asks for an NCEES Record when an engineer licensed elsewhere applies by comity (not yet confirmed).

License numbers: The board shows PE numbers as “PE” plus 6 digits with a leading zero (PE012345). Firms often write PE 12345 or just the digits. That’s how SealBench reads them on an imported roster, not a board rule.

PE continuing education (PDH)

• Hours: 15 PDH in each yearly renewal period (Rule 180-11-.03(1)).
• Required topics: None. The rule has no ethics or laws-and-rules requirement for PEs. The hours must be relevant to the engineer’s practice.
• Credit values: Teaching counts double, but only the first time a course is taught, and not for full-time faculty. Each published paper, article or book is worth 10 PDH, and so is each patent (Rule 180-11-.04).
• Society service: Active participation in a professional or technical society earns 2 PDH. The rule doesn’t say whether that is per society or per period; SealBench treats it as a 2-hour limit.
• Self-study: The board’s CE page lists self-study and personal self-improvement courses as not qualifying, while the rule allows correspondence and videotaped courses. Ask the board how it treats online, self-paced courses.
• Carryover: Up to 7.5 PDH over the 15 can move into the next renewal period.
• New licensees: Engineers licensed by exam or by comity are exempt for their first renewal period (Rule 180-11-.07(1)). Some licensees over 65 are exempt too: inactive and retired, or active with 25 years in a row of Georgia licensure.
• Records: Keep the PDH log and attendance records for 4 years (Rule 180-11-.06(c)).
• Reporting: The renewal includes a CE summary log form, and the engineer certifies on the renewal form that the hours are done. The board audits at random, and an audited engineer sends the signed log. The board doesn’t pre-approve courses.

One oddity: two of the CE rules (180-11-.07(2) and 180-11-.10) still say “biennial period,” left over from the old two-year cycle. Renewal is now yearly.

Architect license renewal and CE in Georgia

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.

Every Georgia architect registration expires June 30 of each odd-numbered year (Rule 50-6-.01(1)), so the next date is June 30, 2027. The board is the Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers, and each architect’s status is on the Secretary of State’s license lookup.

• Hours: 24 hours in the two years before the June 30 renewal, from July 1 of an odd year to June 30 of the next odd year. Georgia calls them PDUs; an AIA learning unit counts as one hour.
• HSW: At least 16 of the 24 must be Public Protection Subjects (health, safety and welfare), earned through structured activities (Rule 50-6-.04(1)). The other 8 can be on any topic.
• Required topics: None beyond HSW. Accessibility and building codes are on Georgia’s list of HSW subjects, but neither is separately required.
• Carryover: We found no carryover provision in the architect CE rules (chapter 50-6).
• New architects: Registered less than a year before the expiration date: no hours due. Registered one to two years before: 12 hours, at least 8 in HSW (Rule 50-6-.04(2), (3)).
• Records: Keep them 4 years (Rule 50-6-.06(1)).
• Reporting: The architect attests at renewal, and the board may check a sample (Rule 50-6-.06).
• Moving from another state: Georgia grants reciprocity to architects in good standing elsewhere with substantially equal training, experience and testing (Rule 50-2-.03). An NCARB Certificate isn’t required.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Georgia needs a firm credential from the board: Certificate of Authorization (COA). Every firm, corporation, professional corporation, partnership, association, LLC or other entity that practices or offers engineering in Georgia must get a Certificate of Authorization from the board before practicing (O.C.G.A. 43-15-23, as the board states it). One or more of its principals, officers, members or partners, and all personnel who practice for it, must be registered PEs; this also applies to Georgia branch offices of out-of-state firms. The only exception is a sole proprietor. The COA is separate from registering the business with the Secretary of State's Corporations Division. All COAs expire June 30 of even-numbered years unless renewed, and can be renewed online. No deadline to replace a departed PE was found (not yet confirmed).

Engineering firm renewal: COAs expire June 30 of even-numbered years unless renewed.

Checked against official sources, September 29, 2026 Georgia PELS: PE/LS Business Entity (COA required before practicing; O.C.G.A. 43-15-23; sole proprietor exception; COAs expire June 30 of even years); Georgia PELS: Professional Engineer Information (PE licenses renew every year, expire December 31); STRUCTURE magazine, SE licensure by state.

See what to do when your qualifying engineer gives notice.

Architecture firms

Georgia doesn’t register architecture firms. Rule 50-3 says no firm, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or LLC will be registered to practice architecture. The rules land on the architect in charge instead:

• Who must be in control: A Georgia registered architect who is a full-time director at the premises (for a corporation), a partner, an LLC member, or an employee with an ownership interest designated in writing. There is no ownership percentage.
• What that architect does: Has personal knowledge of and final authority over every architectural decision, signs and seals the documents, and is named in the contract (Rule 50-3).
• Firm name: It may include only the names of Georgia-licensed architects, or retired or deceased ones under certain conditions.
• Change notices: We found no deadline to report a change, because there is no firm record to update.

Firms that offer both

An A/E firm has one firm registration to track in Georgia: the engineering COA. There is no architecture firm registration, but the firm still needs a Georgia architect in responsible control of its architecture work. The architecture board’s rules don’t cover the engineering side, so confirm the COA rules with the engineering board.

Who can seal drawings in Georgia

Georgia doesn’t limit a PE license by discipline. An engineer seals only work within their own competence, which your firm has to judge. Our table flags that some structural work in Georgia may need a structural engineer (SE) license. That note comes from a trade magazine survey, not a board rule, and we don’t record which work it covers, so ask the board.

Engineers on architectural sheets are limited. A registered PE may provide architectural services that are incidental to engineering work, but may not practice architecture or call themselves an architect (O.C.G.A. 43-4-14). No architect seal is needed for:

• one- and two-family homes and their outbuildings
• farm buildings
• single-story buildings up to 5,000 sq ft, except assembly, educational, health care and some other uses
• one-story pre-engineered buildings
• nonstructural interiors by a registered interior designer

A Georgia architect’s seal is 1 3/4 inches across and reads Registered Architect, State of Georgia, with the architect’s name and certificate number (Rule 50-2A). Documents filed for a building permit carry the architect’s signature, the issue date and the purpose. Electronic seals and signatures are allowed.

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Georgia license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Georgia 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 COA. The firm needs its own before it offers engineering, and the four sheet checks fail without it.
• Assuming the architecture side needs no attention. There is no architecture firm registration, but a Georgia architect must still hold responsible control of the work, and the firm name can carry only Georgia architects’ names.
• Tracking PE CE on a two-year cycle. Georgia PEs renew and owe 15 PDH every year. Some rule text still says “biennial,” which is out of date.
• Losing the firm’s qualifying engineer without noticing. If the person the COA depends on leaves, the COA can be at risk. Our data doesn’t record a replacement deadline for Georgia, 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 each board directly:

• Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (engineers and engineering firms)
• Georgia engineering board CE page
• Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers (architects)
• Georgia Secretary of State license lookup

How SealBench helps

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