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

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

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Kentucky, 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 Kentucky State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Architects answer to the Kentucky Board of Architects. Worth knowing up front: architect CE runs on its own period, not the license term.

PE license renewal in Kentucky

PE licenses renew every two years by June 30; surnames A to K renew in odd years and L to Z in even years. Firm permits expire December 31 each year.

The board: Kentucky 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.

PE continuing education (PDH)

• Hours: 30 PDH every two years. The reporting period is the two calendar years (January 1 to December 31) before the June 30 renewal deadline. Renewal is biennial by surname: A through K renew in odd-numbered years, L through Z in even-numbered years. The CE window ends December 31, six months before the license expires June 30.
• Carryover: Up to 15 PDH above the requirement may carry forward to the next reporting period.
• New licensees: Partial, not a full exemption. A new licensee is exempt for the calendar year in which first licensed. If first licensed in the first calendar year of the reporting period, 15 PDH are owed for that period. If first licensed in the second calendar year, nothing is owed for that period.
• Records: The rule states no retention period. It requires a log and attendance certificates to support claimed PDH. Keep them at least until any audit of that reporting period closes (not yet confirmed).
• Reporting: Licensee certifies compliance on the online renewal form. 4% of licensees who renew before September 1 are randomly audited; all who renew on or after September 1 are audited, as are licensees under investigation. Audited licensees have 30 days to send records. NCEES CPC records may be sent only if audited.

Architect license renewal and CE in Kentucky

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.

Annual; licenses expire June 30 each year; 60-day grace to August 31 before automatic revocation. No firm renewal. The board: Kentucky Board 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 on the renewal due the following June 30
• Carryover: CEHs may not be carried into the next reporting period (201 KAR 19:087).
• New licensees: First-time registrants by examination or reciprocity are exempt (201 KAR 19:087).
• Records: Keep records five years from the date the annual report is submitted (201 KAR 19:087).
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Kentucky needs a firm credential from the board: Business entity permit. A business entity needs a board permit to practice engineering. A PE working as a sole proprietor under the name on his or her own license is exempt. A principal, officer or designated employee who is a Kentucky PE must be in responsible charge, must be located at the Kentucky office if there is one, and each Kentucky office needs its own PE in charge. An occasional, part-time or consulting PE cannot be named unless he or she is an officer or owner. Changes must be reported in writing within 30 days.

Architecture firms

Our data shows no separate architecture firm registration in Kentucky. Kentucky has no architecture firm registration; KRS chapter 323 has no firm section and only individuals are licensed. 201 KAR 19:265 lets several Kentucky architects from the same office share one seal (a firm or partnership version), but only registered architects may appear on it. Title blocks and firm names must not mislead or imply unlicensed people are architects. Seals must show that only Kentucky-licensed architects are in charge of the work. No ownership rule or change-notice deadline was found.

Architect in charge: No firm-level rule found. An architect may seal only work prepared personally or under immediate supervision (KRS 323.095(4)).

Firms that offer both

No architecture firm registration. Architects and engineers have separate boards; any engineering firm permit is an engineering-board question.

Firm numbers: Firm permit digits.

Who can seal drawings in Kentucky

Kentucky issues a PE license without limiting it by discipline; engineers seal only work within their competence, which your firm judges. Kentucky does not license by discipline and issues no separate structural license or recognition.

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. KRS 323.031(3): a PE may prepare plans and supervise construction of structures as an incident to engineering practice. KRS 323.033 requires an architect for assembly (100+; churches up to 400 persons or 6,000 sq ft exempt), business and mercantile (100+), institutional and educational (any size), and residential over 12 units or 50+ persons; structural/MEP-dominant alterations may be done by PEs. Factory, high hazard, storage and utility buildings may use an architect or a PE. Farm buildings and residences not needing a design professional under the building code are exempt (KRS 323.031(1)).

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Kentucky license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Kentucky 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 business entity permit. In Kentucky the firm needs its own before it offers engineering, and the four sheet checks fail without it.
• 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 Kentucky, 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, reported on the renewal due the following June 30
• Assuming every engineer renews on the same date. Kentucky doesn’t use one statewide date for everyone. PE licenses renew every two years by June 30; surnames A to K renew in odd years and L to Z in even years. Firm permits expire December 31 each year. 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:

• Kentucky State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (engineers and engineering firms)
• Kentucky engineer license lookup
• Kentucky Board of Architects (architects and architecture firms)
• Kentucky 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 Kentucky’s rules, and Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a Kentucky permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.