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

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

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Maryland, 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 Maryland State Board for Professional Engineers. Architects answer to the Maryland State Board of Architects (Maryland Department of Labor).

PE license renewal in Maryland

Licenses and firm permits run for two-year terms; the statute sets June 30 of even years but lets the Secretary stagger dates, and the board says expiration is keyed to the initial license date (not yet confirmed).

The board: Maryland State Board for Professional Engineers. 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: 16 PDH every two years. Individual two-year licensing term. The CE requirement is per biennial licensing term and must be met before that license's expiration date. By statute a license runs to June 30 of an even-numbered year unless renewed, but the Secretary may stagger expirations (not yet confirmed: each license's date).
• Ethics: At least 1 PDH per term in any of: ethical concerns and conflicts in engineering practice, the PE code of conduct, standards of practice or care, OR Maryland laws and regulations on engineering. One hour in any of these topics meets it.
• Limits on some activities: professional society service (at most 2) hours.
• Carryover: Up to 8 PDH earned above the 16 required during the licensing term may carry to the next licensing term.
• New licensees: Exempt at the first renewal: by statute, CE does not apply to the first renewal of a license. COMAR adds that the licensee must qualify under Title 2.5 of the Business Regulation Article (not yet confirmed: what that condition means).
• Records: Keep records for at least 4 years from the date the program was completed.
• Reporting: Licensee attests on the renewal form that all CPC requirements were completed before the license expiration date. The Board may audit at its discretion.

Architect license renewal and CE in Maryland

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: two-year term, individual expiration date. Firm permits: two-year term, expiring June 30 of even-numbered years, 30-day retroactive grace period (BOP 3-408). The board: Maryland State Board of Architects (Maryland Department of Labor); each architect’s date is on the license lookup.

• Hours: 24 hours every two years, all in health, safety and welfare (HSW) topics. The two calendar years preceding the calendar year in which the license expires; 12 LUs expected in each year
• Carryover: No LUs above the 12 annual units may be carried forward.
• New licensees: Licensees renewing for the first time after initial licensure are exempt.
• Records: Keep records at least two years from completing the program.
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Maryland needs a firm credential from the board: Firm permit (corporation/partnership/LLC permit). Since October 1, 2015, a corporation, partnership or LLC needs a board permit to run a business through which engineering is practiced; sole proprietors are not covered, and work only for itself or an affiliate needs no permit. The firm must designate a Maryland PE as managing agent who can act for the firm on engineering matters and is an employee, owner, director, officer, member or partner. A PE may be managing agent for only one firm (affiliates excepted). No deadline in days to replace a managing agent was found (not yet confirmed).

Architecture firms

A firm offering architecture needs a firm credential: Firm permit. A corporation, LLC or partnership must hold a Board permit before operating a business through which architecture is practiced (Bus. Occ. & Prof. 3-403). A firm doing architecture only for itself or an affiliate needs no permit. At least two-thirds of the directors, members or general partners must be licensed in Maryland or another state in architecture, engineering or landscape architecture (3-404; board FAQ). One partner, director or member must be the responsible member in charge of architecture and must hold a Maryland architect license. Sole proprietors are not named in 3-403. No change-notice day count was found in the text read.

Ownership: At least two-thirds of the partners, directors or members (general partners for an LP) must be licensed in Maryland or any other state to practice architecture, engineering or landscape architecture (BOP 3-404; board FAQ).

Architect in charge: At least one responsible member (officer/director, LLC member or general partner) must be a Maryland-licensed architect in charge of architecture practiced through the firm (BOP 3-404; board FAQ).

Firm renewal: Biennial; permits expire the first June 30 of an even-numbered year after issue; 30-day grace (BOP 3-408).

Firms that offer both

Separate Boards of Architects and Professional Engineers. The architecture permit's two-thirds rule counts engineers and landscape architects, so an A/E firm can qualify for the architects-board permit. Whether the engineers board also requires a firm registration was not checked.

Firm numbers: Firm permit digits.

Who can seal drawings in Maryland

Maryland issues a PE license without limiting it by discipline; engineers seal only work within their competence, which your firm judges. Maryland's engineering law has no separate structural engineer license (not yet confirmed).

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. BOP 3-103(a) requires architectural documents for buildings intended for public or residential use to be sealed by a licensed architect. Exempt: builders designing their own 1-2 family dwellings or farm buildings; owners designing their own single-family home; interior designers; small alterations up to $5,000 limited to interiors, storefronts, fixtures or exterior stairs/decks with no structural or MEP effect (3-103(c)-(d)). The board handbook says overlap between architects and engineers is judged by each professional's education and experience; no explicit incidental-practice rule for engineers was found in text read.

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Maryland license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Maryland 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 firm permit (corporation/partnership/LLC permit). In Maryland 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 Maryland, so ask the board. See what to do the day someone gives notice.
• Assuming every engineer renews on the same date. Maryland doesn’t use one statewide date for everyone. Licenses and firm permits run for two-year terms; the statute sets June 30 of even years but lets the Secretary stagger dates, and the board says expiration is keyed to the initial license date (not yet confirmed). Read each person’s date from the board’s lookup.
• Having enough hours but not the required topic. A Maryland PE needs at least 1 hour in ethics. Extra general hours don’t make up for a missing topic.

Where to file

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

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