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

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

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Mississippi, 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 Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors. Architects answer to the Mississippi State Board of Architecture.

PE license renewal in Mississippi

PE licenses and firm COAs expire December 31 and are renewed for 1 year (the law also allows 2-year renewals).

The board: Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and 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. Biennial renewal period ending December 31. Renewed licenses expire on December 31 of their biennial renewal period (Rule 6.6), and PEs must earn 30 PDH during every biennial renewal period (Rule 6.4). Initial and comity licenses expire December 31 of the year issued.
• Ethics: One PDH of ethics training every biennial renewal period. Excess ethics hours cannot be carried forward.
• Limits on some activities: educational outreach (at most 6) and papers and publications (at most 20) hours.
• Carryover: Up to 15 PDH may be carried into the next biennial renewal period, and they must be submitted during renewal to count. Ethics hours cannot be carried forward (Rule 6.4, Requirements e and f).
• New licensees: New licensees by initial licensure or comity are exempt in the year they obtain the license (Rule 6.4, Exemptions a). Initial and comity licenses expire December 31 of the year issued (Rule 6.6), so that first renewal is exempt; the full 30 PDH applies to the next biennial period.
• Records: Keep the activity log and attendance records for 3 years (Rule 6.4, Record keeping b).
• Reporting: Each renewal requires the licensee to certify that the CPC requirement has been met, and the hours must be entered in the NCEES database or the board website portal (Rule 6.4, Forms). Every licensee's CPC records are subject to audit (Rule 6.4, Audits). The board does not pre-approve PDHs.

Architect license renewal and CE in Mississippi

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 renews every two years, due November 30 of odd-numbered years; renewals open October 1. The board: Mississippi State Board of Architecture; each architect’s date is on the license lookup.

• Hours: 24 hours every two years, all in health, safety and welfare (HSW) topics. Biennial reporting at renewal (Nov 30, odd years), but 12 CEH must be earned in EACH calendar year.
• Carryover: No carryover permitted (Rule 6.8.B; FAQ).
• New licensees: First-time registrants by exam or reciprocity are exempt for the first renewal period; not for reinstatement (Rule 6.7.B.1).
• Records: Six years from the date of report / after submission (Rules 6.8.C, 6.9.C).
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Mississippi needs a firm credential from the board: Certificate of Authority / Certificate of Authorization (COA), engineering (separate COA for surveying). Corporations, firms, partnerships and LLCs/PLLCs need a Certificate of Authority; a sole proprietorship owned and run by a licensee and a professional association of licensees are exempt. The firm must have at least one Mississippi-licensed PE as a principal officer, partner or designated principal engineer with management responsibility; the board says this person should be a full-time employee, and an occasional, part-time or consulting engineer cannot be designated. Changes in listed persons must be filed within 30 days.

Architecture firms

Our data shows no separate architecture firm registration in Mississippi. The board does not license firms; no business entity may hold a certificate to practice architecture (Miss. Code 73-1-19(2)). Firms register with the Secretary of State and each architect names his or her firm on a Business & Firm Verification Form. Every active partner, member, stockholder, officer, director and manager of an architecture (or A/E, A/LA) entity must be licensed in architecture, landscape architecture or engineering in their state of residence. A foreign entity needs at least one active member or stockholder licensed as an architect in Mississippi. A Mississippi-registered architect who is a partner, officer, member or manager exercises responsible control, and that architect's name and seal appear on all architectural documents. Exempt: farm buildings, 1- and 2-family homes, and other buildings under 5,000 sq ft and under 3 stories (73-1-39(h)).

Ownership: Each active partner, member or stockholder, and each officer, director or manager must hold a license to practice architecture, landscape architecture or engineering in their state of residence. With landscape architect owners, at least 2/3 must be architects or PEs and landscape architects may own no more than 1/3.

Architect in charge: A partner, stockholder, director, member, manager or officer who is a Mississippi registered architect exercises responsible control over the architectural services, and that architect's name and seal appear on all architectural documents of the entity. Foreign entities: at least one active member or stockholder licensed as an architect in Mississippi (73-1-19(2),(5)).

Firms that offer both

Separate boards (Architecture; Engineers and Land Surveyors). The architecture board issues no firm license. 73-1-19(3) expressly allows combined 'engineers and architects' entities; listings must show each member's profession and name at least one Mississippi architect. Engineering firm rules come from the separate engineering board.

Who can seal drawings in Mississippi

Mississippi issues a PE license without limiting it by discipline; engineers seal only work within their competence, which your firm judges. Mississippi has no separate structural engineer license.

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. Miss. Code 73-1-39(d) exempts professional engineers licensed by the Mississippi engineering board practicing in compliance with state law, and 73-1-3 says the architecture definition does not limit engineering practice. Rule 3.2.14 defines a registered design professional as an architect, engineer or landscape architect. Anyone may design farm buildings, 1- and 2-family homes, and buildings under 5,000 sq ft and under 3 stories; public buildings under 10,000 sq ft ground floor and 2 stories are also exempt.

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Mississippi license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Mississippi 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 Authority / Certificate of Authorization (COA), engineering (separate COA for surveying). In Mississippi 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 Mississippi, so ask the board. See what to do the day someone gives notice.
• Having enough hours but not the required topic. A Mississippi 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:

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