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

Last checked Sep 28, 2026. Not yet confirmed with the Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects. Confirm anything you act on with the board. Not legal advice.

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Nebraska, 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. One board, the Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects, licenses both engineers and architects in Nebraska.

PE license renewal in Nebraska

PE licenses renew every 2 years on December 31, in odd years for last names A-K and even years for L-Z; firm COAs renew every 2 years from issue date.

The board: Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects. 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 period ending December 31, staggered by last name: licensees whose last names begin A through K expire December 31 of odd years, L through Z December 31 of even years (board CE page). Rule 9.2.2 requires 30 actual hours every biennial period.
• Ethics: At least one hour directly related to ethical issues of the licensee's professional practice. Ethics hours can be carried over (Rule 9.4.4).
• Limits on some activities: self-directed study (at most 7.5) hours.
• Carryover: Up to one-half of the requirement (15 hours) may carry into the next biennial period only (Rule 9.4.3). Ethics hours can be carried over (Rule 9.4.4). New licensees may carry excess hours from their exempt initial period (Rule 9.6.1.1).
• New licensees: PEs licensed by examination or comity are exempt for their initial renewal period (Rule 9.6.1.1). Hours over 30 earned in that period can still carry over.
• Records: The rules require licensees to keep supporting records but set no period (Rule 9.5). The board recommends keeping them 4 years.
• Reporting: The board may audit any licensee and randomly selects up to 5 percent of licensees for documentation (Rule 9.7.1). The board says selection happens around October when renewal opens, and notices come in the new year. Disallowed hours must be cured within 60 days (Rule 9.7.3). NCEES CPC or PDRES records are accepted (Rule 9.5.1.2). The rules do not describe the renewal attestation (not yet confirmed). The board does not pre-approve courses.

Architect license renewal and CE in Nebraska

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 license renews every two years on December 31: surnames A-K in odd years, L-Z in even years. The board: Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects; each architect’s date is on the license lookup.

• Hours: 24 hours every two years. Two calendar years ending at the licensee's December 31 expiry (e.g. Jan 1, 2025 - Dec 31, 2026 for L-Z).
• Ethics: One hour directly related to ethical issues of professional practice.
• Also required: On-demand web courses from providers outside the listed types (IACET, accredited schools, national societies, government, NCARB, AIA providers) max 6 hours; live interactive web is unrestricted.
• Also required: Maximum 10 hours in any calendar day.
• Limits on some activities: self-directed study (at most 6) hours.
• Carryover: Up to half the biennial requirement (12 hours) into the next period only; must keep logs and proof for both periods.
• New licensees: Newly licensed architects are exempt for their initial renewal period.
• Records: Not stated in the pages read; carryover requires keeping the prior period's log. Rule 9.5.1 recordkeeping was revised Nov 25, 2025.
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Nebraska needs a firm credential from the board: Certificate of Authorization (COA). An organization (partnership, LLC, corporation, joint venture or other business entity) practicing engineering for others needs a Certificate of Authorization; an organization practicing only for itself is exempt. It must designate a Nebraska-licensed PE as Engineer in Responsible Charge who regularly performs professional services for it, but that person need not be full-time, an officer or an owner. Changes in the responsible person must be reported within 30 days.

Architecture firms

A firm offering architecture needs a firm credential: Certificate of Authorization. Any business entity (partnership, LLC, corporation, joint venture) that practices, offers, contracts, bills or does design-build for architecture in Nebraska needs a Certificate of Authorization (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-3436; Title 110 ch. 7). No ownership rule: owners need not be licensed. The organization designates a Nebraska-licensed Architect in Responsible Charge (AIC) who regularly performs professional services for it; an occasional consultant cannot be designated. Changes in the status of the person in responsible charge must be reported within 30 days. The Secretary of State will not register an entity or trade name using 'architect' without board approval. Exempt: 1-4 family dwellings under 5,000 sq ft finished space, small one-story commercial buildings under 5,000 sq ft and 30 ft with fewer than 20 occupants, farm buildings, and small public works (81-3449).

Ownership: None. The E&A Act does not require owners to be licensed (board Organizations page).

Architect in charge: At least one Nebraska-licensed architect designated as Architect in Responsible Charge; must regularly perform professional services for the organization for the life of the certificate; need not be full-time, an officer or an owner. A temporary permit holder may serve (81-3436(2); board Organizations page).

Firm renewal: Certificate of Authorization is valid two years from its issue date and renews for two-year periods (Rule 7.3.9, effective Nov 25, 2025); fee tier depends on number of licensees.

Firms that offer both

Joint board. One Certificate of Authorization covers an organization practicing both; it must designate one Nebraska architect as AIC and one Nebraska PE as EIC (board Certificates of Authorization page; 81-3436(2)).

Who can seal drawings in Nebraska

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

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may not seal architectural work. Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-3420 and 81-3421 define architecture and engineering as mutually exclusive ('does not include the practice of' the other). No incidental-practice clause found in the statute sections read. Exemptions for anyone: 1-4 family dwellings under 5,000 sq ft finished space, one-story commercial/industrial under 5,000 sq ft and 30 ft with fewer than 20 occupants, farm buildings for 20 or fewer, public works under the CPI-adjusted $100,000 threshold, and non-safety alterations (81-3449, 81-3453).

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Nebraska license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska, so ask the board. See what to do the day someone gives notice.
• Assuming every engineer renews on the same date. Nebraska doesn’t use one statewide date for everyone. PE licenses renew every 2 years on December 31, in odd years for last names A-K and even years for L-Z; firm COAs renew every 2 years from issue date. Read each person’s date from the board’s lookup.
• Having enough hours but not the required topic. A Nebraska 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:

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