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

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

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Oregon, 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 Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying (OSBEELS). Architects answer to the Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners (OSBAE). Worth knowing up front: an A/E firm keeps two firm registrations; some structural work needs a structural engineer license.

PE license renewal in Oregon

Registrations renew every two years, with expiration at the end of June or December depending on the registrant (not yet confirmed: how the month is assigned).

The board: Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying (OSBEELS). Look up each engineer’s current expiration date on the board’s license lookup rather than trusting the date on an old spreadsheet.

License numbers: Seals commonly show digits + "PE" suffix (12345PE). This is how SealBench reads the numbers on an imported roster; it isn’t a board rule.

PE continuing education (PDH)

• Hours: 30 PDH every two years. Biennial registration period ending on each registrant's own expiration date (OAR 820-010-0505). Board pages show expirations fall at the end of June or December (not yet confirmed: the rule that sets them).
• Limits on some activities: self-directed study (at most 6), papers and publications (at most 10), professional society service (at most 8) and educational outreach (at most 10) hours.
• Carryover: Up to 15 PDH above the requirement may carry into the next registration period (OAR 820-010-0635(7)).
• New licensees: No blanket exemption; hours are prorated. A registrant licensed for 6 months or more of a registration period owes a prorated share of the 30 PDH. One licensed for less than 6 months owes none for that period (OAR 820-010-0635(1)(b)-(c)).
• Records: 5 years (OAR 820-010-0635(1)(g)).
• Reporting: The registrant reports PDH with the online renewal application (OAR 820-010-0635(1)(d)); an NCEES CPC transcript can be uploaded as a PDF but is not accepted directly. The board randomly audits 3% of active registrants in each discipline after each June and December renewal period (board audit page).

Architect license renewal and CE in Oregon

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 on December 31; the year parity follows the last digit of the registration number (odd number = odd year, even number = even year). Inactive 61 days after the deadline if not renewed. Firm registration renews every year by January 31. The board: Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners (OSBAE); 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-year registration period ending at the Dec 31 renewal (parity by registration number).
• Carryover: No carryover provision found; hours earned to cure a deficiency cannot be used for a later period.
• New licensees: CE considered satisfied if the previous period was the initial Oregon registration.
• Records: At least two years from the most recent registration or renewal date.
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

Our data shows no separate firm authorization from the Oregon engineering board. Oregon does not license firms; only individuals are registered. No firm qualifier rule applies, though the engineering work itself must be done or supervised by Oregon-registered engineers. Check Secretary of State business-name rules separately (not yet confirmed).

Architecture firms

A firm offering architecture needs a firm credential: Architectural firm certificate of registration. Any business providing architectural services in Oregon must hold a firm certificate of registration from OSBAE, including incorporated sole proprietors, LLCs, assumed business names, engineering firms offering architecture and multi-profession firms. Practice must be managed and directed by one or more Oregon-registered architects, and services go through or under the responsible control of an owner or employee who is a registered architect (ORS 671.041). The firm certificate must be displayed at each Oregon office. Firm renewal is annual, January 31. No change-notice deadline was found.

Ownership: No ownership percentage in current OAR 806-010-0080 (eff. 1/2/2024). Practice must be managed and directed by Oregon-registered architect(s). The signing firm representative must be an officer, voting member or owner.

Architect in charge: Architectural services must be provided through, or under the responsible control of, an owner or employee who is an Oregon registered architect; technical submissions bear that architect's stamp and the firm name (ORS 671.041). The stamping architect must have written legal authority to accept responsibility for the firm (OAR 806-010-0045).

Firm renewal: Annual, due January 31; inactive 61 days after the deadline if not renewed (OAR 806-010-0090).

Firms that offer both

OSBAE and the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying are separate boards. OSBAE states engineering firms offering architectural services must register with OSBAE; engineering firm rules were not re-checked here.

Who can seal drawings in Oregon

Oregon issues a PE license without limiting it by discipline; engineers seal only work within their competence, which your firm judges. An engineer may not provide engineering services for 'significant structures' (Risk Category III/IV buildings over set sizes, hazardous facilities, buildings over four stories or 45 feet) without an Oregon structural engineer registration.

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. Exempt buildings anyone may design: detached single-family dwellings, farm buildings and auxiliaries, and any building with ground area 4,000 sf or less AND interior height 20 ft or less (ORS 671.030). The joint building officials manual says the size exemption does not apply to PEs, and non-exempt buildings require a registered architect as design professional in responsible charge, yet its examples say designs 'must be produced by a registered architect or a registered engineer.' Treat PE authority over non-exempt buildings as unresolved.

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Oregon license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Oregon with other states on who can seal drawings, by state.

Common mistakes

• Registering an A/E firm with only one board. Oregon regulates engineering and architecture firms separately, so a firm that offers both keeps two registrations and two renewal dates.
• Assuming every engineer renews on the same date. Oregon doesn’t use one statewide date for everyone. Registrations renew every two years, with expiration at the end of June or December depending on the registrant (not yet confirmed: how the month is assigned). 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:

• Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying (OSBEELS) (engineers and engineering firms)
• Oregon engineer license lookup
• Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners (OSBAE) (architects and architecture firms)
• Oregon 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 Oregon’s rules, and Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a Oregon permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.