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

Last checked September 29, 2026. The engineering firm rules here were checked against official sources on that date. CE and architect rules come from our rule tables and aren’t yet confirmed with the Pennsylvania boards. Not legal advice.

Engineers: the Pennsylvania PE license renewal and CE page has the next deadline, every CE rule with its source, and what changed recently.

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Pennsylvania, you track each person’s license expiration and CE hours, plus any firm license. Engineers answer to the Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists. Architects answer to the Pennsylvania State Architects Licensure Board. Pennsylvania is simpler than most states on dates, because everyone in a profession renews on the same statewide date. The open question is architect CE, which is required by law but not yet enforced.

PE license renewal in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania runs one statewide two-year cycle. Every PE registration expires Sept 30 of each odd year (49 Pa. Code 37.19(a)). The next deadline is Sept 30, 2027.

The board: Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists. Check each engineer’s status on the PALS license search rather than an old spreadsheet.

PE continuing education (PDH)

• Hours: 24 PDH per two-year period, which runs Oct 1 of an odd year through Sept 30 of the next odd year (49 Pa. Code 37.111(a)).
• Topics: no ethics or Pennsylvania-law hours are required. The law says CE should keep skills current “including law and ethics” but sets no minimum. Practice-building and office-management courses earn no credit.
• Carryover: up to 12 PDH above the requirement carry into the next period (Act section 4.5(c), as amended by Act 32 of 2024).
• New licensees: exempt for the period right after first licensure (Act section 4.5(g)(2)).
• How hours count: 1 PDH per seminar hour, 10 per CEU, 45 per college semester hour, 30 per quarter hour, and 10 per paper, article, book or patent. Teaching counts double, but not for full-time faculty in their normal duties, and only one presentation of a course counts per period.
• Online courses: Act 32 of 2024 allows distance learning when the hours can be verified.
• More than one license from this board: 24 PDH are owed for each license, but a course can count toward every license it applies to.
• Records: keep them 5 years after each activity (49 Pa. Code 37.111(g)).
• Reporting: you confirm compliance on the renewal application. The board audits, and an audited licensee must answer within 30 days (37.111(f)).

Architect license renewal and CE in Pennsylvania

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.

Pennsylvania architect licenses renew every two years and expire June 30 of odd years. The next renewal is June 30, 2027. The board: Pennsylvania State Architects Licensure Board. Each architect’s status is on the same PALS license search.

Architect CE is in flux. Act 144 of 2024, in effect since Dec 30, 2024, requires 24 HSW hours per two-year renewal (Architects Licensure Law Sec. 503(e)). The board says CE was not required for the 2025 renewal, and the regulations to put it in place are still pending. Our data doesn’t confirm whether it applies to the June 30, 2027 renewal. Check with the board well before then.

• Hours in the statute: 24 hours per two-year renewal, all in HSW topics.
• Not allowed: the board may not approve courses in office management or practice building.
• Carryover and records: not addressed yet. The regulations haven’t been adopted.
• New licensees: exempt during the first licensure period (Sec. 503(h)).
• Practicing mainly in another state: an architect whose main practice is in another jurisdiction meets Pennsylvania’s rule by documenting that jurisdiction’s CE (Sec. 503(f)).
• Reporting: signed proof of completion at renewal. Hardship and military waivers exist.
• Units: one AIA learning unit (LU) counts as one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

None (no firm registration; responsible-charge licensure rule only). Pennsylvania has no firm license or certificate of authorization. Under Section 6 of the Registration Law, a firm or corporation may practice or use 'engineering' in its name only if its directing heads and employees in responsible charge are PA-licensed, and their seals go on the firm's documents. No full-time, residency or replacement-deadline rule found (not yet confirmed).

Checked against official sources, September 29, 2026 Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law, Section 6 (practice by firms and corporations); Section 4(b) (licensure by endorsement); PA Board page (licenses expire September 30 of odd years; PALS verification); PA DOS: Professional Engineer Licensure Guide (NCEES Council Record optional).

See what to do when your qualifying engineer gives notice.

Architecture firms

• Who needs one: architecture may be practiced as a sole proprietorship, partnership, professional association, professional corporation, business corporation, LLC or LLP (Sec. 507; 49 Pa. Code 9.162). Every form except a sole proprietorship needs the board’s written approval first and holds a firm license on PALS (9.163).
• Partnerships, business corporations and LLCs: at least two-thirds of the partners, directors or managers, and of the voting ownership, must be licensed in architecture, engineering or landscape architecture in any state. At least a third must be licensed in architecture, and at least one must be a Pennsylvania-licensed architect.
• Professional corporations: every shareholder must be a licensed architect, engineer or landscape architect, one of them licensed in Pennsylvania.
• Two-owner firms: one Pennsylvania licensee must own at least 50% (9.164).
• Principals: the letterhead must list the principals, and at least one must be licensed by the board. Our table found no per-office or full-time rule.
• Changes: ownership changes need board approval before they take effect.
• Renewal: the firm fee is charged every two years (49 Pa. Code 9.3). Our data doesn’t confirm the firm’s exact expiration date, so ask the board.

Firms that offer both

Engineers and architects have separate boards in Pennsylvania. The engineering board has no firm registration, so in our data an A/E firm needs one firm license, from the architects board, plus licensed engineers leading the engineering. The architects’ ownership test counts engineers toward the two-thirds, so an A/E firm can qualify. Our architecture table didn’t re-check the engineering side, so confirm with both boards.

Who can seal drawings in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania issues one PE license and doesn’t limit it by discipline. An engineer should seal only work within their competence, and your firm makes that call. There is no separate structural engineer license.

On architectural sheets, an engineer can seal only in limited cases. A PE may do architecture that is incidental to their engineering work (Sec. 508(2)). Anyone may design detached one- and two-family homes up to three stories and their accessory buildings, farm utility structures tied to a farm residence, and remodels with no structural or egress changes (Sec. 508(4)-(6)).

A Pennsylvania architect puts the seal, signature and date of issue on the first page of final documents. Later pages carry a facsimile or digital seal. The signature goes near or across the seal without covering the license number (49 Pa. Code 9.141, 9.141a).

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

Common mistakes

• Assuming no firm license means no firm rule. An engineering firm doesn’t register, but its directing heads and the people in responsible charge must hold Pennsylvania licenses. An out-of-state firm leading with engineers licensed only elsewhere doesn’t meet it.
• Forgetting the architecture firm license. A partnership, corporation or LLC offering architecture needs the architects board’s approval before it practices, and again before an ownership change takes effect.
• Ignoring architect CE because 2025 didn’t need it. The 24 HSW hours are already in the statute. Keep a record of hours now in case the rule applies at the June 30, 2027 renewal.
• Counting one course twice for two presentations. Only one presentation of a given course counts per period.
• Claiming office-management hours. Practice-building and office-management courses don’t count for engineers, and the architects board may not approve them.

Where to file

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

• Pennsylvania engineers board (engineers)
• Pennsylvania engineers board: CE guidelines
• Pennsylvania State Architects Licensure Board (architects and architecture firms)
• Pennsylvania architects board: renewal information
• PALS license search (engineers and architects)

How SealBench helps

SealBench keeps every PE and architect license and every firm license 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, per person and per state, against Pennsylvania’s rules. Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a Pennsylvania permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.