Rhode Island PE and architect license renewal: what firms need to track

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

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Department of Business Regulation, Division of Design Professionals). Architects answer to the Rhode Island Board of Examination and Registration of Architects (Department of Business Regulation, Division of Design Professionals). Worth knowing up front: Rhode Island is one of the few places with no PDH hours for PE renewal, so the engineering side is mostly about dates; architect CE runs on its own period, not the license term; an A/E firm keeps two firm registrations.

PE license renewal in Rhode Island

Individual PE registrations expire June 30 of odd years; firm COAs expire June 30 of even years. The next deadline in our data is June 30, 2027.

The board: Rhode Island Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Department of Business Regulation, Division of Design Professionals). 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: No PDH hours are required to renew a PE license.
• New licensees: Not applicable: Rhode Island has no CE requirement for PE renewal, first or later.
• Records: Not applicable: no CE requirement, so no CE records rule.
• Reporting: No CE reporting or CE audit. Renewal is an online application and fee.

Architect license renewal and CE in Rhode Island

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, expiring December 31 of odd-numbered years. COA renews every two years, expiring December 31 of even-numbered years. Lapse under 6 months: reinstatement; 6 months-2 years: board discretion; over 2 years: new application. The board: Rhode Island Board of Examination and Registration of Architects (Department of Business Regulation, Division of Design Professionals); each architect’s date is on the license lookup.

• Hours: 12 hours every year, all in health, safety and welfare (HSW) topics. Calendar year; certified at the biennial renewal (Dec 31 odd years).
• Also required: Up to 4 CEHs per year for service on a state architecture licensing board or certain RI zoning/planning/historic/code boards (1 CEH per meeting).
• Carryover: Excess CEHs may not be credited to a future calendar year.
• New licensees: First renewal prorated at one CEH per month of registration.
• Records: Completion certificates or AIA transcript kept 6 years from date of award.
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Rhode Island needs a firm credential from the board: Certificate of Authorization (COA). Any firm, including a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLP, corporation or LLC, must get a Certificate of Authorization before offering engineering; a one-person firm may get a fee waiver. The firm must designate in writing one or more RI-registered engineers in responsible charge of all engineering work, with authority the firm cannot overrule. No full-time, officer or residency rule found (not yet confirmed). The registrant must tell the Board within 10 days when the designation ends, and the firm must report changes within 30 days.

Architecture firms

A firm offering architecture needs a firm credential: Certificate of Authorization (ARC-COA). Every firm practicing architecture needs a Certificate of Authorization (COA), including sole proprietors (fee waived for solo practitioners). At least two-thirds of partners/directors/managers must be registered architects or engineers, and at least one-third registered architects; the person directing the architectural practice must be a RI-registered architect partner, director or manager (RIGL 5-1-15.1). Each RI office must have a resident architect regularly employed there (415-RICR-00-00-1.12). Changes to filed information must be reported within 30 days. On ownership change the board may grant a 6-month grace period to keep practicing pending new authorization.

Ownership: >= 2/3 of partners, directors or managers registered as architects or engineers; >= 1/3 registered as architects; the person directing the practice is a RI-registered architect partner/director/manager (RIGL 5-1-15.1).

Architect in charge: Registered architect(s) in direct control of the practice; each RI office has a resident architect regularly employed in that office (415-RICR-00-00-1.12(E)(1)).

Firm renewal: Biennial; COA expires December 31 of even-numbered years (RIGL 5-1-15.1; board FAQ).

Firms that offer both

Architects and engineers are separate boards within DBR's Division of Design Professionals, each issuing its own COA. The architects' 2/3 test counts engineers, so an A/E firm can qualify, but it holds an architecture COA separately from any engineering COA (engineering side not re-checked).

Firm numbers: Digits.

Who can seal drawings in Rhode Island

Rhode Island ties sealing to the discipline on the license, so a sheet’s discipline has to match what the engineer is licensed in. RI has no separate SE license; 'Structural' is one of the assigned PE disciplines shown on the stamp (not yet confirmed: whether structural work requires that discipline).

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. Anyone may design single- and two-family houses and minor accessory buildings, and farm buildings not for human habitation.

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Rhode Island license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island the firm needs its own before it offers engineering, and the four sheet checks fail without it.
• Registering an A/E firm with only one board. Rhode Island regulates engineering and architecture firms separately, so a firm that offers both keeps two registrations and two renewal dates.
• 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 Rhode Island, so ask the board. See what to do the day someone gives notice.
• Counting architect CE against the license dates. For architects the CE period and the license term don’t line up. Calendar year; certified at the biennial renewal (Dec 31 odd years).
• Assuming every engineer renews on the same date. Rhode Island doesn’t use one statewide date for everyone. Individual PE registrations expire June 30 of odd years; firm COAs expire June 30 of even years. 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:

• Rhode Island Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Department of Business Regulation, Division of Design Professionals) (engineers and engineering firms)
• Rhode Island engineer license lookup
• Rhode Island Board of Examination and Registration of Architects (Department of Business Regulation, Division of Design Professionals) (architects and architecture firms)
• Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island’s rules, and Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a Rhode Island permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.