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

Last checked Sep 28, 2026. Not yet confirmed with the Tennessee State Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners. Confirm anything you act on with the board. Not legal advice.

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee State Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners, licenses both engineers and architects in Tennessee.

PE license renewal in Tennessee

Engineer registrations renew every two years; the rules do not state a fixed statewide expiry date (not yet confirmed: whether it is keyed to issue date).

The board: Tennessee State Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners. 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: 24 PDH every two years. Biennial renewal. PDHs must be earned in the two years immediately preceding application for renewal (Rule 0120-05-.04(2)(b)). The rules set no single statewide expiry date; renewal follows T.C.A. 56-1-302(b) (not yet confirmed: how each license's expiry date is set).
• Also required: At least 13 of the 24 PDHs must address health, safety and welfare issues and technical competency. On the first renewal the figure is 7 of 12.
• Limits on some activities: professional society service (at most 8) and educational outreach (at most 4) hours.
• Carryover: No carryover for engineers: "PDHs earned in excess of the required amount may not be carried over to a future renewal period" (0120-05-.04(2)(b)). The same bar applies under the calendar-year option (0120-05-.04(2)(e)).
• New licensees: Partial, not a full exemption. On the first biennial renewal after initial registration the engineer owes 12 PDHs earned in the two years after initial registration, at least 7 of them in health, safety and welfare and technical competency (0120-05-.04(2)(a)). Nothing is owed before initial registration (0120-05-.04(2)(c), 0120-05-.08(1)(a)).
• Records: 4 years; copies to the Board within 30 days of an audit request (0120-05-.10(3); 0120-02-.02(4)).
• Reporting: The registrant completes a certification on the renewal form and states the PDHs claimed (0120-05-.09). Records are not sent with renewal. The Board adopts audit guidelines and requests records for audit verification (0120-05-.03, 0120-05-.10(3)). No NCEES CPC reporting requirement found. A registrant who lives in or has a principal place of business in another state with mandatory CE and is in good standing there is deemed compliant in Tennessee (0120-05-.13).

Architect license renewal and CE in Tennessee

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 and expires two years after issue or last renewal. Fee $140. Late renewal allowed for six months with a monthly penalty. The board: Tennessee State Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners; 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 years before each biennial renewal date. An alternative lets architects earn 12 PDH each calendar year instead.
• Carryover: For certificates expiring in 2023 or later, no PDH carry over. Before 2023, up to 12 PDH could carry over.
• New licensees: No CE for initial registration. At the first renewal, 12 HSW PDH earned in the two years after initial registration.
• Records: Keep a log plus certificates or transcripts (or two other proofs of attendance) for 4 years. Provide them within 30 days of an audit request.
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Tennessee needs a firm credential from the board: Firm disclosure (Corporation, Partnership and Firm Disclosure); no firm license. Corporations, partnerships and firms that offer engineering to the public must file a firm disclosure (T.C.A. 62-2-601/602, Rule 0120-06-.03). Tennessee does not issue a firm license, and a sole proprietor practicing in their own name does not file. The registrant in responsible charge must be a Tennessee registrant in engineering, employed full-time (at least 30 hours a week), with one at each place of business in Tennessee; the June 2026 rule amendment dropped the old officer/principal wording, BUT the statute (T.C.A. 62-2-601(a), 2025 text) still says at least one principal or officer must be in responsible charge and requires changes to be reported within 60 days; treat as a conflict and confirm with the board, and after a change the firm cannot offer services until a new registrant is named (no grace period).

Architecture firms

A firm offering architecture needs a firm credential: Firm Disclosure filing (no certificate or license number). Tennessee has no firm license or certificate. Firms offering architecture must file a Firm Disclosure with the board (T.C.A. 62-2-601; Rule 0120-06). The disclosure lists all principals and officers and the registrant in responsible charge. Each Tennessee place of business needs a resident registrant in responsible charge, employed full-time (30+ hours a week). The statute says to report any change of status within 60 days; the board website asks for address changes within 30 days. When the responsible person leaves, the firm may not offer services until a new one is named. There is no grace period. Sole proprietors practicing in their own name do not file a disclosure.

Architect in charge: At least one principal or officer must be in responsible charge and hold active Tennessee registration in the profession offered. Each place of business in Tennessee needs a resident registrant in responsible charge. Only officers and principals employed full-time (at least 30 hours a week) qualify. One person may be in responsible charge of several firms only at the same physical location. (Rule 0120-06-.04; T.C.A. 62-2-601, 62-2-602.)

Firm renewal: No periodic firm renewal was found. The firm updates its disclosure when principals, the responsible person or the address change.

Firms that offer both

One joint board regulates architects, engineers and landscape architects. A firm files one disclosure that lists the registrant in responsible charge for each profession it offers.

Firm numbers: Digits.

Who can seal drawings in Tennessee

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

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. T.C.A. 62-2-102 and the board's Seal Exemptions Clarification say only a Tennessee-registered architect or engineer may prepare design documents for assembly, institutional and educational occupancies. The wording suggests an engineer can prepare them, but no rule defining the limits of that was found. Plans for B, F, H, M, R and S occupancies under 5,000 sq ft and under three stories need no registrant. Tenant spaces under 5,000 sq ft and minor mechanical, plumbing, electrical and roof work are also exempt. Public works over $50,000 need a registered architect, engineer or landscape architect (T.C.A. 62-2-107).

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Tennessee license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Tennessee 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 firm disclosure (Corporation, Partnership and Firm Disclosure); no firm license. In Tennessee 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 Tennessee, so ask the board. See what to do the day someone gives notice.
• Assuming every engineer renews on the same date. Tennessee doesn’t use one statewide date for everyone. Engineer registrations renew every two years; the rules do not state a fixed statewide expiry date (not yet confirmed: whether it is keyed to issue date). Read each person’s date from the board’s lookup.
• Banking extra PDH for next time. No carryover for engineers: "PDHs earned in excess of the required amount may not be carried over to a future renewal period" (0120-05-.04(2)(b)). The same bar applies under the calendar-year option (0120-05-.04(2)(e)).
• Forgetting the 13 hours in health, safety and welfare and technical competency. At least 13 of the 24 PDHs must address health, safety and welfare issues and technical competency. On the first renewal the figure is 7 of 12.

Where to file

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

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