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

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

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Vermont, 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 Vermont Board of Professional Engineering (Office of Professional Regulation). Architects answer to the Vermont Board of Architects (Office of Professional Regulation, Secretary of State).

PE license renewal in Vermont

Licenses renew every two years and all expire July 31 of even-numbered years. The next deadline in our data is July 31, 2028.

The board: Vermont Board of Professional Engineering (Office of Professional Regulation). 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. Fixed statewide biennial renewal; all licenses expire July 31 of even-numbered years (Rule 2.1). Rule 2.11(a) says the 30 PDHs "shall be obtained during the three years preceding the renewal date", while Rule 2.12(a) says completion is documented "during the biennial renewal period preceding renewal" (not yet confirmed: which window OPR applies).
• Limits on some activities: papers and publications (at most 15) hours.
• Carryover: No carryover provision. "Each PDH can be counted toward only one renewal" (Rule 2.11(a)). Because 2.11(a) allows PDHs from the three years before renewal, unused hours from the year before the current biennium may still count once (not yet confirmed).
• New licensees: Exempt on the first renewal: the CE rule applies to "Every licensee, except those renewing for the first time" (Rule 2.11).
• Records: Records for the prior two biennial renewal periods (Rule 2.12(b)).
• Reporting: Renewal is online through OPR; renewal instructions say to "Show proof of 30 hours of continuing education credit". The Board may audit any licensees or a random subset, and may target previously disciplined, late-renewing or previously deficient licensees; audited licensees have 30 days to provide evidence (Rule 2.13). No NCEES CPC reporting requirement found.

Architect license renewal and CE in Vermont

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 January 31 of odd-numbered years. No firm renewal. The board: Vermont Board of Architects (Office of Professional Regulation, Secretary of State); 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 renewal period ending January 31 of odd-numbered years.
• Carryover: The rule does not mention carryover.
• New licensees: No CE for the renewal period in which the license was first issued. CE starts with the first full two-year period.
• Records: The rule does not state a period. Audited licensees must produce written proof of the 24 hours.
• 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 Vermont engineering board. Vermont's engineering statute (26 V.S.A. chapter 20) and board rules license individuals only; no firm license, certificate of authorization or firm qualifier rule was found (not yet confirmed; ask the board). PEs are licensed by specialty discipline and must practice only within their licensed discipline and competence.

Architecture firms

Our data shows no separate architecture firm registration in Vermont. Vermont has no firm registration for architects. A corporation, LLC, partnership, association or sole proprietorship may furnish architecture if a member or employee is a licensed architect in responsible charge (26 V.S.A. 203). All plans and specifications must carry the personal seal of that architect. The entity is jointly and severally liable with the architect. There is no ownership rule and no firm change-notice deadline.

Architect in charge: A member or employee must be a licensed architect in responsible charge of the architectural services. That architect signs and seals all plans and specifications (26 V.S.A. 203(b)).

Firms that offer both

No firm registration for architecture. The Board of Architects is separate from the engineers' board; both are administered by OPR.

Who can seal drawings in Vermont

Vermont ties sealing to the discipline on the license, so a sheet’s discipline has to match what the engineer is licensed in. No separate SE license. Structural I/II is its own PE discipline and a PE may practice only in their licensed discipline, so structural work appears to need a PE licensed in Structural (not yet confirmed).

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal some architectural work. The architects chapter does not affect the practice of engineering by a licensed PE (26 V.S.A. 124(a)(1)). It also exempts buildings whose plans are stamped by 'a licensed professional in the appropriate field' and does not restrict functions incidental to other professions. No architect is needed for detached one- to four-family dwellings and their accessory sheds and garages, farm buildings, or pre-engineered buildings (124(a)(5)). How far a PE may go in building design was not confirmed with the board.

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

Common mistakes

• Banking extra PDH for next time. No carryover provision. "Each PDH can be counted toward only one renewal" (Rule 2.11(a)). Because 2.11(a) allows PDHs from the three years before renewal, unused hours from the year before the current biennium may still count once (not yet confirmed).

Where to file

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

• Vermont Board of Professional Engineering (Office of Professional Regulation) (engineers and engineering firms)
• Vermont engineer license lookup
• Vermont Board of Architects (Office of Professional Regulation, Secretary of State) (architects and architecture firms)

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 Vermont’s rules, and Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a Vermont permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.