West Virginia PE and architect license renewal: what firms need to track

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

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in West Virginia, 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 West Virginia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers. Architects answer to the West Virginia Board of Architects. Worth knowing up front: architect CE runs on its own period, not the license term.

PE license renewal in West Virginia

PE registrations renew biennially and expire December 31 of even-numbered years; COAs expire December 31 of odd-numbered years. The next deadline in our data is December 31, 2026.

The board: West Virginia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers. 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 biennium. PE registrations expire December 31 of each even-numbered year, and the 30 PDHs must be earned during the previous two years (7CSR1 9.1, 10.1).
• Carryover: Up to 15 PDHs above the requirement may carry into the next two-year licensure period (7CSR1 10.3).
• New licensees: Exempt for the first renewal period: "A new registrant by way of examination or reciprocity is exempt for his or her first renewal period" (7CSR1 10.9.a).
• Records: Three renewal periods (7CSR1 10.7).
• Reporting: A continuing education form listing PDHs claimed is certified, signed and submitted with every renewal (7CSR1 10.6). Any registrant may be audited; 3 to 5 percent of renewals are picked at random, plus any with questionable CE (7CSR1 10.8). No NCEES CPC reporting requirement found.

Architect license renewal and CE in West Virginia

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 year and expires June 30 (end of the state fiscal year). No firm registration with the board. The board: West Virginia Board of Architects; each architect’s date is on the license lookup.

• Hours: 12 hours every year, all in health, safety and welfare (HSW) topics. Calendar year (Jan-Dec). Hours from the prior calendar year apply to the June renewal.
• Carryover: No carryover between calendar years (2CSR1 8.4.2).
• New licensees: Rule requires 12 hours for each calendar year since last renewal or initial registration. No explicit first-renewal exemption found.
• Records: Registrant keeps own records for at least the previous two calendar years (2CSR1 8.4.1).
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in West Virginia needs a firm credential from the board: Certificate of authorization (COA). No person or firm may practice or offer engineering in West Virginia until it holds a certificate of authorization; this includes sole proprietors (W. Va. Code 30-13-17; 7CSR1 11.1-11.2). Each application needs a sworn statement from the PE in responsible charge, who must be registered in West Virginia; an occasional, part-time or contract engineer cannot be designated unless an owner or principal. The firm must notify the board within 30 days of a change of PE in responsible charge (7CSR1 11.9).

Architecture firms

Our data shows no separate architecture firm registration in West Virginia. The board does not issue a firm certificate. Firms register only with the Secretary of State or Tax Department. The board says a firm should have at least one West Virginia registered architect and will issue a letter on request confirming an affiliated architect is registered. Statute lets a partnership, corporation or other entity practice if the work is under the direct supervision of WV registered architects (W. Va. Code 30-12). No ownership percentage rule found. Exempt from architect licensure: single-family dwellings, multifamily up to 3 stories, farm buildings for up to 10 occupants, non-structural alterations, pre-engineered buildings, and one-story commercial up to 7,600 sq ft. Engineering firms, by contrast, need a COA from the separate PE board.

Architect in charge: Architectural work by an entity must be carried on under the direct supervision of architects registered in West Virginia (W. Va. Code 30-12). Board firm page says a firm should have at least one WV registered architect. No named-qualifier filing or replacement deadline found.

Firms that offer both

Separate boards. The architect board has no firm registration. The PE board requires a Certificate of Authorization before a firm offers engineering. So an A/E firm needs only the engineering COA plus business registration (per the joint architect/PE seal brochure).

Who can seal drawings in West Virginia

West Virginia issues a PE license without limiting it by discipline; engineers seal only work within their competence, which your firm judges. West Virginia has no separate structural engineer license, and the PE certificate and seal do not name a discipline.

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal architectural work only in limited cases. Joint architect/PE brochure: engineers may do incidental architecture but should not represent work as architecture or seal drawings identified as architectural. Anyone may design exempt structures: single-family dwellings, multifamily up to 3 stories, farm buildings for up to 10 occupants, alterations not affecting structure or safety, pre-engineered buildings, and one-story commercial up to 7,600 sq ft.

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a West Virginia license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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 West Virginia, 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 (Jan-Dec). Hours from the prior calendar year apply to the June renewal.

Where to file

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

• West Virginia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (engineers and engineering firms)
• West Virginia engineer license lookup
• West Virginia Board of Architects (architects and architecture firms)
• West Virginia 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 West Virginia’s rules, and Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a West Virginia permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.