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

Last checked Sep 28, 2026. Not yet confirmed with the Wisconsin Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Registered Interior Designers (Professional Engineer Section), DSPS. Confirm anything you act on with the board. Not legal advice.

If your firm has engineers or architects licensed in Wisconsin, 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 Wisconsin Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Registered Interior Designers (Professional Engineer Section), DSPS, licenses both engineers and architects in Wisconsin.

PE license renewal in Wisconsin

PE credentials renew every two years on July 31 of even-numbered years. The next deadline in our data is August 1, 2028.

The board: Wisconsin Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Registered Interior Designers (Professional Engineer Section), DSPS. Look up each engineer’s current expiration date on the board’s license lookup rather than trusting the date on an old spreadsheet.

License numbers: DSPS credential = number + "-6" (PE type). Seals show only the part before the dash. This is how SealBench reads the numbers on an imported roster; it isn’t a board rule.

PE continuing education (PDH)

• Hours: 30 PDH every two years. Fixed statewide biennium beginning August 1 of each even-numbered year (A-E 13.02(1)). The statutory renewal date is August 1 of each even-numbered year (Wis. Stat. 440.08(2)(a)35.), so the CE biennium ends July 31 of even years, at license expiry.
• Ethics: At least 2 PDHs in professional conduct and ethics each biennium. Carryover hours cannot be used for this.
• Also required: At least 13 PDHs each biennium must come from courses where the registrant interacts in real time: classroom, computer conferencing or interactive video conference with the instructor. Carryover hours cannot be used for this.
• Limits on some activities: professional society service (at most 4) hours.
• Carryover: If more than 30 PDHs are earned in a biennium, up to 15 of the excess may count toward the next biennium's total, but not toward the ethics or live-course minimums (A-E 13.03(1)(d)).
• New licensees: Exempt on the first renewal: a new registrant need not meet CE for the first renewal of registration (A-E 13.03(1)(a)). Comity applicants may be asked for 30 PDHs from the 2 years before applying, unless first licensed anywhere within the last two years; those are also exempt at first renewal (A-E 13.09).
• Records: At least the 3 most recent biennia (A-E 13.07(1)).
• Reporting: The registrant certifies full CE compliance on the renewal application (A-E 13.06(1)). The PE section may require more evidence; a requested registrant must submit it within 30 days or renewal is denied (A-E 13.06(1m), (3)). No NCEES CPC reporting requirement found.

Architect license renewal and CE in Wisconsin

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 architect registration renews every 2 years on July 31 of even-numbered years. Firm certificate of authorization renews every 2 years on January 31 of even-numbered years. The board: Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Registered Interior Designers (Architect Section), administered by DSPS; each architect’s date is on the license lookup.

• Hours: 24 hours every two years, at least 16 in health, safety and welfare (HSW) topics. Biennium starts August 1 of each even-numbered year; ends July 31 of the next even year (license expiry).
• Limits on some activities: professional service (at most 2) hours.
• Carryover: Excess hours carry to the next renewal period, max 8 contact hours (A-E 12.04(1)).
• New licensees: Registered less than 12 months at first renewal: no CE required. Registered more than 12 months: 8 contact hours for the first renewal (A-E 12.08(1)-(2)).
• Records: At least 4 years from the date the certificate or statement of attendance is signed (A-E 12.07).
• Units: An AIA learning unit (LU) is one hour.

Firm registration (COA) and qualifier rules

Engineering firms

A firm offering engineering in Wisconsin needs a firm credential from the board: Certificate of authorization (engineering corporation/firm). A firm, partnership or corporation practicing engineering must obtain a certificate of authorization and list the Wisconsin-registered PEs in its employment who will be in responsible charge (Wis. Stat. 443.08). A change in those persons must be filed within 30 days. The statute does not clearly address sole proprietors and states no full-time, officer or residency rule (not yet confirmed).

Architecture firms

A firm offering architecture needs a firm credential: Certificate of Authorization (DSPS credential 'Architectural or Engineering Corp', code -11). A registered architect may not practice through a firm, partnership, or corporation unless the entity holds a certificate of authorization and all who practice as architects for it are registered (Wis. Stat. 443.08(2)). The application lists all officers and directors and every Wisconsin-registered architect employee who will be in responsible charge of architecture in the state. Changes in those persons must be reported within 30 days. No ownership percentage rule appears in the statute. DSPS issues one credential type covering architectural, engineering, designer and interior designer corporations; it renews January 31 of even years. Exempt buildings: single-family dwellings, 2-family apartments, agricultural buildings, and new buildings under 50,000 cubic feet (443.15).

Ownership: No ownership percentage rule found. All personnel practicing as architects for the firm must be registered, and the firm lists its officers, directors, and architects in responsible charge (Wis. Stat. 443.08).

Architect in charge: Application lists every Wisconsin-registered architect employee who will be in responsible charge of architecture practiced in the state through the firm. Report changes within 30 days of the change (Wis. Stat. 443.08(3)(a)1). No full-time or per-office rule found in statute. All final architectural documents must bear the seal of the architect in responsible charge (443.08(4)(b)).

Firm renewal: Biennial, January 31 of each even-numbered year (DSPS COA page; Wis. Stat. 440.08(2)(a)).

Firms that offer both

Joint A-E examining board. Statute lets each section grant a certificate of authorization, but DSPS issues a single credential type 'Architectural, Engineering, Designer of Engineering Systems, or Interior Designer Corporation' (code -11). Whether a firm doing both disciplines holds one certificate listing both, or needs a separate grant from each section, is not confirmed.

Who can seal drawings in Wisconsin

Wisconsin issues a PE license without limiting it by discipline; engineers seal only work within their competence, which your firm judges. Wisconsin has no separate structural engineer license; the NCEES SE exam may be taken in place of the PE exam.

On architectural sheets, our data says an engineer may seal some architectural work. Wis. Stat. 443.01(6) defines engineering to include design of buildings, and SPS 361.31 lets architects or engineers sign and seal commercial building plans. Anyone may design single-family dwellings, 2-family apartments, agricultural buildings, temporary construction sheds, and new buildings or additions under 50,000 cubic feet total volume, plus non-safety interior alterations (443.15).

Before a set goes out, every sheet has to pass four checks: a Wisconsin license, the right discipline, a license still active on the issue date, and the firm’s registration. Compare Wisconsin 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 (engineering corporation/firm). In Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin, so ask the board. See what to do the day someone gives notice.
• Having enough hours but not the required topic. A Wisconsin PE needs at least 2 hours in ethics. Extra general hours don’t make up for a missing topic.
• Forgetting the 13 hours of live, interactive courses. At least 13 PDHs each biennium must come from courses where the registrant interacts in real time: classroom, computer conferencing or interactive video conference with the instructor. Carryover hours cannot be used for this.

Where to file

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

• Wisconsin Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Registered Interior Designers (Professional Engineer Section), DSPS (engineers, architects and firms)
• Wisconsin engineer license lookup
• Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Registered Interior Designers (Architect Section), administered by DSPS (architects and architecture firms)
• Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin’s rules, and Set Check shows who can seal each sheet in a Wisconsin permit set, and why anyone can’t. One license is free to track; see pricing.