Most licensed professional engineers and surveyors renew by checking a box that says the required continuing education was done. The proof only comes out if the board asks for it, and boards do ask: an audit after each renewal period is the main way they check that the hours were actually earned.

How an audit runs is set by each state board. Many boards follow the continuing professional competency guidelines published by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), the national organization of engineering and surveying licensing boards. This guide reads those guidelines, which describe how a model audit works and what a licensee should be able to hand over.

Who gets audited

The NCEES guidelines call for official audits after each renewal period, with licensees picked at random, for example by randomly generated license numbers. They also recommend that boards audit certain people every time: licensees under active investigation, those who renewed late, and those reinstating a lapsed license. Each board decides what share of its licensees to audit, with an eye on how long noncompliance cases take to resolve.

The timeline

Under the guidelines, a licensee picked for audit is first notified by email or regular mail and given 30 days to respond. If the 30 days pass without an answer, a second notice goes out by certified or registered mail so delivery can be proven. A licensee who does not answer the second notice faces action under the board's laws and rules. In other words, ignoring an audit letter turns a paperwork check into a disciplinary matter.

What the board asks for

The guidelines expect the licensee to send a summary of the courses and activities completed during the period, either a report from the NCEES CPC tracking service or a form the board approves, along with supporting documents. For each activity, the certificate of completion should show:

  • the instructor's or provider's name
  • the instructor's credentials
  • a description of the course or activity
  • the location and the duration
  • the number of hours earned

The NCEES Model Rules put recordkeeping on the licensee, not the provider. The licensee is expected to keep a log of each activity (its type, sponsor, location, duration, instructor or speaker, and the professional development hours, or PDHs, claimed) plus attendance records such as completion certificates. The guidelines say a general entry like attending training at a company does not meet that standard; each activity needs its own specifics. They allow that a short talk at a society meeting may come without a certificate, but treat that as a rare exception, and expect proof for anything longer than about an hour.

What reviewers look for

The guidelines list the attributes of a qualifying activity, and an auditor reads the documents with them in mind: stated learning objectives, current and technically accurate content, delivery by someone qualified in the subject, and credit that does not exceed the time the activity took. They set a ceiling of 8 PDHs in any 24-hour period and say an activity should not be a sales pitch for a company's products. A two-day seminar claimed at 20 hours, or a vendor's product launch claimed as a course, is the kind of entry that fails.

When something does not count

For a licensee who made a good-faith effort but whose activity the board decides does not qualify, the guidelines suggest a grace period to make up the shortfall without penalty, generally 30 to 90 days. Disciplinary actions for failing to complete the requirement are posted to the NCEES Enforcement Exchange, which other state boards can see, a detail that matters for anyone licensed in more than one state.

How to be ready before the letter arrives

Keep the log as the hours are earned, not at renewal time, and save each certificate the day it is issued, checking that it shows the five items above. The free NCEES CPC tracking service stores certificates and compares them with each state's requirement. Then read the current rule of every board that holds a license: the hours, the renewal period, any ethics or state-specific topics, and how long records must be kept.

Licensure and renewal rules differ by state and change over time. Check the current requirements with your state licensing board before you act on them.

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