The Board uses actual hours as the measurement unit for CE.

• 1 actual hour = at least fifty (50) minutes of instruction
• 1 CEU = 1 PHD/PDU = 1 actual hour
• 1 semester credit hour of formal education = 45 actual hours
• 1 quarter credit hour of formal education = 30 actual hours

No. The Board does not pre-approve any continuing education offerings.

Review Board Rule Section 9.4 for determination of credit.

It is up to licensees to determine if the continuing education activity applies to their discipline and if it is truly valuable to the education process. These are biennial hours (required over a two-year period) and documentation must be maintained by the licensee. 

To learn more about CE courses, review Chapter 9. 

You must prove that you completed the biennial continuing education requirement in the two years prior to your application for license reinstatement, along with the License Reinstatement Affidavit and the respective application fee for architects and engineers. 

New licensees are exempt from CE requirements during their initial renewal period. In order to use excess hours as carryover, the new licensee must accrue more than the CE requirement and may then be able to use up to one-half of the biennial requirement.

A professional engineer may carry over a maximum of 15 hours of CE credit, while an architect may carry over a maximum of 12 hours.

Yes, licensees can carry over excess hours, up to one-half of the previous biennial (two-year) requirement. 

For example, if you are a professional engineer and accrued 47 hours in a renewal period (17 more than the 30 hours required), you may carry over a maximum of 15 hours into the next renewal period, as 15 hours is half the biennial requirement of 30.

If you are an architect and accrued 42 hours in a renewal period (18 more than the 24 hours required), you may carry over a maximum of 12 hours into the next biennial renewal period, as 12 is half of the biennial requirement of 24.

To carry over excess hours accrued during the previous biennial renewal period, you will need to provide a Continuing Education Log and supporting documentation of all hours completed during the previous renewal period in addition to the CE log and documentation for the current renewal period. This documentation will be required if you are selected for a CE audit and intend to use carry over hours.

Yes. You can report “self-designed activities” for up to one-quarter of the total requirement.  Use the Self Guided Report Form to report these activities.

Yes. You can gain credit through Internet-based continuing education programs. The Internet-based program must provide documentation of those hours, and credit from some providers may be restricted (see Rule 9.3.1).

Licensees are randomly selected for a CE audit when the online renewal system is activated. If you are selected for an audit, Board staff will notify you after the renewal period has ended.

Yes. A request for reconsideration of denied CE should be made in writing and sent to the Compliance Officer. 

If a name changes places you in a different portion of the alphabet (previous last name starts with the letters A-K, and now starts with the letters L-Z) for CE renewal, your renewal period will shift. To ensure your renewal date is properly determined, contact us at nbea.office@nebraska.gov.