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Engineering CE · New York · for providers

New York PE certificate requirements for approved CE sponsors

What a New York State Education Department approved sponsor must print on a certificate of completion for a professional engineer, how a professional development hour (PDH) is counted, and what records to keep for six years. Checked against Section 68.14 of the Regulations of the Commissioner, the NYSED sponsor standards, the sponsor application form and the NYSED Q&A.

Short answer · checked 30 October 2026

A New York PE certificate of completion must show the attendee’s name, the course title and any course number the sponsor gave it, the number of hours (PDH) completed, the sponsor’s name with its NYSED sponsor number, the sponsor’s verification of attendance, and the date and location. NYSED has no fixed accreditation sentence. The sponsor keeps course records for six years and the engineer keeps the certificate for six years.

Required elements
12
Issue the certificate
On completion
Keep records
6 years
Central reporting system
None

New to CE?

How continuing education works, in one line

  1. Accreditor

    Sets the rules and approves providers.

  2. Provideryou

    Runs the course and issues the certificate.

  3. Learner

    Completes the course and keeps the certificate.

  4. Board

    Renews the licence and may audit the certificate.

Approved sponsor
An organization NYSED has approved to offer continuing education to New York professional engineers. NYSED gives it a sponsor number. Approval lasts three years.
Deemed approved sponsor
An organization that does not apply to NYSED because another body already approves it, for example IACET, RCEP, AIA CES or P.I.E. It still has to meet the same five standards.
PDH
Professional development hour. The unit of engineering CE. NYSED also calls it a contact hour or a continuing education hour.
Course
Live instruction, in a room or by live webinar, where the learner can talk with the instructor in real time.
Educational activity
Structured study without live instruction, for example an online or on-demand course, plus teaching, writing, patents and committee service.
Registration period
The three-year period for which a New York licence is registered. The 36 PDH are counted per registration period, not per year.

Who this applies to

Providers under NYSED PE, and the learners they serve

Providers

  • Organizations approved by NYSED as sponsors of continuing education for professional engineers (they hold an NYSED sponsor number)
  • Organizations deemed approved because another body approves them, for example IACET, RCEP, AIA CES, P.I.E., NCSEA, ACECNY or the Shaw Fund, and colleges with ABET-accredited programs

161 sponsors in the NYSED list of directly approved providers (October 2026), plus sponsors deemed approved through other bodies · NYSED list of approved continuing education providers

Learners

Professional engineers licensed in New York, who must complete 36 hours of acceptable continuing education in each three-year registration period, including at least one hour of professional ethics.

The 12 elements

What the certificate must show

Each number on the sample matches one element NYSED PE requires. The list says where the rule is written and which Hyperstack field fills it.

  1. 1

    Sponsor name

    The name of the approved sponsor, as NYSED approved it. If a partner helped run the course, the approved sponsor is still the name on the certificate.

    Example: Hudson Valley Structures Institute

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateNYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5 – Records (certificate of completion list)

  2. 2

    NYSED sponsor number

    The number NYSED gave you on approval, written “NYSED Sponsor XXXX”. NYSED approval letters ask for it to be shown prominently on every certificate.

    Example: NYSED Sponsor 2187

    In Hyperstack: [custom_sponsor_number]Form 1-SB PE/LS/PG (rev. 10/23), p. 3, item 6(f); NYSED sponsor approval letter to CED, 20 Sep 2024

  3. 3

    Attendee’s name

    The name of the engineer who completed the course or activity.

    Example: Priya N. Raman, PE

    In Hyperstack: [recipient_name]NYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5 – Records (certificate of completion list)

  4. 4

    Course or activity title

    The title of the course, program or educational activity. If the course has an ethics part, the title must say so.

    Example: Load Rating of Steel Highway Bridges, with Professional Ethics

    In Hyperstack: [group_title]NYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5 – Records (certificate of completion list); NYSED engineering CE Q&A, question 15a

  5. 5

    Sponsor’s course number

    Any identification number you assigned to the course. If you give courses numbers, print the number.

    Example: Course HVSI-26-114

    In Hyperstack: [custom_course_number]NYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5 – Records (certificate of completion list)

  6. 6

    Subject area

    The acceptable subject area the course falls in, for example structural engineering or professional ethics.

    Example: Structural engineering · Professional ethics (1 PDH)

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateNYSED engineering CE Q&A, question 21

  7. 7

    Date

    The date of the course. For an on-demand activity, the date the learner completed it.

    Example: 14 October 2026

    In Hyperstack: [issue_date]NYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5 – Records (certificate of completion list); Form 1-SB PE/LS/PG (rev. 10/23), p. 3, item 6(b)

  8. 8

    Location

    Where the course took place. For a webinar or self-study activity, say so.

    Example: Albany, NY

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateNYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5 – Records (certificate of completion list); Form 1-SB PE/LS/PG (rev. 10/23), p. 3, item 6(b)

  9. 9

    Course time

    The start and end time of the instruction. The sponsor application asks for the course/activity time on the sample certificate.

    Example: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateForm 1-SB PE/LS/PG (rev. 10/23), p. 3, item 6(c)

  10. 10

    Educational method

    How the course was delivered: lecture, live webinar, self-study, on-demand.

    Example: Live lecture

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateForm 1-SB PE/LS/PG (rev. 10/23), p. 3, item 6(d)

  11. 11

    Hours completed (PDH)

    The number of hours this engineer completed, not the hours on offer. NYSED counts one PDH per 60 minutes of instruction; a stand-alone one-hour session of 50 minutes also earns one PDH.

    Example: 3 PDH

    In Hyperstack: [custom_pdh]NYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5 – Records (certificate of completion list); NYSED engineering CE Q&A, question 11a

  12. 12

    Verification of attendance

    The sponsor confirms the engineer attended. A signed line from the sponsor is the usual form. A form the engineer fills in themselves is not accepted.

    Example: Attendance verified · Daniel R. Okafor, PE, Director of Education

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateNYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5 – Records (certificate of completion list); NYSED engineering CE Q&A, question 21

Exact wording

The statements, word for word

NYSED PE has 3 wordings. Use the one that fits your approval and your activity. Copy it, do not retype it.

Attendance verification (no fixed wording)

[Sponsor name] (NYSED Sponsor [XXXX]) verifies that [Attendee name] attended and completed [Course title] on [Date] at [Location] and earned [X] professional development hours (PDH).

NYSED sets no fixed sentence. The certificate only has to carry the listed elements and the sponsor’s verification of attendance. This line puts them in one sentence; you may word it your own way as long as every element stays.

NYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5 – Records (certificate of completion list)

Ethics component (no fixed wording)

[Course title] includes a [60]-minute professional ethics component: [1] PDH in professional ethics.

When ethics is part of a larger course, the ethics part must be at least 60 minutes, be named in the course title and on the certificate, and appear in the course outline. The wording is yours.

NYSED engineering CE Q&A, question 15a

Deemed approved sponsor (no NYSED number)

[Sponsor name] is an approved provider of [IACET / RCEP / AIA CES / P.I.E.] ([Approving body] provider number [XXXX]).

A sponsor deemed approved through another body has no NYSED sponsor number. Show the approving body and the number it gave you instead. The engineer’s own record must hold “the sponsor’s name and any identifying number”.

8 NYCRR §68.14(g) and (i)(2); NYSED engineering CE Q&A, question 17

How credit is counted

Minutes in, PDH out

The unit

1 PDH = 60 minutes

One professional development hour (PDH) is one hour of instruction. The regulation sets the floor: for courses “a minimum of 50 minutes shall equal one continuing education hour of credit”. NYSED’s guidance to sponsors is stricter: award 1 PDH for each 60 minutes of instruction, and allow 50 minutes to count as 1 PDH only for a stand-alone one-hour session. Breaks and meals do not count. One CEU equals 10 PDH; one college semester hour equals 15 PDH; one quarter hour equals 10 PDH.

8 NYCRR §68.14(h); NYSED engineering CE Q&A, questions 11 and 11a

Rounding

NYSED gives no rule for fractions. Its own worked examples award whole PDH only: 120 minutes is 2 PDH, 180 minutes is 3 PDH. Do not round up.

Worked example

180 minutes of instruction ÷ 60 = 3 PDH (lunch and the awards ceremony between the parts do not count)

180 minutes → 3 PDH

3 h 0 min
3PDH

180 ÷ 60, rounded down to the nearest 1. A single stand-alone session of 50–59 minutes earns 1 PDH.

Timeline

From the last slide to the audit file

  1. Activity

    Day 0

    The engineer completes the live course, or finishes an on-demand activity and passes its testing instrument.

  2. Certificate

    On completion

    Sponsors “must provide a Certificate of Completion” to engineers who completed the course. NYSED sets no deadline, so send it at once.

  3. Report

    Not required

    NYSED has no reporting system for sponsors. At renewal the engineer only attests that the hours are done. Certificates go to NYSED only when NYSED asks in an audit.

  4. Records

    6 years

    You keep the course records, including the attendance list, for six years from the course date. The engineer keeps the certificate for six years.

Right and wrong

The same certificate, two ways

The lines on the left are the mistakes auditors find most. The lines on the right are the fix.

Fails an audit

Hudson Valley Structures Institute

Priya N. Raman, PE

  • Approved for continuing education by New York State
  • PDH: up to 4
  • I confirm that I completed this course. Signed: [attendee]
  • October 2026
  • Load Rating of Steel Highway Bridges (ethics covered in part 3)
  • 50-minute lunch lecture: 0.8 PDH

Passes an audit

Hudson Valley Structures Institute

Priya N. Raman, PE

  • Hudson Valley Structures Institute · NYSED Sponsor 2187
  • PDH: 3
  • Attendance verified by Daniel R. Okafor, PE, Director of Education
  • 14 October 2026 · Albany, NY
  • Load Rating of Steel Highway Bridges, with Professional Ethics · 1 PDH in ethics
  • 50-minute lunch lecture: 1 PDH
  • 1. The certificate must show the sponsor’s name and its NYSED sponsor number. NYSED approval letters ask for the number to be shown prominently.
  • 2. Show the hours this engineer completed. An engineer who missed one session gets the hours for the sessions attended.
  • 3. The sponsor verifies attendance. A self-reporting form “will NOT be accepted for New York State continuing education credit”.
  • 4. The date and the location are both required elements.
  • 5. An ethics component must be named in the course title and on the certificate, and be at least 60 minutes.
  • 6. A stand-alone one-hour session of 50 minutes earns 1 PDH. NYSED’s examples award whole hours.

Digital

Electronic certificates and badges

Electronic certificates

NYSED does not say whether a certificate must be paper or electronic. In an audit the engineer may send completion certificates “via fax, email or postal mail”, so an electronic certificate is fine. NYSED’s own ethics self-study tells engineers to print the result screen and keep it, which shows a printable record is what counts.

Digital badges

NYSED says nothing about digital badges. A badge alone is not a certificate of completion. If you issue a badge, it must carry the same elements, or come with the certificate.

NYSED engineering CE Q&A, question 24; NYSED ethics self-study page

Records and other rules

What else NYSED PE checks

Keep course records for 6 years

For each course or activity keep, for at least six years from the completion date: the date and location, the instructor’s name and CV, the objectives and learning methods, the outline, the assessment method and the number of contact hours, a summary of evaluations, copies of promotional material, the needs evaluation, and the list of licensed attendees with their professions. If you close down, tell NYSED and hand the records over as directed. Hyperstack keeps every issued certificate and its verification page for the life of your account and after cancellation; keep the rest of the file yourself.

8 NYCRR §68.14(i)(3)(ii)(e); NYSED sponsor approval page, Standard 5; Form 1-SB PE/LS/PG, p. 1

The engineer keeps records for 6 years too

Each licensee must keep a record of the activity type, course title, subject, hours, sponsor name and number, attendance verification, and date and location, for at least six years. They do not send it at renewal; they attest on the renewal form. NYSED audits random samples. A certificate with every element, and a link that never expires, is what gets them through an audit.

8 NYCRR §68.14(g); NYSED engineering CE Q&A, questions 23 and 24

No self-reporting forms

The sponsor verifies attendance. “Courses and educational activities requiring the use of a self-reporting form by the sponsor will NOT be accepted.” Do not ask the engineer to fill in their own hours.

NYSED engineering CE Q&A, questions 17 and 21

On-demand and self-study need a test

An online or on-demand course is an educational activity, not a course. It must have a testing instrument before the certificate is issued: questions during the course, a quiz at the end, course codes to enter, “are you still there” prompts, plus an attestation that the whole course was completed. The date on the certificate is the day the engineer finished.

NYSED engineering CE Q&A, question 16; 8 NYCRR §68.14(c)(4)(ii)(b)(5)

Teaching and presenting

An engineer who teaches your course, or presents at your conference, earns the instruction time plus up to two hours of preparation per hour taught, once per course unless the material is new. A signed letter from you naming the course, when, where and how many hours were taught may replace the certificate.

NYSED engineering CE Q&A, questions 16 and 21; 8 NYCRR §68.14(c)(4)(ii)(b)(1) and (3)

Conferences with several sessions

Count PDH per session from the instruction time only. NYSED’s example: a 60-minute talk is 1 PDH, a 120-minute talk is 2 PDH, a 50-minute stand-alone talk is 1 PDH; breaks, meals and an awards ceremony count for nothing. An engineer who attends one session gets that session’s hours.

NYSED engineering CE Q&A, question 11a

Deemed approved sponsors

If IACET, RCEP, AIA CES (HSW courses only), P.I.E., NCSEA, ACECNY, LA CES, AIPG, NYSCPG or the Shaw Fund approves you, or you are a college with an ABET-accredited program, you do not apply to NYSED and have no NYSED number. Show your approving body and its number instead, and meet the same five standards. Not every course from an approved sponsor is acceptable: the subject must contribute to engineering practice; marketing, profitability, basic AutoCAD and personal finance do not.

8 NYCRR §68.14(i)(2); NYSED engineering CE Q&A, questions 17 and 18; Form 1-SB PE/LS/PG, p. 1

How the other big states compare

Texas: 15 PDH each year with 1 PDH of ethics; a PDH is a clock hour; the board does not pre-approve any CE activity; the engineer keeps a log and completion certificates for three years (22 TAC §137.17(b)(1), (c), (d), (i)(2), (j), (l)). Florida: 18 hours each two-year renewal, with 1 hour of ethics, 1 hour of Florida laws and rules and 4 hours in the area of practice; a continuing education hour is 50 minutes; the certificate must carry the engineer’s PE number; providers upload rosters to DBPR’s Education Provider Reporting Portal and keep attendance records for four years (Rules 61G15-22.001, 61G15-22.002, 61G15-22.012 F.A.C.). California: the BPELSG renewal page lists no continuing education hours; from 1 July 2026 licensees whose licence expires after 30 June 2026 must complete an online Renewal Assessment within 60 days of expiry (BPELSG renewal page). New York’s 36 PDH per three years with a 6-year record rule is the longest retention of the four.

22 TAC §137.17; Fla. Admin. Code 61G15-22.001, .002, .012; BPELSG licence renewal information page

Before you send

The audit checklist, to tick or print

NYSED PE certificate checklist0/12

How to do it in Hyperstack

Three steps to a compliant certificate

  1. 1

    Open the NYSED PE template

    The template has a place for every element on this page. Add your logo and your 6 fixed elements once.

    • Sponsor name
    • Subject area
    • Location
    • Course time
    • Educational method
    • Verification of attendance
  2. 2

    Map your columns

    Upload a spreadsheet or connect your LMS. Each column fills one element for every learner.

    • [custom_sponsor_number]
    • [recipient_name]
    • [group_title]
    • [custom_course_number]
    • [issue_date]
    • [custom_pdh]
  3. 3

    Issue and keep the record

    Every learner gets an email, a verification page and a QR code. The record stays for as long as the rules need it.

    • Verification page
    • QR code
    • Audit log
    • Kept 6 years and beyond

Free template

An NYSED PE-ready certificate, with all 12 elements in place

Set your provider details once. Names, dates and PDH fill in for every learner. Each certificate gets a verification page and QR code.

Use the NYSED PE template

Related pages

Other rules your learners may ask about

Architecture

AIA CES certificate requirements

An AIA CES certificate of completion must show the provider’s name, contact information with mailing address and provider number, the participant’s name, the program title, the registered course and session numbers, the date completed, the location, the delivery method, the assessment score if there was one, and the number and type of LUs (LU|HSW or LU|Elective). Electronic certificates are allowed. You give the certificate on request within 20 business days, report AIA members to AIA CES within 10 business days, and keep records for 6 years.

Read

All professions

IACET certificate requirements

An IACET CEU certificate should show the five things the standard makes you record for every learner: the provider’s name and address, the learner’s name, the learning event title, the completion date, and the number of IACET CEUs awarded, written in tenths (1 CEU = 10 contact hours). Add the approved IACET accreditation statement. Award CEUs only to learners who met every completion criterion; there is no partial credit. Keep the record for at least 7 years and let learners get a copy.

Read

Nursing

Florida boards / CE Broker certificate requirements

Florida’s Board of Nursing rule requires an “authenticated individual Certificate of Attendance” for every participant but does not list its contents. Build it from the data you must report to CE Broker within 30 days: your provider number, the course title and number, the nurse’s name and licence number, the completion date and the contact hours earned, signed by your provider. Keep offering records for 4 years.

Read

All accreditors

CE certificate requirements, side by side

Every accreditor on one table: unit, elements, deadlines, records and reporting.

Open the hub

FAQ

NYSED PE certificates, answered

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No. New York lists the elements a certificate of completion must contain but does not give wording. Put every element on the certificate and add a line in which the sponsor verifies attendance. Keep your sponsor name and NYSED sponsor number exactly as approved.

Sources

Read from New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions – continuing education for professional engineers documents on 30 October 2026. This page is a guide, not legal advice. Your accreditation manual and your licensing board have the final word. Something out of date? Tell us.

Changes to this page

  1. 2026-10-30Page written from 8 NYCRR §68.14, the NYSED sponsor approval standards, Form 1-SB PE/LS/PG (rev. 10/23) and the NYSED engineering CE Q&A.
  2. 2026-10-30Fact check: every NYSED fact confirmed against its source. State comparison tightened to what the sources say: Texas does not pre-approve any CE activity (22 TAC §137.17(i)(2)); Florida rosters go to DBPR’s Education Provider Reporting Portal (61G15-22.012(j)); the BPELSG renewal page lists no CE hours rather than stating there are none.
  1. 1Regulations of the Commissioner, 8 NYCRR §68.14 (Continuing education for professional engineers, land surveyors and professional geologists)§68.14(c) hours and acceptable activities, (g) licensee records, (h) measurement of credit, (i) sponsor approval and sponsor records, (j) fees.
  2. 2NY Education Law §7211 (Mandatory continuing education for professional engineers, land surveyors and professional geologists)Subdivisions 2 (36 hours per triennium), 4 (acceptable continuing education) and 5 (documentation).
  3. 3NYSED: Approval as a sponsor of engineering and/or land surveying continuing education programsStandards 1–5; Standard 5 lists the certificate of completion elements and the six-year record list.
  4. 4NYSED Form 1-SB PE/LS/PG, Application for approval as a continuing education sponsor (rev. 10/23)Page 1 deemed-approved bodies and the five standards; page 3 item 6 sample certificate contents, item 7 records.
  5. 5NYSED: Continuing education for engineering, questions and answersQuestions 11, 11a (hour and PDH counting), 15a (ethics), 16 (activities), 17 (approved sponsors), 18 (subjects), 21 (certificate contents), 23–24 (audit).
  6. 6NYSED: list of approved continuing education providers (engineering, land surveying, geology)161 entries across seven pages on 30 October 2026.
  7. 7NYSED sponsor renewal approval letter to Continuing Education & Development, Inc. (NYS Sponsor #22), 20 September 2024“Present your NYS Sponsor #22 prominently on each certificate of completion you award.” Three-year approval period.
  8. 8NYSED: Continuing education educational activity – ethics self study1 PDH once per registration period; print the screen and retain for 6 years.
  9. 922 Texas Administrative Code §137.17, Continuing EducationSubsections (b)(1), (c), (d), (e), (h), (i)(2), (j), (l) for the state comparison.
  10. 10Florida Administrative Code Rules 61G15-22.001, 61G15-22.002 and 61G15-22.012Hours per biennium, 50-minute hour, certificate of attendance contents, roster reporting and 4-year provider records, for the state comparison.
  11. 11California BPELSG: licence renewal informationLists no continuing education hours; Renewal Assessment from 1 July 2026, within 60 days of expiry, for the state comparison.

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