How to Renew a Professional Engineer License in Mississippi

If you’re a licensed professional engineer (PE), you’re probably familiar with the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have their renewal requirements memorized, though. If you need a quick refresher course, here’s everything you need to know.

PE license renewal deadline

To make sure you get any information pertinent to your renewal from the Board, it’s important that you keep your contact information updated with them. You can do that in the online license system or you can use this form.

Even if you don’t get any sort of reminder, the renewal window opens on October 1 each year and your renewal is due by December 31.

You have up to six months to get your renewal completed after the end of the year, but you’ll need to pay a late fee.

If you wait more than six months, you’ll need to apply for relicensure, a pretty involved process. Save yourself the hassle and headache and get your renewal completed on time.

Before you’ll be able to submit your renewal, though, there’s a hoop you need to jump through: getting your professional development hours (PDHs).

PDH requirement for professional engineers

The Board requires all professional engineers to get 15 professional development hours during each renewal term. Also, every two years, one of your hours needs to be on the topic of ethics (this course fulfills that requirement). The Board calls these requirements your continuing professional competency (CPC).

The good news is you don’t need to take two days to go sit in a seminar or classroom. You can get your 15 PDH hours done online at your own pace.

Once you complete your hours, you need to enter them into the Board’s online system. Log in, then click “CE Credits” from the left-hand side. Then, click the “Maintain Credits” button. Next, choose “Add Class,” fill out the form, and click “Save.” If you want more detailed instructions, check out this guide from the Board.

Don’t stop there, though. You’re required to maintain proof that you’ve met the CPC requirement for three years. Most PDH providers will issue you a certificate of completion when you finish your hours, so file that away somewhere safe. That way, you’ll have it handy in case you get audited by the Board. If you do, you’ll have to complete this activity log and show proof of your PDHs.

The online renewal and its fee

To reiterate, you’ll use the Board’s online licensing system to complete your renewal. After you login and input your PDHs, you can choose “Renew License” from the left-hand menu to start the renewal process. Have a payment method handy so you can pay the renewal fee, which is $35.

That assumes you’re renewing on time. For every month you’re late, the state adds a 10% fee. After six months, you’ll lose the ability to renew at all and you’ll have to apply for relicensure.

Since you need to renew every year, you’ll get the hang of this process over time. The main thing is to make sure you take your PDHs and get your renewal submitted before the end of each year.