# Title 28 — Engineers and Land Surveyors, Board of Registration for Professional

## Article 28-04 — Continuing Professional Competency

## Chapter 28-04-01 — Continuing Education

### § 28-04-01-01. Purpose.

The purpose of mandatory continuing education is to reinforce the need for lifelong learning in
order to stay current with everchanging technology, equipment, procedures, processes, tools, and
established standards. Qualifying activities must have a clear purpose and objective that will maintain,
improve, or expand the skills and knowledge relevant to the registrant's field of practice. Registrants are
encouraged to select meaningful activities that will be of benefit in the pursuit of their chosen fields.
History: Effective October 1, 2004.
General Authority: NDCC 43-19.1-33
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-19.1-33
### § 28-04-01-02. Definitions.

The terms used throughout this chapter have the same meaning as in North Dakota Century Code
chapter 43-19.1 and North Dakota Administrative Code section 28-01-02.1-07. Additional terms are:
1. "Active participation" means making a regular, substantial contribution to an organization.
Membership by itself does not constitute active participation.
2. "Contact hour" is a minimum of fifty minutes of actual instruction not to include any breaks.
3. "Continuing education units" is equivalent to ten contact hours of instruction, i.e.,
ten professional development hours. Continuing education units are nationally recognized and
are a uniform unit of measure for continuing education and training.
4. "International association for continuing education and training programs" means those
continuing education and training courses offered by various organizations that meet the
minimum requirements for a qualifying continuing education and training course as
established by the international association for continuing education and training.
5. "Professional development hour" is defined as one contact hour of instruction or presentation.
It is the common denominator for the other units of credit. Round off professional development
hours to the nearest one-half hour. No activity under one-half hour will be accepted for credit.
History: Effective October 1, 2004.
General Authority: NDCC 43-19.1-33
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-19.1-33

### § 28-04-01-03. General requirements.

All individual registrants must acquire thirty professional development hours every two years before
renewing their license.
1. At least twenty professional development hours must be in technical subjects that directly
safeguard the public's health, safety, and welfare, including technical professional
management subjects such as total quality process or technical engineering or land surveying
software training.
2. A maximum of ten professional development hours may be in nontechnical professional-
related subjects. At least one nontechnical professional development hour must be in an
ethics-oriented class.
3. If chosen for audit, registrants will be required to submit a list of continuing professional
development activities and associated certificates/documents.
4. Registrants holding both professional engineering and surveying registrations must earn a
minimum of one-third, or ten professional development hours in each profession with a total of
thirty professional development hours every two years. A dual registrant is not required to
obtain more than thirty professional development hours per biennial renewal period because
of dual registrations.
5. A maximum of fifteen qualifying professional development hours may be forwarded to the
subsequent biennial renewal period.
6. Comity for continuing professional development is allowed if the registrant is currently licensed
in a jurisdiction or state that requires mandatory continuing professional competency and
meets the minimum requirements as established by the North Dakota state board of
registration for professional engineers and land surveyors.
7. New registrants shall comply with continuing education requirements as follows: registrants
who receive their license prior to the fourth quarter in an odd-numbered year shall report the
full biennial requirement of thirty professional development hours at the time of next renewal;
and registrants who receive their license prior to the fourth quarter in an even-numbered year
shall report one-half of the biennial requirement, i.e., fifteen professional development hours,
at the time of next renewal.
History: Effective October 1, 2004; amended effective October 1, 2021; January 1, 2024.
General Authority: NDCC 43-19.1-33
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-19.1-33
### § 28-04-01-04. Recordkeeping.

Recordkeeping is the responsibility of the registrant. Adequate records must be maintained for a
minimum of four years from the date of last biennial renewal for auditing purposes. Records may be
maintained on an automated platform that allows the data to be exported to a commonly used and
readable file type. Records required include:
1. A log showing the type of activity claimed, sponsoring organization, location, duration, date,
instructor's or speaker's name, and professional development hour credits claimed. Specific
information on each activity is required. Simply stating "attending education activities at ABC
Company" is not acceptable.
2. Attendance verification records in the form of certificates, attendance electronic mails, or other
documents supporting evidence of attendance. The registrant must have sufficient verification
for all credits claimed. Registration alone does not constitute attendance.

History: Effective October 1, 2004; amended effective January 1, 2024.
General Authority: NDCC 43-19.1-33
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-19.1-33
### § 28-04-01-05. Qualifying activities.

The board does not preapprove courses, providers, or activities. It is the responsibility of the
registrant to determine whether the activity qualifies under this board's requirements. During the audit
process, the board will make the final determination of professional development hour credit. All
professional development hour allowances stated in this section are biennial requirements. Examples
of qualifying activities include:
1. College unit, semester, or quarter hour credit for college courses. A course must be
regularly offered and participants tested with a passing grade required. One semester hour
generally consists of fifteen class meetings of fifty to fifty-five minutes duration. It is assumed
that twice as much study time is required as class contact time, thus equating to forty-five
professional development hours. Similarly, a quarter hour qualifying course meets ten times
and thus thirty professional development hours are allowed. Monitoring courses do not require
a test, and therefore only the actual class contact hours are allowed. On occasion, educational
institutions may offer a one-day seminar and award fractional quarter hour credit such as
one-half of a quarter hour. These courses do not qualify on the quarter hour basis since they
are not part of the regular curriculum of the educational institution, do not require testing, and
have no provision for additional out-of-class requirements. For courses such as this, only
actual contact hours will be allowed for professional development hour credit.
2. Interactive activities. Other qualifying courses, seminars, employer-sponsored educational
activities, programs, and activities are allowed one professional development hour credit for
each contact hour. A correspondence course, recorded programs, and online courses must
require the participant to show evidence of achievement with a final graded test or certificate
of completion.
3. Teaching credit for short courses. Teaching credits for the instructor are twice that of the
participants in qualifying courses and seminars. However, repetitive teaching of the same
course will not earn additional credit.
4. Published paper, article, or book. A published paper, article, or book must be a serious effort
to qualify. For example, a news article in a technical or professional bulletin is not considered
a published paper. Although it is recognized that often many more hours are spent in being an
author of a publication, ten professional development hours are allowed for publication. Only
one publication may be claimed for professional development hours per renewal period.
Repetitive publication of the same paper or article will not earn additional credit.
5. Active participation in professional and technical societies and licensing boards. Active
participation in professional and technical societies is to encourage registrants to participate
fully in appropriate technical and professional societies. Contact with one's peers at such
meetings is considered one way to stay abreast of current topics, issues, technical
developments, ethical situations, and learning opportunities. Two professional development
hours per biennium can be earned for each organization with a maximum of six professional
development hours per biennium allowed. All technical and professional societies are
included, but this does not include civic or trade organizations. Up to ten professional
development hours per biennium may be earned by individuals who serve on any jurisdiction's
licensing board for engineers and/or land surveyors.
6. Patents. Patents are allowed ten professional development hours after a patent is issued and
the inventor submits details to the board. The invention must be related to the registrant's
profession.

7. STEM. Active facilitation/support of STEM programs is highly encouraged. The board allows
registrants to claim no more than four professional development hours per biennium for these
activities. Registrants must complete and retain the board approved professional development
hours certificate found on the board's website.
History: Effective October 1, 2004; amended effective October 1, 2021; January 1, 2024.
General Authority: NDCC 43-19.1-33
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-19.1-33
### § 28-04-01-06. Audit.

Audits can be conducted anytime up to three years after the biennial renewal is submitted to
ensure compliance with continuing education requirements. If selected for audit, the registrant will be
contacted to provide necessary documentation. Each registrant selected for audit must respond with
detailed information on the professional development hour activities within thirty days. If the audit
conducted indicates a failure to comply with continuing education requirements, the registrant has sixty
calendar days after receipt of written notice to further reinforce the claim of professional development
hour credits or to acquire sufficient professional development hour credit to meet the requirements. The
board may also audit a registrant's professional development hour activities based on complaints or
charges against a registrant. Registrants who refuse to comply with continuing professional
competency requirements may be subject to disciplinary action as allowed by North Dakota Century
Code section 43-19.1-25.
History: Effective October 1, 2004.
General Authority: NDCC 43-19.1-33
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-19.1-33
### § 28-04-01-07. Exemptions.

A registrant may be exempt from the continuing education requirements for one of the following
reasons:
1. A registrant serving on temporary active duty in the armed forces of the United States, or a
registrant serving on regular active duty who is deployed for a period of time exceeding
one hundred twenty consecutive days in a year, shall be exempt from obtaining the
professional development hours required during that year.
2. Registrants experiencing physical disability, illness, temporary leave from professional activity,
or other extenuating circumstances as reviewed and approved by the board may be exempt.
Supporting documentation must be furnished to the board. In the event such a person elects
to return to active practice of professional engineering or land surveying, fifteen professional
development hours must be earned before returning to active practice for each year exempted
not to exceed the biennial requirement of thirty professional development hours.
3. Professional engineer registrants exempt from registration by North Dakota Century Code
section 43-19.1-29 but voluntarily registered are exempt from continuing professional
competency requirements. A claim of exemption under this provision must be verified by the
board. This exemption is based on the registrant's primary employment. If the registrant
provides engineering services outside the scope of primary employment, the exemption will be
voided and the registrant will be required to comply with the continuing professional
competency requirements. A person who is registered because of a requirement in the
person's job description or qualification for a pay grade is not voluntarily registered.
Noncompliance with the provisions of this exemption shall be grounds for disciplinary action
as allowed by North Dakota Century Code section 43-19.1-25.

4. Registrants who qualify for retired status on the board-approved renewal form shall be exempt
from the continuing education requirements. A registrant whose license has been retired for
one year or more and who meets all other requirements may reinstate a retired license and is
required to file an interim continuing professional competency report within one year of the
date of reinstatement verifying that a minimum of fifteen professional development hours have
been accomplished. A registrant whose license has been retired for less than one year and
who meets all other requirements may reinstate a retired license and must show compliance
within the previous two years with the continuing professional competency requirements set
forth in this chapter at the time of reinstatement.
5. The board reserves the right to modify the requirements for continuing education based on
extenuating circumstances that would prevent or restrict a registrant from obtaining the
required professional development hours. This modification would not reduce the overall
credits needed but allows for an extension in time to fulfill the requirements.
History: Effective October 1, 2004; amended effective October 1, 2021; January 1, 2024.
General Authority: NDCC 43-19.1-33
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-19.1-33
