SECTION 245:15-11-5. Requirements for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

(a)   To demonstrate that a Professional Engineer and/or Professional Land Surveyor maintains an acceptable level of competency, a licensee must obtain thirty (30) professional development hours (PDH's) within a twenty-four month (biennial) renewal period. If a licensee exceeds the requirement in any biennial renewal period, a maximum of fifteen (15) PDH's may be carried forward into the subsequent biennial renewal period.

(b)   A licensee may choose either the Board's standard continuing education requirement as detailed above, or comply with the calendar year reporting method, which is equivalent to fifteen (15) PDH's per calendar year, totaling thirty (30) PDH's per renewal period, with no allowable carryover. The Board shall adopt a conversion table allowing for different renewal periods within the calendar year.

(c)   A Professional Land Surveyor or a dual licensee must earn at least two (2) PDH's covering the Oklahoma Minimum Standards for the Practice of Land Surveying per biennial renewal period, with no allowable carryover for this requirement. If the licensee is reporting using the calendar year reporting method, they must be able to provide proof of completion of the required two (2) PDH's every two (2) years if audited. This requirement shall commence with the completion of the licensees first full two-year renewal period following the adoption of these administrative rules, unless exempt under one of the provisions listed in OAC 245:15-11-3(b).

(d)   A licensee shall only renew their license when they can truthfully certify that they have met the continuing education requirements of this subchapter and have proper proof of completion of the required PDH's to which they are certifying.

(e)   PDH's may be earned by a licensee as follows:

(1)   Successful completion of college courses.

(2)   Successful completion of continuing education courses, short courses, tutorials, webinars and distance-education courses offered for independent study, or group study and through synchronous or asynchronous delivery methods such as live, correspondence, archival or the Internet;

(3)   Attending qualifying seminars, in-house courses, workshops, or professional or technical presentations made at meetings, conventions, conferences, or educational institutions;

(4)   Teaching or instructing in (1) through (3) of this subsection;

(5)   Active participation in professional or technical societies serving the engineering or land surveying profession as defined in OAC 245:15-11-7(b) (2);

(6)   Active participation in standards or code development technical committees, standards or code commissions, or licensing examination development committees;

(7)   Developing professional licensure exams, or writing standards or developing code in an official capacity;

(8)   Authoring published papers, articles, or books in the licensee's area(s) of competence;

(9)   Authoring peer reviewed published professional or technical paper or book in the licensee's area(s) of competence; and

(10)   Award of patents to the licensee or to licensee's employer when developed by the licensee.

(f)   All such PDH's earned in activities as described in (e)(1) through (e)(10) of this section must be relevant to the practice of engineering and/or land surveying as applicable and may include technical, ethical or business content. Qualifying ethical or business courses or activities must contain content areas related to (1) the awareness of ethical concerns and conflicts; (2) an enhanced familiarity with the codes of conduct; (3) an understanding of standards of practice or care; (4) project management and risk-assessment management; or (5) other similar topics aimed at maintaining, improving, or expanding the skills set and knowledge relevant to the licensee's field and methods of practice.

[Source: Added at 10 Ok Reg 2211, eff 6-11-93; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 3023, eff 7-12-01; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 2029, eff 7-11-02; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 896, eff 5-11-06; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 1035, eff 5-11-09; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1928, eff 7-25-13; Amended at 35 Ok Reg 1231, eff 9-14-18; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1232, eff 11-1-20]