Congratulations!
If you are reading this section, it must mean that you have passed the PE exam. That, or you are just curious about what the next steps are in the process of obtaining your license. In either case, thanks for being here.
After you have passed your PE exam, you will need to get your required letters of recommendation mailed to your individual state's division of professional licensing. Some states have you do this part at the beginning of the PE registration, but when I took it, I had to get them after I passed.
Look up your individual state's department of professional licensing requirements. Once you've figured out what you need to do, get your license, FRAME IT, and hang it on a wall. You've worked hard for it!
You might think that once you have your license, you don't need to do anything more, but that isn't the case. Once you have taken care of all your state's requirements, here are a few things that you'll need in order to keep your license up and running.
PE STAM - EXAMPLES
New York Stamp
Florida Stamp
Colorado Stamp
Yes, now that you have officially passed the PE exam, you need to order your stamp or seal. Some states have different requirements for the size of stamp that you’ll need to order, but they are all basically similar. I recommend ordering your stamps from pestamps.com. They have good prices and a quick turn around time. In addition, you can get electronic and physical copies, too. Good stuff there. Go check them out:
Here are some of the requirements to obtain the stamp:
“Upon issuance of a license the professional engineer may be required to obtain a seal. Engineer seals are designed and approved by the respective state board for use by the practicing engineer, or in some instances, individuals working under their direct supervision. Seals are used for preliminary and final drawings, plans, specifications, reports, or documents.
Engineer seal requirements vary by state capable of leaving permanent ink representation, opaque and permanent impression, or an electronically generated representation on the documents. Sizes of the seal are established by the state issuing the license ranging from 1 3/8” to 2” and all sizes between.
Opaque and permanent impressions are achieved with and embossing seal available in several types and sizes. The permanent inked impression can be done with a variety of stamps including the traditional rubber stamp and pad, self-inking and pre-inked stamp all leaving a permanent inked impression. Electronic seals are digitally created used with a computer to place the image on documents.
Rubber stamps offer a variety of options for ink types and color. Permanent inks are available for stamping on non porous surfaces and several colors are available. Engineer Stamps are the most commonly used by the licensed engineer.”
PDH or CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS
After you have completed you PE exam and you’ve obtained your stamp, the journey to stop learning is never over. You have to meet a minimum amount of continuing education hours after you have obtained your license. This can also vary state to state, but just know that you have to keep track of these hours yourself. If you are ever audited by your state, you must show that you have meet your state's requirement set by the Department of Professional Licensing (DOPL). It is typically 30 credit hours required over 2 years (or 15 a year). Make sure to check with your state. Below are my recommended sites to obtain professional development hours for your PE:
- PDH ENGINEER
- PDH CENTER
- DISCOUNT PDH
PDH Engineer is a good site that can help you with your continuing educational needs. They offer a huge variety of courses to choose from, but are generally more expensive. They also offer webinars and other great information, like your individual state requirements.
In additional to all of that they have corporate options so that you can receive a discount on courses.
Well what do you think? Do you have a place you go to get PDH's that can be shared? Shoot me an email at [email protected] and let me know. I'll get it up on the site and let others know about it. Thanks!