Continuing-education & licensing glossary
- PDH — Professional Development Hour
- The basic unit of continuing education for engineers and surveyors. 1 PDH = 1 contact hour (50–60 minutes).
- Contact hour
- 50–60 minutes of instruction or qualifying activity; the building block of PDH and CEU.
- CEU — Continuing Education Unit
- A standardized unit equal to 10 contact hours. 1 CEU = 10 PDH.
- LU — Learning Unit
- The continuing-education unit used by architects (AIA). 1 LU = 1 contact hour.
- HSW — Health, Safety & Welfare
- A category of architecture LUs covering topics that protect the public, such as codes, life safety, and accessibility. Many states require a set number of HSW hours.
- CPC — Continuing Professional Competency
- NCEES’s model continuing-education standard (commonly 15 PDH/year including 1 ethics PDH), adopted in varying forms by states.
- Comity / Reciprocity
- The process of becoming licensed in an additional state based on your existing license, rather than re-testing.
- NCEES Record
- A verified portfolio of your education, exams, and experience that speeds comity licensure across states.
- Ethics / Laws-and-Rules
- A required CE topic in many states covering professional conduct and the state’s licensing statutes and board rules.
- Carryover
- Excess PDH some states allow you to apply to your next renewal cycle. See carryover rules.
- Renewal cycle
- The period between renewals — annual, biennial (2 years), or triennial (3 years).
- Self-study
- Independent, non-interactive continuing education (like reading an online course). Some states cap how many self-study hours count.
- Certificate of completion
- The document proving you finished a course — must typically show your name, course title, provider, PDH, date, and category.
This information is general guidance, not legal advice — always confirm current rules with your state licensing board.
