1.5 Continuing Professional Competency, Renewal, Retired Status & Reinstatement

Where the rules are

Continuing professional competency (CPC) is authorized by § 73-13-15(e) and codified in Part 901, Rule 6.4. Renewals, retired status, and reinstatement follow in Rules 6.5–6.7, and the statutory renewal framework is § 73-13-31. Older materials cite "Chapter 5" or annual 12- or 15-hour requirements. The 2026 rules revision changed CPC "from 12/15/18 hours per year to 24/30/36 hours per biennial renewal period."

The requirement

Within the total:

• Ethics: every licensee earns 1 PDH of ethics each biennial period. Excess ethics PDH may not be carried forward.
• Mississippi Standards of Practice (surveyors and dual licensees): a PS with five years or less of Mississippi licensure needs 1 PDH annually. A PS licensed more than five years needs 1 PDH each biennial period. Surveying-standards courses from other states do not satisfy this requirement, though they may count toward the remaining hours. Excess Mississippi Standards of Practice PDH may not be carried forward.
• Home-state option: a licensee may instead meet the CPC requirements of the jurisdiction of residence if they are substantially equivalent to the NCEES CPC Standard. Surveyors using this option must still meet the Mississippi Standards of Practice requirement.
• Activities must have a clear purpose of maintaining, improving, or expanding skills relevant to the licensee's field. Regular duties do not qualify.

Qualifying activities and credit

Qualifying activities include college courses; short courses, tutorials, webinars, and distance education (live or archived); and presenting or attending seminars, in-house courses, workshops, and technical presentations. Preparing and instructing those activities qualifies, as do authoring published papers, articles, books, or accepted licensing-exam items. So do society or regulatory-board membership or active participation, patents, and K-12 or higher-education outreach about licensure. The Board does not pre-approve PDHs but has final authority over credit.

Limits to remember: papers, articles, exam items, and patents together may not exceed 10 PDH per year. No more than 8 PDH obtained during a 24-hour period count. Full-time faculty cannot claim teaching credit for their regular duties.

Carryover

If a licensee exceeds the requirement, PDHs may be carried into the next biennial period up to 12 PDH for a Professional Surveyor (15 for a PE and 18 for a dual licensee). The PDHs must be reported at renewal to be considered. Ethics and Mississippi Standards of Practice hours are the exceptions: excess in those categories does not carry forward.

Records, certification, and audits

Renewal applications require the licensee to certify that the CPC requirement has been met, entered in the NCEES database or the Board portal. Licensees keep their own records for three years: a log showing activity type, sponsor, location, duration, instructor, and PDH, plus attendance verification such as completion certificates. Records are subject to Board audit, and copies must be provided on request. A false CPC certification is a false statement to the Board and a ground for discipline (Rule 9.2).

Exemptions

1. New licensees, by initial licensure or comity, are exempt in the year they obtain their license.
2. Licensees on temporary active military duty for more than 120 consecutive days in a year are exempt for that year, with documentation.
3. Physical disability, illness, or other extenuating circumstances may qualify, as reviewed and approved by the Board.
4. Licensees in Retired Status are exempt.

Expiration, renewal, and late fees (Rule 6.6; § 73-13-31)

• SI and EI enrollment does not expire.
• Initial, comity, and reinstated licenses expire December 31 of the year issued. Renewed licenses expire December 31 of their biennial period. For dual licensees, the engineering license's expiration date governs both.
• The Board emails notice at least 30 days before expiration, but responsibility for renewal rests solely with the licensee.
• Renewal is online, paid by credit or debit card. The current biennial fee is $70 for a single license and $140 for a dual license.
• Late renewal adds 10% per month of delay. Under the statute the delayed fee may not exceed five times the normal renewal fee.
• A license expired more than six months requires an application for reinstatement. Under the statute that means a new application, back fees, and proof of CPC compliance.

A licensee whose renewal fee is paid from public funds as a full-time public employee may not perform surveying for a fee for the public or for any other public entity (§ 73-13-31).

Retired status (Rule 6.5)

A PS who chooses not to practice in Mississippi and has 20 years of aggregate practice may request Retired Status on the renewal form. The renewal fee is currently $20 per biennium. The roster lists the licensee as "PS, Retired." A retired licensee may continue to use the title but may not practice or offer to practice without first returning to active status.

Reinstatement (Rules 6.4 and 6.7)

A licensee with a lapsed or revoked license, or one in retired status, must earn one half of the biennial PDH requirement (12 PDH for a PS). That must include 1 PDH of ethics, and for a surveyor license 1 PDH of Mississippi Standards of Practice. The reinstatement fee is $250. A revoked license cannot be reinstated until two years after the effective date of revocation. The wait is five years for a crime of moral turpitude, and the person's civil rights must have been restored. Reinstatement after revocation requires a hearing before the Board.