Virginia Architect CE Requirements (2026): 16 Hours Every 2 Years

Requirements Overview

The Virginia Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), under the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), requires 16 hours of board-approved continuing education per two-year license period to renew or reinstate an architect license (18VAC10-20-683; Va. Code § 54.1-404.2).

Virginia is unusual among architecture boards: there is no mandatory HSW hour count. Content need only relate to the practice of the profession, and may include project management, risk management, ethics, and public health, safety, and welfare. One CE hour equals 50 contact minutes.

Two rules trip people up. First, you cannot get credit for the same-content activity more than once in the two years before expiration. Second, there is no carry-over — hours beyond 16 are not valid for a later renewal. CE must be earned during the two-year period immediately before your license expires, and you must keep records for three years after expiration.

How You Can Complete Your CE

Virginia CE Rules & Limits

Details specific to Virginia that generic CE guides tend to miss:

• Carry-over — No carry-over. Continuing education is valid only for the renewal for which it is claimed; hours over 16 are not valid for a subsequent renewal.
• Virginia requires 16 hours of Board-approved continuing education per two-year (biennial) license period. Unlike most architect boards, there is no fixed health-safety-welfare (HSW) sub-quota — content need only relate to the practice of architecture and may include business practices, project management, risk management, ethics, and HSW.
• 50 contact minutes equal one hour of CE.
• You will not receive credit for completing a CE activity with the same content more than once during the two years before license expiration.
• Hours in excess of 16 are not valid for a subsequent renewal (no carry-over). CE must be completed during the two-year period immediately before the expiration date.
• Maintain records of completion for three years from the date of license expiration. Governing law: Va. Code § 54.1-404.2 and 18VAC10-20-683.

Tips for Virginia Architects

• Do not assume an HSW split — Virginia does not require one. Any board-approved activity related to architecture practice counts toward the 16 hours, including ethics, risk, and project management.
• Avoid repeats: you cannot claim credit for a CE activity with the same content more than once within the two-year period. Vary your courses.
• There is no carry-over. Hours earned above 16 do not roll into the next renewal, so there is no benefit to over-earning in one cycle.
• Count in 50-minute contact hours — one CE hour equals 50 contact minutes, which affects how multi-session courses tally.
• Keep your completion records for three years after the license expiration date in case DPOR asks you to document them. Always verify current rules with the Virginia board.

Sources

Architect Requirements in Nearby States

Other Professions in Virginia

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