Texas Land Surveyor CE (PDH) Requirements (2026): 12 Hours Every Year
Requirements Overview
The Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) requires every Registered Professional Land Surveyor to complete 12 continuing education (CE) hours by December 31 of each calendar year — an annual cycle rather than a multi-year one.
Of those 12 hours, a minimum of 3 must cover the Act/Rules and/or Ethics, and this ethics component must be earned every year and cannot be carried over. The remaining nine hours are more flexible: you may carry over up to 9 units of other approved CE from the previous year, and up to 4 hours may be self-directed study on a surveying-related topic.
Self-study must be documented with the dates, hours claimed, topic goals, resources used, and an outcome summary. After renewals, TBPELS audits a percentage of surveyors, who must produce CE certificates and logs.
Mandatory Topics
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional conduct and ethics (Act/Rules and/or Ethics) | 3 | Every renewal | At least 3 of the 12 hours must cover the Texas surveying Act/Rules and/or Ethics. These 3 hours must be taken every year and cannot be carried over from a prior year. |
How You Can Complete Your CE
Texas CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to Texas that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- Carry-over — Up to 9 units of other approved CE (the non-ethics hours) may be carried over from the previous year. The mandatory 3 hours of Act/Rules and/or Ethics must be earned every year and cannot be carried over.
- The requirement is 12 CE hours by December 31 of each calendar year (annual cycle), including a minimum of 3 hours over the Act/Rules and/or Ethics.
- The 3 mandatory Act/Rules/Ethics hours must be earned every year and cannot be carried over.
- Up to 9 units of other approved CE may be carried over from the previous year.
- Up to 4 of the 12 hours may be self-directed study in a topic related to surveying; self-study documentation must record dates, hours claimed, topic goals, resources used, and an outcome summary.
- After renewals, a percentage of surveyors are audited and must produce CE certificates and logs — retain your documentation.
Tips for Texas PLSs
- Take your 3 Act/Rules/Ethics hours every single year — they reset annually and can never be satisfied with carried-over credit.
- Only the non-ethics hours carry over, and only up to 9 units from the prior year, so do not lean on carryover to cover the ethics block.
- Self-directed study is capped at 4 of the 12 hours; document dates, hours, goals, resources, and an outcome summary or it will not count on audit.
- The deadline is a hard December 31 each year — plan courses well before year-end to avoid a renewal lapse.
- Keep your certificates and CE log; TBPELS audits a share of surveyors after each renewal cycle.
Sources
Each figure on this page is taken directly from the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS)'s official rules and continuing-education sources and recorded with the exact source excerpt. Last verified Jul 2026. Read how we compile and verify this data.