Texas PE License Renewal: 2-Year Cycle, Fees, and ECHO Steps

You renew a Texas PE license through the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) using its online ECHO portal, paying a $50 fee and certifying that you completed 15 Professional Development Hours of continuing education, with at least one hour in ethics. Starting in 2026, TBPELS is moving every PE renewal from an annual cycle to a two-year cycle under Senate Bill 681, so your next renewal date and the length of the period it covers may look different from what you’re used to.¹

The 2026 Shift to Two-Year Renewals

Senate Bill 681 from the 89th Texas Legislature requires TBPELS to move PE renewals to a biennial schedule. The board is rolling the change out over two years by staggering existing renewal dates into the new cycle.¹

If your license normally renews in March 2026, the board is issuing a transitional 16-month renewal that expires in July 2027. You pay the standard fee and complete the standard 15 PDH for that transitional period. Your July 2027 renewal then also requires 15 PDH and starts the regular two-year cycle from that point forward.²

If your renewal falls later in the year, expect a similar transitional adjustment when your cycle comes up. Log into ECHO or check the TBPELS website to see the exact expiration date the board has assigned to you.

Fees and Late Penalties

The standard PE renewal fee is $50 per cycle.³ The published fee schedule does not include a reduced rate for engineers over 65 or with a disability, so plan on the full amount.

Miss the expiration date and late fees pile on:

Up to 90 days late: $50 renewal fee plus a $50 late fee, for $100 total.
More than 90 days late: a second $50 late fee is added, bringing the total to $150.

Those late fees apply for each delinquent year or partial year, so the longer you wait, the more it compounds. You also cannot legally perform engineering work during the late-renewal window, even though the license is technically still renewable.⁴

Continuing Education: 15 PDH and One Ethics Hour

Every renewing PE must complete 15 Professional Development Hours during the renewal period. At least one of those hours must cover professional ethics, the roles and responsibilities of professional engineering, or a review of the Texas Engineering Practice Act and board rules. Carryover credit from a prior period cannot be used to satisfy the ethics hour.⁵

One PDH equals one contact hour of instruction or presentation. You can earn PDH through seminars, conferences, college courses, webinars, and self-study programs. If you exceed 15 hours in a cycle, you may carry up to 14 excess hours into the next period, but those carryover hours cannot count toward the ethics requirement.⁶

The PDH requirement stays at 15 hours per renewal period during the 2026 transition. Both the transitional 16-month renewal and the following renewal each require 15 hours with the ethics hour included.²

Records to Keep for Audits

You must keep documentation supporting your PDH claims for at least three years. TBPELS conducts random audits. If you’re selected, you’ll need a log for each activity showing the sponsoring organization, location, duration, instructor name, and hours earned, along with attendance verification such as completion certificates.⁵

How to Renew Through ECHO

All renewals go through the ECHO portal (Engineers Clearinghouse Online) at pels.texas.gov. Choose the Individuals login option to reach it.⁷ The renewal walks you through screens confirming your personal details, employment information, and PDH compliance, then takes payment.

Before you start, make sure your employment information and Social Security number are current with the board. Update anything that has changed through the ECHO Change of Information system first; most updates reflect within about 15 minutes, though roster changes can take up to 24 hours.⁸

Save or print the payment receipt immediately after checkout. The public PE roster refreshes once every 24 hours, so check it the next day to confirm your license shows as active for the new cycle.⁸ A paper renewal form is available through the TBPELS website for anyone who cannot use the online system; it asks for the same information, so have your PDH log, employment details, and payment method ready.

Required Disclosures Before You Renew

Renewal is not the only time you have to report certain events. Under 22 TAC §137.5, you must notify the board in writing within 30 days of any misdemeanor or felony conviction, or any sanction imposed by another state’s engineering licensing board.⁹ Failing to disclose can lead to disciplinary action or revocation independent of the underlying event. If you have something to report and haven’t yet, handle it before renewal rather than trying to fold it into the renewal itself.

If Your License Expires

This is where engineers most often get caught out. Once your license expires, you cannot legally perform engineering work in Texas until it is renewed. There is no grace period for continued practice.

Expired 90 days or less: renew by paying the $50 renewal fee plus a $50 late fee.
Expired more than 90 days but less than two years: renew by paying the renewal fee plus late fees for each delinquent year or partial year. Totals can reach $150 or more.
Expired two years or more: you cannot renew at all. You must reapply for a new license, including retaking the PE examination.

The two-year cliff is the one that catches people off guard. Once you cross it, paying a fee no longer fixes the problem, and the full reapplication and re-examination process can take months.⁴

Inactive or Retired Status Instead of Renewal

If you aren’t currently practicing but want to keep the license, you can place it on inactive status. An inactive license holder cannot perform engineering work or offer engineering services to the public; doing so is a violation subject to disciplinary action.¹⁰

While inactive, you can use your professional title on business cards and correspondence as long as you add “Inactive” or “Retired” after it, and you can provide reference statements for licensure applicants. The renewal fee for an inactive license is the same as for an active one.¹¹

Coming back to active status requires a written request to the board, payment of the applicable renewal fee, fingerprints for a criminal history check if you haven’t submitted them before, and completion of the continuing education required for inactive license holders returning to practice.¹⁰

Practicing on a Lapsed License

Practicing engineering in Texas without a valid license is a Class A misdemeanor. The same criminal penalty applies to using another person’s engineering license or seal, or providing false information to the board to obtain a license.¹² A Class A misdemeanor in Texas carries a fine of up to $4,000 and up to one year in county jail. The board can also impose administrative penalties under the Texas Engineering Practice Act. The practical risk for an engineer who simply forgot to renew is an enforcement complaint from a client, employer, or fellow engineer who checks the public roster and sees a lapsed license, so treat the expiration date as a hard stop and renew before it.

1
Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. FAQ – License and Registration Renewal Dates
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Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
3
Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. TBPELS Agency Fees
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Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. PE License Renewal
5
Cornell Law Institute. 22 Tex Admin Code 137.17 – Continuing Education
6
Justia. Texas Administrative Code Title 22 Part 6 Chapter 137 Subchapter A – Individual and Engineer Compliance
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Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. ECHO – Texas Board of Professional Engineers
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Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Change of Information
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Legal Information Institute. 22 Texas Administrative Code 137.5 – License Holder Notification Requirements
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Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Inactive Status Information
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Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Inactive Status FAQs
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Texas Public Law. Texas Occupations Code Section 1001.552 – Criminal Penalty