Note to Texas PE:
A minimum of 1 PDH per renewal period must be in the area of professional ethics, roles and responsibilities of professional engineering, or review of the Texas Engineering Practice Act and Board Rules.


Texas Board Rules for Professional Engineers

Course Outline

This course provides a review of the Texas Board Rules contained in Chapters 135, 137 and 139 of Texas Engineering Practice Act and Rules Concerning the Practice of Engineering and Professional Engineering Licensure. This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.

This course meets the requirements set forth by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers to complete minimum (1) hour of continuing education relating to the Texas Engineering Practice Act and Board Rules.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Course Introduction

In 2004, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers adopted Continuing Education Program (CEP) Rule §137.17, which requires each licensee to complete fifteen professional development hours (15 PDH units) during each license renewal period. Out of the (15) PDH's, a minimum of one (1) PDH shall relate to professional ethics, roles and responsibilities of professional engineering, or review of the Texas Engineering Practice Act and Board Rules.

The Continuing Education Rules adopted by the Board are consistent with the Model Guidelines of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying for multijurisdictional licensees for the purpose of avoiding proprietary continuing professional competency requirements, and allow nonclassroom activities such as online courses to be credited.

Course Content

Besides meeting specific requirements, such as education, experience and examination, an engineer must get familiar with the state laws and rules in order to practice engineering in any state. While the laws and rules do vary from state to state, the basic requirements for the qualifications and the professional conduct are very similar throughout the United States.

Many state boards periodically disclose in their newsletters the disciplinary actions taken by the boards against the licensees who violated the Board Rules. The most common types of violations are:

1.           Performed services outside his/her area of competence.

2.           Practiced engineering without being licensed in the state of the project.

3.           Practiced or offered to practice engineering while not properly licensed.

4.           Failed to have a resident licensed professional in responsible charge in each office.

5.           Failed to properly sign, seal and date documents.

6.           Affixed his/her seal to work not done under his/her direct supervision or responsible charge.

7.           Affixed his/her seal to inadequate design documents, failing to protect the public.

Other types of violations include:

1.           Produced a deficient, substandard or inaccurate report, failing to protect the public.

2.           Contracted with non-licensed individual to provide certain professional services.

3.           Failed to avoid conflicts of interests.

To avoid the above violations, it is highly recommended for all licensees to periodically review the Board Laws and Rules. As a professional engineer, the licensee shall at all times recognize the primary obligation to protect the safety, health, property and welfare of the public. If a licensee's engineering judgment is overruled under circumstances where the safety, health or welfare of the public are endangered, he/she shall inform the proper authorities and his/her employer of the situation as may be appropriate.

In this course you need to study Chapters 135, 137 and 139 in the following document:

Texas Engineering Practice Act and Rules Concerning the Practice of Engineering and Professional Engineering Licensure (823 KB, a PDF file).

or

Texas Engineering Practice Act and Rules Concerning the Practice of Engineering and Professional Engineering Licensure (1.0 MB, a Word file).


Course Summary

To safeguard the life, health, property and welfare of the public, licensed professional engineers must fully understand the Laws and Rules contained in the Texas Engineering Practice Act and Rules Concerning the Practice of Engineering and Professional Engineering Licensure. A licensee who violates any provision of the Laws and Rules may be subject to disciplinary action, such as a fine, reprimand, suspension or revocation of the license.

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.


DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at his/her own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.