Continuing Education Program FAQs

Professional registrants with practice rights (P.Eng., P.Geo., P.L.Eng., P.L.Geo.) must complete the CE Program requirements. This applies even if you are completing CE/CPD requirements in another jurisdiction.

Participation is optional for EIT/GIT and those designated as Non-practising/Retired registrants.

Please note: Annual Reporting and CE reporting are two separate processes; Annual Reporting is completed by all registrants (practising, Non-practising, EIT/GIT) between May 1 and June 30 each year. Visit the Annual Reporting webpage for more information.

CE requirements must be completed within the reporting year (July 1 to June 30). Practising registrants record their required CE activities in the CE Reporting System, which is available year-round.

For a detailed breakdown of requirements (including those for new registrants and reinstatements), visit the Continuing Education Program page.

Learning activities count toward CE Hours when they are relevant to your area(s) of practice and help advance or maintain your professional skills or knowledge. Eligible learning should be intentional and involve effort beyond routine job duties. 

When selecting activities to fulfill your CE requirements, refer to your Continuing Education (CE) Plan to ensure the activities support your learning goals. 

Eligible examples may include: 

• Courses, seminars, workshops, and conferences  
• Structured peer discussions  
• Mentoring or tutoring that exposes you to new ideas  
• Service on committees or public bodies  
• Presenting at professional events (repeated deliveries count as one activity) 
• Authorship or development of professional outputs (such as publications or patents) 

Activities do not need to be accredited or certified; however, supporting documentation must be retained in case it is requested as part of an audit or practice review. 

Learning that Happens Alongside Work 

Learning that occurs alongside work may count toward CE Hours provided it represents time spent learning or advancing your knowledge or skills, rather than performing routine duties. 

When recording work-adjacent learning, focus your description on what you learned and how it relates to your practice. Examples include: 

• Participating in a technical meeting focused on understanding a new approach, method, or risk 
• Reviewing technical guidance, advisories, or bulletins and assessing their impact on your work 
• Learning a new design method, calculation approach, or analysis technique for a project 
• Taking part in a formal peer review discussion and documenting what you learned 

What Should Not be Recorded for CE Hours 

Do not record the following as CE: 

• Vague entries that do not clearly describe what was learned, including descriptions of job duties or role such as “consulting work,” “professional practice hours,” “managing projects,” “reviewing emails,” or “technical learning.” 

• Activities unrelated or loosely related to professional competence, such as “coaching sports teams” or “volunteering with a charitable organization.” Where possible, select learning activities that more clearly support the learning goals identified in your CE Plan. 

If you are unsure whether an activity qualifies, record hours conservatively and retain documentation that supports the learning activity.

Refer to the Guide to the Continuing Education Program for full information and more examples of eligible continuing education activities. 

Record the real time spent learning (or partial hours) for each activity. 

For activities completed over longer periods (e.g., reading, graduate studies), provide a reasonable estimate of the total learning hours relevant to your area of practice.

There are no maximum CE Hours overall or within any single category, but you should be able to demonstrate how each recorded activity supports competence in an audit or practice review.

You can record activities in two ways:  

• Self-Recording – add individual activities manually; or 
• Bulk add Activities tool – add multiple activities at once 

Knowledge Centre activities are added automatically when you complete a course or video while logged into your online account. Record each CE activity under the reporting year in which it was completed; you can select the appropriate reporting year in the CE Reporting System when adding or editing an activity. 

How do I record CE Hours from the Annual Conference and AGM? 

Conference and AGM sessions must be self-recorded in your CE Reporting System because attendance is not tracked for automatic credit. 

You can record each session separately or import multiple sessions for the 2025 Annual Conference using this spreadsheet template and the Bulk Add Activities tool in your CE Reporting System.

If you have questions or require further assistance, please email [email protected]. 

Three-year rolling periods are made up of three consecutive reporting years (for example, July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024). A new three-year rolling period begins at the start of each new reporting year. 

At the end of each three-year rolling period, you will declare that at least 60 CE Hours of learning activities were recorded in your CE Reporting System.

For examples and more information about the three-year rolling periods, refer to the Guide to the Continuing Education Program.

The CE Program includes four areas of learning: Ethical, Regulatory, Technical, and Communications and Leadership.

Select the area that best aligns with the primary purpose of the activity (for example, ethical obligations and professional conduct; regulatory requirements; technical competence; or communication and leadership skills). For examples and more information about the Areas of Learning, refer to the Guide to the Continuing Education Program 

If an activity fits more than one area, choose the best match and describe the learning clearly. Specific descriptions make it easier to recall and locate supporting documents if requested.

Yes. Supporting documentation must be kept but does not need to be submitted unless requested during an Individual Compliance Audit or Practice Review. 

You must retain documentation (including CE Plans) for at least 10 years after the end of the reporting year in which the activity took place.  

Engineers and Geoscientists BC recommends retaining copies in personal storage (e.g., personal device or cloud account), especially if documents are otherwise stored with an employer.  

See section 3.4.3 of the  Guide to the Continuing Education Program for examples of documentation to keep. 

The Continuing Education (CE) reporting deadline is June 30 each year. 

Submissions received after June 30 are subject to a late fee. If reporting remains incomplete, registration is suspended on October 2 and cancelled on January 1. 

Options available if you cannot meet the deadline 

If you are unable to meet CE requirements by June 30, options may be available depending on your circumstances.  Visit the Alternative Options for Reporting CE Requirements page for details on how to remain compliant or return to good standing with minimal disruption. 

Disputing late fees, suspension, or cancellation 

If you believe a late fee, suspension, or cancellation was applied in error, or that exceptional circumstances apply, you may submit a request for review within the specified timeframe. Acceptable criteria are outlined in the application form. 

Returning to practice after suspension 

Complete the overdue reporting requirements and pay the late fee in the Annual Reporting System to have the suspension lifted. Look for an email confirming your suspension has been lifted within 3 business days of your Annual Reporting submission.

You can also check your registration status from your Account Dashboard. If you were using Portage CyberTech software for digital authentication, you will need to re-apply once the suspension has been lifted.

A record of the suspension will remain in the public registrant directory for the duration of your registration and 10 years afterwards.

Reinstatement after cancellation 

Apply online to reinstate your registration and complete the reinstatement tasks in your Application Status Portal. If you apply for reinstatement of practice rights within 6 months of your license ending, then you will be required to complete any overdue Continuing Education Program requirements as part of the reinstatement process.

Please verify that your contact preferences are accurate so we can reach you with updates about your application.

CE activities must be recorded directly in the Engineers and Geoscientists BC CE Reporting System . While we do not accept reports submitted from other jurisdictions, CE activities completed elsewhere may still count towards Engineers and Geoscientists BC requirements and can be entered individually or using the Bulk add Activities tool.

Refer to FAQ 5. How do I record CE activities (CE Hours) into the Reporting System for guidance.

For examples and more information about the Areas of Learning, refer to the Guide to the Continuing Education Program. 

CE compliance is evaluated based on whether program requirements have been met, and whether recorded learning activities reasonably support ongoing competence in your area(s) of practice. 

As part of an individual compliance audit or practice review, registrants are asked to submit CE Plans and documentation (e.g., notes, receipts, slides) for CE activities created within the last 10 reporting years. An assessor may also ask you to clarify how specific activities support your competence and how those activities are related to your area(s) of practice.  

Compliance audits and practice reviews are quality assurance processes designed to support a consistent understanding of requirements. If something in your CE record is unclear, assessors will explain what’s expected and work with you to address it. Minor issues are typically resolved through clarification and guidance.