Section 683. Continuing education requirements for renewal or reinstatement

A. Licensees are required to complete 16 hours of continuing education (CE) pursuant to the provisions of this section for any renewal or reinstatement.

B. CE for renewal shall be completed during the two-year license period immediately prior to the expiration date of the license and shall be valid for that renewal only; additional hours over 16 hours shall not be valid for subsequent renewal.

C. CE for reinstatement shall be completed during the two years immediately prior to the date of the board's receipt of a reinstatement application and shall be valid for that reinstatement only; additional hours over 16 hours shall not be valid for subsequent reinstatement.

D. Licensees shall maintain records of completion of CE used to renew a license for three years from the date of expiration of the license. Licensees shall provide those records to the board or its authorized agents upon request.

E. CE activities completed by licensees may be accepted by the board provided the activity:

1. Consists of content and subject matter related to the practice of the profession;

2. Has a clear purpose and objective that will maintain, improve, or expand the skills and knowledge relevant to the licensee's area of practice and may be in areas related to business practices, including project management, risk management, and ethics, that have demonstrated relevance to the licensee's area of practice as defined in § 54.1-400 of the Code of Virginia;

3. Is taught by instructors who are competent in the subject matter, either by education or experience, for those activities involving an interaction with an instructor;

4. If self-directed, contains an assessment by the sponsor at the conclusion of the activity that verifies that the licensee has successfully achieved the purpose and objective of the activity; and

5. Results in documentation that verifies the licensee's successful completion of the activity.

F. Computation of credit.

1. Fifty contact minutes shall equal one hour of CE. For activities that consist of segments that are less than 50 minutes, those segments shall be totaled for computation of CE for that activity.

2. One semester hour of college credit shall equal 15 hours of CE and one-quarter hour of college credit shall equal 10 hours of CE.

3. The number of hours required to successfully complete any CE activity must have been predetermined by the sponsor. A licensee shall not claim more credit for any CE activity than the number of hours that was predetermined by the sponsor at the time the activity was completed.

4. CE may be granted for the initial development, substantial updating, or the initial teaching of a CE activity that meets the requirements of this chapter at twice the amount of credit that participants receive. CE claimed pursuant to this subdivision shall not be claimed for subsequent offerings of the same activity.

5. A licensee applying for renewal shall not receive credit for completing a CE activity with the same content more than once during the two years prior to license expiration.

6. A licensee applying for reinstatement shall not receive credit more than once for completing a CE activity with the same content during the two years immediately prior to the date of the board's receipt of his reinstatement application.

G. The board may periodically conduct a random audit of its licensees who have applied for renewal to determine compliance. Licensees who are selected for audit shall provide all documentation of all CE activities utilized to renew their license within 21 calendar days of the date of the board's notification of audit.

H. If the board determines that CE was not obtained properly to renew or reinstate a license, the licensee shall be required to make up the deficiency to satisfy the 16-hour CE requirement for that license renewal or reinstatement. Any CE activity used to satisfy the deficiency shall not be applied to his current license CE requirement or any subsequent renewal or reinstatement.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 25, Issue 12, eff. April 1, 2009; Errata, 25:15 VA.R. 2804 March 30, 2009; amended, Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 06, eff. January 1, 2016.

Statutory Authority

§§ 54.1-201 and 54.1-404 of the Code of Virginia.