Specialty Certification 

               
SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION RENEWAL

This page provides information regarding the required annual renewal of specialty certification. Detailed guidance governing the mandatory Continuing Professional Development and related forms are provided in downloadable form for use by Diplomates, see below.

ANNUAL RENEWAL REQUIRED

The specialty certification issued by the Academy must be renewed annually. The necessary forms and instructions are supplied to certified individuals each fall. Properly completed forms are due on or before December 31. A 30-day grace period is offered which ends January 31. Diplomates who miss the renewal deadline are not listed in the current edition of Who's Who in Environmental Engineering.

CERTIFICATION RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS

Certification renewal requires that a Diplomate certify that:

1. His or her professional engineering license(s) has not been challenged, suspended, or revoked. If it has, a written explanation must be provided which is then reviewed by the Recertification Committee which is empowered to decide whether the certification is to be continued.
2. He or she has completed at least 40 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) of continuing professional development activities in the immediately preceding two years (e.g., 1999 and 2000 for 2001 certification renewal) to maintain an Active certification.

Diplomates are not required to submit a report of Continuing Professional Development activities as part of annual certification renewal. The individual's certification of compliance with all requirements for continuing specialty certification is accepted without the submission of a report. Two percent of all Academy Diplomates are randomly chosen for audit by the Recertification Committee annually. If audited, a report of continuing professional development on the Academy's prescribed report forms together with documentation must be submitted to the Recertification Committee for its review.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

The following items must be submitted to Academy headquarters to complete certification renewal.

1. Specialty Certification Renewal Form
2. Member Data Form
3. Fee payment

• AP (Air Pollution Control)
• GE (General Environmental Engineering)
• HW (Hazardous Waste Management)
• IH (Industrial Hygiene)
• RP (Radiation Protection)
• SE (Sanitary Engineering)
• SW (Solid Waste Management)
• WW (Water Supply and Wastewater)

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Detailed guidance on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements can be found on this web site — Continuing Professional Development Guidance.

Additionally, this site contains the approved Report forms.

Annual Professional Development Credit Report — Form A (for compilation of CPD credits based on hours expended).

Annual Professional Development Credit Report — Form B (for compilation of CPD credits based on events completed).

The above listed documents are provided in PDF format. Clicking on the link (underlined text) will open the file containing the document in Adobe Acrobat. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer, a free reader only version can be obtained by clicking on this link Download Adobe Acrobat.

It is recommended that Diplomates use these forms to maintain an ongoing record of their continuing professional development activities as guide to ensuring their compliance with this requirement.

INACTIVE CERTIFICATION

INACTIVE status is for those Diplomates who chose not to comply with the Continuing Professional Development requirements or opt not to successfully complete an oral examination every two years.

The Academy's "Inactive" specialty certification is modeled on the practice of some states that allows engineers to maintain their license in suspended status, but precludes them from practicing engineering. The Academy's Inactive classification eliminates the continuing professional development requirement and requires the Diplomate to eschew representations that they are specialty certified.

The Inactive certification can easily be restored to Active status. Diplomates interested in these procedures should contact Academy headquarters.

FEES

The annual renewal fees are: for ACTIVE Diplomates $160; for INACTIVE Diplomates $120; and for LIFE Diplomates (Active or Inactive) there is no fee. LIFE Diplomates are persons 65 years of age and older and who have been specialty certified continuously for 20 or more years. Diplomates attaining these requirements must request LIFE status.