1 Hour Texas Professional Engineer Ethics Online Course

✅ 1 PDH of Ethics | Meets the Ethics Requirement of 22 TAC §137.17 | Only $19.99 | Instant Emailed Certificate | 100% Online & Self-Paced

Complete the ethics hour Texas requires every renewal period for only $19.99. The course is written specifically around the subject matter 22 TAC §137.17 names for the ethics requirement: professional ethics, the roles and responsibilities of professional engineering, and review of the Texas Engineering Practice Act and Board Rules. It is current with the two-year renewal cycle that took effect in 2026.

Everything is online and self-paced, so you can log in and out without losing progress and finish from a phone, tablet, or computer. Short knowledge checks run throughout instead of a final exam, and your certificate is emailed the moment you finish. Texas engineers certify their own continuing education at renewal, so you keep the certificate with your records.

✅ Course Details

• Course name: 1 Hour Texas Professional Engineer Ethics Online Course
• Governing board: Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS)
• Credit: 1 professional development hour (PDH) of ethics
• Course category: Structured continuing education coursework relevant to the practice of engineering
• Course format: 100% online, self-paced, with section timers and knowledge checks
• Assessment: Knowledge checks throughout the course. No final exam.
• Price: $19.99
• Certificate: Emailed instantly on completion
• Reporting: Texas PEs self-certify at renewal and retain records for three years
• Support: Call or text 1-800-698-2770

✅ Who Should Take This Course?

• Texas licensed Professional Engineers whose renewal term is one year or a shorter transition term
• Engineers who already have their technical hours and need only the ethics hour
• Engineers who covered technical hours through an employer, a society meeting, or a conference
• Engineers with carried-forward hours, which can never satisfy the ethics requirement
• Out-of-state PEs who also hold a Texas license
• Engineers returning to active status who must show current compliance

✅ Does This Course Satisfy the State Requirement?

This course provides 1 hour of ethics content meeting the subject matter the Board identifies for the ethics requirement. That is the complete ethics requirement for a Texas PE whose renewal term is one year, which includes the transition terms many licensees received during the 2026 phase-in. If your renewal term is a full two years, the requirement is 2 ethics hours and this course provides 1 of them.

It provides ethics hours only. It does not provide the remaining general professional development hours your renewal requires. Engineers who need the full requirement in one purchase should use the 15-hour package instead.

One point deserves a plain answer. TBPELS does not pre-approve continuing education providers or courses, and it publishes no list of approved courses. No provider in Texas can truthfully call a PDH course board approved. Under the Board rules the licensee decides whether an activity qualifies, and the Board is the final authority if the record is ever audited. This course is built to the standard the rule sets: structured coursework, relevant to the practice of engineering, documented on a certificate carrying everything an audit asks for.

✅ Texas PE Ethics Requirements

Texas Professional Engineers must complete continuing education as a condition of license renewal under 22 TAC §137.17. Senate Bill 681 from the 89th Legislature moved TBPELS from annual to two-year renewals, and the conforming Board rules took effect January 7, 2026. How many ethics hours you owe follows the length of your particular renewal term during the phase-in.

• Two-year renewal term: 30 PDH total, of which 2 hours must be ethics
• One-year or shorter transition term: 15 PDH total, of which 1 hour must be ethics
• Ethics subject matter: professional ethics, the roles and responsibilities of professional engineering, or a review of the Texas Engineering Practice Act and Board Rules
• Ethics hours may never be satisfied with hours carried forward from a previous renewal period
• Structured online coursework is a separate category from informal self-directed study and is not capped
• Records must be kept for three years and are subject to audit after renewal

The carryover restriction is what makes the ethics hour different from every other hour you owe. Texas lets you carry forward unused professional development hours into the next renewal period, but the rule expressly bars applying those carried-forward hours to the ethics requirement. Ethics must be earned fresh within each period, which is why it is the one requirement an engineer cannot bank ahead.

How this course helps: This course provides 1 hour of ethics content, which is the complete ethics requirement for a one-year or transition renewal term and 1 of the 2 hours required for a full two-year term. It does not provide your remaining general professional development hours. Confirm your own renewal term length in your Board profile before relying on any provider's summary.

✅ When Do Texas Engineers Renew?

Texas PE licenses have historically expired at the end of the calendar quarter tied to when the license was originally granted. Under Senate Bill 681, TBPELS is consolidating every expiration date to the end of January or the end of July, phased in across 2026 through 2029 based on your current expiration month. The transition happens once, and the additional months are provided at no extra charge.

Because the phase-in gives different licensees different term lengths, two engineers renewing months apart can owe different numbers of ethics hours. Check your expiration date in your Board profile or on the TBPELS public engineer roster, which displays license status and expiration date.

The Board sends a renewal notice by email and by mail at least 30 days before expiration, but the rule places sole responsibility on the licensee to renew on time whether or not that notice arrives. If your license expires you must stop practicing engineering in Texas until it is brought current.

✅ How to Renew Your Texas PE License

1. Confirm your renewal term and hour total. Check your expiration date, then determine whether your term is one year or two years. That determines whether you owe 1 ethics hour or 2.
2. Complete your ethics hours within the current renewal period. Carried-forward hours cannot satisfy this requirement, so the hours must be earned fresh.
3. Complete your remaining general professional development hours separately.
4. Save your certificates and keep a log showing the activity type, sponsoring organization, location, duration, instructor or speaker, and hours earned. Texas requires these records to be kept for three years.
5. Sign in to the Board's online license system to renew, and update your mailing address and employment information, both of which must be reported within 30 days of a change.
6. Certify that you completed your continuing education. Do not send certificates or logs with your renewal; Texas uses an attestation model and documentation is produced only on audit.
7. Complete the one-time criminal history record check if you have not already submitted fingerprints.
8. Pay the renewal fee, save your receipt, and verify your license shows active with an updated expiration date on the Board's public engineer roster.

✅ What You Will Learn

• The exact subject matter 22 TAC §137.17 accepts for the ethics requirement, and why carryover never applies
• The duties imposed by each Rule of Professional Conduct in 22 TAC Chapter 137, Subchapter C
• The twenty-one day written response duty and why it is a separate offense of misconduct
• When the duty to protect the public requires escalating beyond your client
• What the Board treats as unprofessional conduct in billing, scope, and business practice
• How to keep continuing education records that survive a Board audit

✅ Course Content Overview

The course is organized into one one-hour section, each carrying a timer and a short knowledge check.

Section 1 (1 Hour) — Rules of Professional Conduct and the Texas Engineering Practice Act

• The ethics requirement in 22 TAC §137.17 and exactly which subject matter satisfies it
• The structure of the Rules of Professional Conduct and the duty each rule imposes
• General practice obligations, including the twenty-one day written response duty
• The affirmative duty to protect the public and when escalation becomes mandatory
• Responsibility to the profession and the enumerated categories of unprofessional conduct
• Continuing education recordkeeping and certification as an ethical obligation

✅ Other Related Texas Courses

• 2 Hour Texas Engineering Laws, Rules and Ethics Online Course – $34.99
• 15 Hour Texas Professional Engineer CE Renewal Course – $139.99
• 4 Hour Electrical Renewal - Texas (TDLR) – $27.99
• 8 Hour HVAC / ACR Renewal - Texas – $35.99
• 8 Hour Water Well / Pump Installer Renewal - Texas – $69.00

✅ Why Choose 1st Choice CE?

• Written specifically for Texas engineers, citing the Practice Act and Board rules section by section
• Affordable flat price of $19.99
• 100% online and self-paced, on any device
• Log in and out anytime without losing your progress
• Knowledge checks throughout instead of a final exam
• Instant emailed certificate with everything a Board audit asks for
• Money-back guarantee
• Over 10 years of continuing education experience
• Support by phone or text at 1-800-698-2770. Hablamos español.

✅ Enroll Now

Get your Texas PE ethics hour for $19.99. Enroll online, start whenever you are ready, and finish at your own pace. Your certificate is emailed the moment you complete the course.

Not sure how many ethics hours you owe this cycle? Call or text 1-800-698-2770 and a real person will check your renewal term with you.