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Specialty Certification Renewal

Notices to renew specialty certifications have been sent. How can you renew?

Go to the original email you received and click the link: Click here to view this invoice. The invoice will appear in your browser. Click on the Pay Invoice link and enter your payment information. If someone else is paying the invoice on your behalf, you may forward them the original invoice. Since that link takes you directly to your invoice, they will be able to pay through that link without needing to log in to your account. OR
Log in to your account. Click the blue box at the top of the page. It will take you to an online renewal form. Use this form to pay your renewal fee, update your information, and donate to Academy programs. OR
Log in to your account. From your member landing page, click My Profile. Click on the View Invoices button, select the invoice, and click on the Pay Invoice to pay your renewal online.

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 BCEEs, BCEEMs or BCESs, 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. BCEEs, BCEEMs, and BCESs who miss the renewal deadline are not listed in the current edition of Who's Who in Environmental Engineering and Science®. As long as we have your renewal by January 31, you will be included in the publication. You will also avoid being charged a 10% late fee that will be imposed on all membership renewals processed after February 1.

Certification Renewal Requirements

Certification renewal requires that a BCEE, BCEEM, or BCES certify that:

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 (BCEE only).
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., 2013 and 2014 for 2015 certification renewal) to maintain an Active certification.

BCEEs, BCEEMs, and BCESs 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 BCEEs, BCEEMs, and BCESs 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.

Continuing Professional Development

Detailed guidance on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements can be found on this form: Continuing Professional Development Guidance.

Additionally, this site contains the approved AAEES report forms. You may download the form by clicking this link: Annual Professional Development Credit Report Form.

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

Such members may restore their certification to active status by demonstrating to the Academy’s satisfaction that they have continued their professional development during the period when their certification was inactive.

The Certification Status Categories

Active Certification

Active: A Board Certified Environmental Engineer, Board Certified Environmental Engineering Member, or Board Certified Environmental Scientist in active practice, certified in one or more specialty, who maintains all the requirements for certification.
Life: One who has been a Board Certified Environmental Engineer, Board Certified Environmental Engineering Member, or Board Certified Environmental Scientist in good standing for an uninterrupted period of at least 20 years and is at least 65 years of age and who maintains all the requirements for certification.
Emeritus: One who has been a Board Certified Environmental Engineer, Board Certified Environmental Engineering Member, or Board Certified Environmental Scientist in good standing, who is no longer engaged in the practice of engineering or environmental science, who has voluntarily relinquished or allowed to expire any and all licenses or certificates of registration to practice engineering or environmental science, or who is classified as "Inactive or "Retired by the State Licensing Board(s) in which he/she is licensed which precludes the practice of engineering or environmental science.
Honorary: One who possesses one or more of the following characteristics may be designated an Honorary Member:
- has attained a position of eminence in the environmental engineering field;
- has made a singular noteworthy contribution, or a sustained contribution, to the advancement of environmental engineering; or
- has performed outstanding service over a relatively long period of time in the advancement of the affairs of the Academy.

Inactive Certification

Those persons who comply in all respects with Academy requirements, except for continuing professional development, are granted certification by the Academy in Inactive status. Inactive status is for those BCEEs, BCEEMs, and BCESs who chose not to comply with the Continuing Professional Development requirements or opt not to successfully complete an oral examination every two years. Such members may restore their certification to active status by demonstrating to the Academy’s satisfaction that they have continued their professional development during the period when their certification was inactive.

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 board-certified individuals to eschew representations that they are specialty certified.

Those with an Inactive certification may not ethically represent that they are board-certified in connection with their duties and the practice of engineering or environmental science. However, they may continue to affix the title "BCEE, "BCEEM, or "BCES" to their name.

Inactive: A Board Certified Environmental Engineer, Board Certified Environmental Engineering Member, or Board Certified Environmental Scientist, certified in one or more specialties, who satisfies all Academy requirements except those pertaining to the continuing professional development requirements.
Life-Inactive: One who has been a Board Certified Environmental Engineer, Board Certified Environmental Engineering Member, or Board Certified Environmental Scientist in good standing for an uninterrupted period of at least 20 years and is at least 65 years of age and satisfies all Academy requirements except those pertaining to the continuing professional development requirements.