Information on the Retired License Status

A retired status has been established for licensees who are no longer active in their profession and no longer want to pay the full license renewal fees.

Carefully read the following features of a retired status before deciding whether or not to change your status:

  • Once a license is retired, the retired status license holder cannot perform, or offer to perform, any professional engineering, land surveying, geological or geophysical work, including consulting services.
  • The only way to return a retired license to active status is by re-taking and passing the licensing examination(s).

The following conditions must be met to qualify for the retired status:

  • licensed by the California Board as a PE, PLS, PG, or PGp for a minimum of five (5) years;
  • licensed within the United States or territories as a PE, PLS, PG, or PGp for a minimum of 20 years; and
  • hold a California license that is not suspended, revoked, or otherwise disciplined, or subject to pending discipline.

Fee: One-time, lifetime fee of $75.00 for each retired license.

License Renewal: If your license is currently subject to renewal, but you are sure you want to convert to the retired status, you may choose not to renew your license and convert to the retired status by paying the retired fee for each license. If your license has already expired, you may still choose to retire it; you are not required to pay the renewal fees to bring it current before retiring it.

The retired license status will allow you to continue to receive all regular mailings from the Board.

Title use: The retired license status will allow you to legally use any of the titles associated with your license as long as you include the word "retired". For example, "retired professional land surveyor," "professional geologist, retired," or "retired professional civil engineer."

Application for Retired License