What's the Easiest Way to Get VA CE for Tradesmen
Whether you’re an electrician, plumber, gas fitter, or HVAC technician, if you work in Virginia, you’re going to have to deal with the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). The good news is that the DPOR doesn’t require too much from tradesmen. The bad news is that if you don’t meet their basic requirements, you risk your tradesman license.
Specifically, that means completing the required continuing education (CE) and renewing your license on time. As of 2008, CE is required for pretty much all Virginia tradesmen. There aren’t any grandfathered-in exceptions, for example.
Fortunately, knocking out your CE hours has gotten easier and easier. If you’re looking for the fastest, least stressful way to get your VA CE hours to renew your tradesman license, use these three tips.
Find a course that meets your exact hours requirement
Some education providers go above and beyond, building extensive courses that can be 10 or more hours long. While that might be great for people who just love spending time learning, if you’re a busy tradesman, you probably don’t want to use more hours than are absolutely necessary to meet the DPOR requirements.
While you can take more hours than you need if you want, if you’re trying to make your VA CE as easy and efficient as possible, look for a course that gives you the exact amount of hours you need. As a quick review, here are the DPOR’s requirements for each tradesman type:
- Plumbers: 3 hours
- Electricians: 3 hours
- HVAC technicians: 3 hours
- Gas fitters: 1 hour
- Certified elevator mechanics: 8 hours
- Certified water well systems providers: 8 hours
Make sure they’re DPOR-approved
Don’t just take the first course you find without vetting the education provider first. For starters, if you take hours from a provider that doesn’t have the DPOR’s green light, the hourse might not count.
Plus, DPOR-approved providers will do some legwork for you. Once you finish your hours, they’re legally required to report your course completion to the DPOR within seven days. You should keep some proof on hand just in case, but you don’t need to worry about any paperwork to show the Department that you’ve taken your required hours.
Do them online at your own pace
You don’t have to head to some classroom to meet the CE requirement for your tradesman license. The DPOR has approved a handful of education providers to offer their courses online. And some of those providers (like us) have even created their courses to be on-demand, which means you can work on your hours whenever you want.
To make things even more convenient for you, we’ve also designed our courses to be mobile-friendly. That way, if you’ve got a few minutes between meetings or you’re waiting to pick up some materials, you can chip away at your required CE from your phone or tablet.
Once you’ve got your hours done, give the DPOR about two weeks to update their system to show that you’ve met the CE requirement. Then, you can complete your license renewal to make sure your Virginia tradesman license is never compromised.