Mandatory CPD

To access the CPD program, individuals must log in to their PEO portal account and select the “PEAK” menu to start. Here, the individuals can access the Practice Evaluation, complete the Professional Practice Module, and submit their CPD hours to the Continuing Professional Development Report.

Click here for PEO portal login FAQs and guidance.

Professional engineers and limited licence holders must complete the PEAK program every calendar year, beginning in January 2023. The program will not apply to provisional and temporary licence holders or engineering interns.

The program is laid out in three steps to be completed annually. The three elements of the program are:

1. Practice Evaluation—A self-administered assessment consisting of a practice status declaration and either a:
   • Practice Evaluation Questionnaire—for a "practising" licence holder* to determine their target CPD hours for the year (which will be a personalized target of up to 30 hours).
   • Non-practising Survey—for a "not practising" licence holder* to describe their non-practising situation and possibility of practising again.
      
2. Professional Practice Module—A self-paced learning module for every licence holder (both practising or not practising) that covers regulatory topics such as professional practice, engineering ethics and regulatory processes. This module may also provide an opportunity to update practitioner skill and knowledge on other relevant topics, such as the need to promote equity, diversity and inclusion within the profession, and the role played by engineers in safeguarding the public interest and the environment.
    
3. Continuing Professional Development Report—A reporting mechanism for a "practising" licence holder* to respond to their personalized CPD target for the year, as determined by the Practice Evaluation Questionnaire.

The first two elements should take less than one hour to complete together and submitting reports for the third element should only take a minute for each report. 

*In some instances, a licence holder who is not currently practising and is not subject to any practice restrictions could choose to complete the program as a “practising” licence holder by completing all three elements of the program.

Individuals completing the mandatory PEAK program will be assigned elements of the program at the start of each year based on their practice status and licence status combination.

The following table indicates the annual program requirements and corresponding deadlines.

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*In some instances, a licence holder who is not currently practising and is not subject to any practice restrictions could choose to complete the program as a “practising” licence holder by completing all three elements of the program.

Steps and deadlines for Practising individuals 

A “practising” individual must complete all three elements of the PEAK program every calendar year:

1. The Practice Evaluation is due January 31;
2. The Professional Practice Module is due January 31; and
3. The Continuing Professional Development Report is due December 31.

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Steps and deadlines for Not Practising individuals

A “not practising” individual must complete two elements of the PEAK program every calendar year:

1. The Practice Evaluation is due January 31; and
2. The Professional Practice Module is due January 31.
    

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Note: In some instances, a licence holder who is not currently practising and is not subject to any practice restrictions could choose to complete the program as a “practising” licence holder by completing all three elements of the program.

Practice Status reflects whether an individual who is recorded on the PEO register is currently engaged in the practice of professional engineering. Two practice status options are available: Practising and Not Practising. Practice statuses are displayed in licence holder's private PEO portal account.

The practice of professional engineering is described in section 1 of the Professional Engineers Act as: “any act of planning, designing, composing, evaluating, advising, reporting, directing or supervising that requires the application of engineering principles and concerns the safeguarding of life, health, property, economic interests, the public welfare or the environment, or the managing of any such act.”

An individual's Practice Status with PEO is not influenced by where they live, their job title, employer, work sector, employment type or status, whether they "stamp" engineering documents with the licence seal, whether the "industrial exception" could potentially apply to their work situation, or whether their practice activities are free or paid work.

Learn more about PEO's Practice Status options

Practising

A “practising” status means the individual is currently engaged, or intends to engage this year, in the practice of professional engineering in Ontario, including practising on a part-time or occasional basis, whether or not they are paid for their practice activities. A practising licence holder is described by any of the following situations, and this individual must complete three elements of the PEAK program (practice evaluation; professional practice module; and CPD report):

• An individual who is currently practising professional engineering, regardless of their job title, their hierarchical position at work, whether the practice activities are free or paid, whether the activities are full-time or occasional, or whether they use their licence seal.
• A licence holder who is an engineering lecturer who delivers—or who supervises students and research assistants who deliver—contract work or research for parties outside the educational institution, provide expert opinions, provide consulting services, or carries out any other type of paid or volunteer work that involves the activities identified in the definition of the practice of professional engineering.

Not practising

A “not practising” status means the individual is not currently engaged, or not intending to engage, this year, in the practice of professional engineering this year in Ontario—not even on a part-time or occasional basis. This definition includes an individual who is not currently allowed to engage in the practice of professional engineering because of a PEO-imposed practice restriction. A “not practising” licence holder or individual is described by any of the following situations, and this individual must complete two elements of the PEAK program (practice evaluation; and professional practice module):

• A licence holder who self-declares or elects a “not practising” status because they are not currently practising, not even on a volunteer, pro bono or unpaid basis—such as retirees; individuals on study, parental/caregiver or medical leave; individuals who are unemployed; and individuals working in a non-practising role regardless of whether they work in or outside the field of engineering.
• A licence holder who is an engineering lecturer who only teaches, supervises student projects or carries out basic research with an outcome that would not be directly used or relied upon by others. Such teaching and educational activities about engineering content do not fall within the scope of the practice of professional engineering.
• A licence holder enrolled in fee remission (PEO’s reduced fee program).
• An individual with a suspended licence.

However, in some instances, a licence holder who is not currently practising and is not subject to any practice restrictions could choose to complete the program as a “practising” licence holder by completing all three elements of the program.

Licence Status reflects whether PEO currently permits an individual who is recorded on the PEO register to practise professional engineering. Two licence status options are available: Permitted to practise and Not permitted to practise. Licence statuses are displayed on the public-facing PEO directory.

The following table shows the licence status options that are available to every individual who is recorded on PEO’s register.

Learn more about PEO's Licence Status options

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CPD admissibility criteria

A CPD activity will be admissible for the PEAK program if the learning content covered by the activity helps the licence holder reduce their professional practice risks. A CPD activity is acceptable if the learning activity addresses knowledge of the responsibilities of professional engineers, understanding of pertinent codes and standards, and knowledge of best practices in acts of professional engineering (all of which must be relevant to their practice areas.) 

CPD activities must be assessed individually to determine suitability for the licence holder. Specifically, the CPD activity must meet these criteria:

1. Must help the licence holder maintain (or enhance) their competence to practise professional engineering;
2. Must have engineering learning content that is directly related to their engineering practice area(s);
3. Must have technical or regulatory knowledge about acts of professional engineering; and
4. Must not be their professional practice hours or their acts of professional engineering. 

The PEAK program accepts all learning formats since individuals learn in different ways and have unique personal circumstances. This means that even though an individual must choose admissible CPD activities, they may participate in activities in their preferred learning format. These include admissible activities that are free or paid, undertakings that are self-paced or instructor-led, sessions that are delivered virtually or in person or in a hybrid manner, as well as events that are held locally or overseas.

Reporting CPD hours

CPD activity hours should be reported on a one-to-one basis, meaning that the actual time spent on an admissible CPD learning activity is reported. However, only the admissible portion of an activity should be reported. 

For instance, if an individual completes a four-hour CPD activity but only 3 hours and 15 minutes of the activity meets the PEAK CPD admissibility criteria, then the individual can declare in their PEAK CPD report up to three hours and 15 minutes of the activity because the rest of the activity does not meet the admissibility criteria. 

Types of CPD activities

Examples of activities include studying and reading, attending seminars and webinars, passing technical courses, delivering engineering lectures, presentations or publications, developing engineering guidelines, and participating in technical mentoring. 

Note: CPD activities can be accrued during work hours. However, professional practice work will not count as a valid CPD activity for the program.

CPD providers

PEO does not endorse any provider of CPD activities; nor does PEO validate or accredit any CPD activity. Providers may advertise their CPD activities as offering engineering knowledge that participants may consider for their CPD needs, at the participant's discretion. Providers may supply certificates of attendance of completion; however, they must not suggest that PEO or the PEAK program has endorsed, validated, or accredited the learning activity. 

And, while PEO does not arrange or host CPD events, local PEO chapters may choose to organize these events. 

Note: PEO is developing the requirements and procedures for auditing PEAK records—like audit selection criteria and volumes, timelines, proofs and consequences—and will publish details in 2023. 

Compliance audits and administrative sanctions, including licence suspension for any overdue elements of the program, will begin in 2024. From 2024, sanctions could include:

• Failing to complete program elements could result in an administrative licence suspension.
• Failing to respond to a PEO request for information related to an audit could result in an administrative licence suspension.
• Failing an audit of submissions for the program could result in a referral for investigation according to the PEO complaints process.

Note: A person with a suspended licence cannot call themselves a professional engineer or limited licence holder, cannot use the licence title, cannot practise professional engineering and they cannot be the designated person for certificates of authorization under section 47 of Regulation 941 of the Professional Engineers Act. This suspension will be lifted as soon as all overdue elements of the program that caused the suspension are completed.

Note: PEO is exploring potential exemptions for individuals with extenuating circumstances—like valid reasons, processes, timelines and proofs—and will publish details in 2023. 

Individuals in their first calendar year of licensure

Licence holders in their first calendar year of being newly licensed or reinstated are automatically be exempt from the PEAK program for that year and are automatically assigned a licence status of “permitted to practise.” However, they must start the PEAK program from the next calendar year. In other words, if they are licensed this year, they will start the program from January 1 next year and continue every year after that. 

Individuals who change their statuses

Individuals who declare their status at least once this year and then change their status to “permitted to practise” later in the same year will not have a CPD reporting requirement for the rest of this year because the CPD Report element will be waived for the rest of this year. 

Fee remission registrants

Individuals enrolled in fee remission—because they are retired, on various leaves (parental, medical, full-time post graduate study) or unemployed—must still complete the PEAK program because they are still licence holders. However, because of their fee remission enrollment, they will be restricted to a licence status of “not permitted to practise” and will only be required to complete two elements of the PEAK program; they will not have a CPD reporting requirement while enrolled in fee remission. 

Individuals with a suspended licence

Individuals with a suspended licence must still complete the PEAK program because they are still licence holders. However, because of their suspension, they will be restricted to a licence status of “not permitted to practise” and will be required to complete two elements of the PEAK program; they will not have a CPD reporting requirement while their licences are suspended. 

Individuals already completing other CPD programs

There is no exemption from the PEAK program for PEO licence holders who complete CPD reporting programs elsewhere—like for their employers, technical associations or bodies, or other engineering regulators. These licence holders must still complete the PEAK program based on their practice status. They must complete the first two elements of the PEAK program which are specific to the Ontario jurisdiction. And if they declare as "practising" for Ontario, the CPD activities they completed for other CPD programs could potentially count for the PEAK program if those CPD activities meet the PEAK CPD admissibility criteria.

The voluntary PEAK program ended in December 2022 and access to those records is no longer available. The new mandatory PEAK program started January 1, 2023. Records from the voluntary PEAK program will not be transferred to the mandatory PEAK program. And access to voluntary PEAK records is no longer available to participants (who were advised earlier this year to save copies of their PEAK records before December 2022.)

The mandatory version will reflect the following changes:

• A new program cycle that runs on the calendar year for everyone (licence fee cycles remain unchanged for now).
• A new information system and an improved layout for the program.
• New labels for elements of the program.
• PEO's new options for Licence Status and Practice Status.
• From 2024, an administrative licence suspension may be applied every March 1 for overdue program elements.
• From 2024, submissions to the program could be audited by PEO for compliance.