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CEU calculator: convert contact hours to CEUs, CPE, PDH and more
One CEU is 10 contact hours. Enter an amount in any unit and see what it equals in the others: contact hours, CEUs, CPE credits, PDHs, PDUs, CME credits and nursing contact hours.
Instruction time only: leave out breaks, meals and registration. CPE and CME results are shown before each body's rounding rule; see the table below.
The conversion rules
Every unit on this page is a count of instruction time. They differ in how many minutes make one unit and in who defines it.
| Unit | Minutes per unit | Defined by | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact hours | 60 | The base unit most boards use | One contact hour is 60 minutes of instruction. |
| CEUs | 600 | IACET | One CEU is 10 contact hours. Round down to one decimal place. |
| CPE credits | 50 | NASBA and AICPA, for accountants | One CPE credit is 50 minutes. After the first full credit, credit is counted in halves or fifths. |
| PDHs | 60 | NCEES model rules, for engineers | One professional development hour is one contact hour. One CEU is 10 PDHs. |
| PDUs | 60 | PMI, for project managers | One professional development unit is one hour of learning. |
| CME credits | 60 | AMA PRA Category 1, for physicians | One credit is 60 minutes, counted in quarter-credit steps. |
| Nursing contact hours | 60 | ANCC, for nurses | One nursing contact hour is 60 minutes. |
Legal education (CLE) is not in the converter because the hour itself changes by state: some bars count a 60-minute hour and some a 50-minute hour. Check your state bar's rule.
Worked examples
- A 90-minute webinar is 1.5 contact hours, 0.15 CEU, 1.5 PDHs and 1.5 PDUs. For accountants it is 90 ÷ 50 = 1.8, reported as 1.5 CPE credits where the sponsor awards half credits.
- A one-day workshop running 9:00 to 5:00 with an hour for lunch and two 15-minute breaks has 6.5 hours of instruction: 6.5 contact hours, 0.65 CEU, 6.5 PDHs.
- A 30-hour certificate course is 3.0 CEUs, 30 PDHs, 30 PDUs and 36 CPE credits.
- A renewal that asks for 2.4 CEUs needs 24 contact hours.
If you issue the credits, not just earn them
The arithmetic is the easy part. For an association or training provider, the work is in applying it to every course and every learner without a spreadsheet: one webinar can carry CPE for accountants and PDHs for engineers at once, each with its own rounding rule and its own certificate wording.
MyPass LMS stores the credit value and accrediting body on each course, adds the credit to the learner's record on completion, issues the certificate and tracks the renewal date. If members also hold a record in your AMS, the credit is written back there. Read what an association LMS must track for continuing education, or see how MyPass works with an AMS.
Questions people ask
How many hours is 1 CEU?
One CEU is 10 contact hours of instruction under the IACET definition, so 0.1 CEU is one hour. A two-day workshop with 12 hours of teaching time is 1.2 CEUs. Breaks, meals and registration do not count.
Is a CEU the same as a contact hour?
No. A contact hour is 60 minutes of instruction. A CEU is a bundle of 10 of them. People often say "CEUs" when they mean contact hours or CE credits in general, so check which unit your board asks for before you report.
How do I convert contact hours to CEUs?
Divide by 10. Six contact hours is 0.6 CEU and 25 contact hours is 2.5 CEUs. To go the other way, multiply CEUs by 10.
How many CPE credits is one hour?
A 60-minute session is 1.2 CPE credits in arithmetic, because one CPE credit is 50 minutes. In practice sponsors award whole, half or one-fifth credits after the first full credit, so a 60-minute session is normally reported as 1 credit and a 100-minute session as 2.
Are PDHs and CEUs interchangeable?
They measure the same time in different sizes: 1 CEU is 10 PDHs. Whether a course counts toward an engineering license depends on the state board, not on the unit printed on the certificate.
Does my licensing board accept these conversions?
The arithmetic is standard, but the rule that matters is your own board's. Some boards use a 50-minute hour, some cap self-study, and some only accept approved providers. Use this page to convert, then check the board's rule before you submit.
Where the rules come from
- CEU: the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), How to calculate the CEU.
- PDH: the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), Continuing Professional Competency Guidelines.
- CPE: the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education Programs, issued jointly by NASBA and the AICPA.
- PDU: the Project Management Institute's Continuing Certification Requirements handbook.
- CME: the American Medical Association's Physician's Recognition Award credit system.
- Nursing contact hours: the American Nurses Credentialing Center accreditation standards.
A licensing board can set a stricter rule than the body that defines the unit. Where they differ, the board's rule applies.