How to Get a PE License: Steps, Exams, Costs and Timeline

The short version: To get a PE license in the US, you usually need four things: an engineering degree from an ABET-accredited program, a passing score on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, about four years of qualifying work experience, and a passing score on the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam. Then you apply to your state licensing board, which issues the license. NCEES writes and runs the exams, but each state sets its own rules.

Apollo Technical recruits engineers every day, and the PE is one of the credentials hiring managers ask about most, especially for civil, structural, and building systems roles. Here is the full path, step by step.

What a PE license is and why it matters

A Professional Engineer (PE) license is the state’s permission to offer engineering services to the public and to sign and seal engineering drawings and reports. When a PE stamps a set of plans, they take legal responsibility for the work.

Whether you need one depends on your work. Civil and structural engineers who design public infrastructure or buildings almost always do. Mechanical, electrical, and fire protection engineers at consulting firms that design building systems often do. Many states exempt engineers who work for manufacturers on their own products, often called the industrial exemption, so plenty of engineers in industry never get licensed. Even so, a PE can open doors to senior, project lead, and principal roles. It is also a requirement for owning or leading many engineering firms.

The PE license path at a glance

From starting college to holding a license, most engineers take about eight years.

Step 1: Earn an accredited engineering degree

The standard path starts with a bachelor’s degree from a program accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. Most state boards treat that degree as the baseline.

If your degree is in engineering technology, a related science, or from outside the US, you are not necessarily shut out. Many states accept other degrees but require more years of experience, and foreign degrees are usually evaluated first. NCEES offers credentials evaluations for this. Check your board’s rules before you plan around it.

Step 2: Pass the FE exam

The Fundamentals of Engineering exam is usually your first step toward a PE. NCEES designed it for students close to finishing an EAC/ABET degree and for recent graduates. The key facts from NCEES:

• It is a computer-based exam given year-round at Pearson VUE test centers.
• The fee is $225, paid to NCEES.
• It has 110 questions in a 6-hour appointment, which includes 5 hours and 20 minutes of exam time and a 25-minute break.
• It comes in several disciplines, such as civil, mechanical, electrical and computer, chemical, environmental, industrial and systems, and other disciplines.

Take the FE as close to graduation as you can, while the coursework is still fresh. Once you pass, most states let you apply for the EIT or EI designation. Some issue it automatically. Minnesota, for example, issues the EIT certificate after you pass with no extra application, according to the Minnesota board.

Step 3: Get about four years of qualifying experience

NCEES says the PE exam is designed for engineers with at least four years of post-college work experience in their discipline. State boards decide what counts. In general, boards look for:

• Progressive experience. Your responsibility should grow over time, not stay at the same level for four years.
• Real engineering work. Design, analysis, and engineering judgment, not drafting or sales alone.
• Supervision by a licensed PE. Many states want most or all of the experience under a PE who can verify it.
• References. Most boards ask several engineers, often PEs, to vouch for your work.

Keep a running log of your projects, dates, duties, and supervisors from your first day as an EIT. Rebuilding four years of experience from memory is the most common hold-up in PE applications. Some states credit a master’s or PhD toward part of the experience requirement.

Step 4: Pass the PE exam

The PE exam tests minimum competency in one engineering discipline. NCEES offers more than 20 different PE exams, including:

• Civil: Construction, Geotechnical, Structural, Transportation, and Water Resources and Environmental
• Mechanical: HVAC and Refrigeration, Machine Design and Materials, and Thermal and Fluid Systems
• Electrical and Computer: Power, Electrical and Electronics, and Computer Engineering
• Other disciplines: Chemical, Control Systems, Environmental, Fire Protection, Industrial and Systems, Architectural, Agricultural and Biological, Metallurgical and Materials, Mining and Mineral Processing, Naval Architecture and Marine, Nuclear, and Petroleum
• Structural (SE): a separate, longer exam that some states require for structural work on significant buildings

PE exams are computer-based and given at Pearson VUE centers. NCEES charges $400 for most PE exams, and your state board may add its own application fee. Under NCEES policy you get one attempt per testing window and no more than three attempts in a 12-month period. NCEES says computer-based exam results are typically available in 7 to 10 business days and are reported as pass or fail. If you fail, you get a diagnostic report showing how you did on each major topic.

Many states now let you sit for the PE exam before you finish your four years of experience, then grant the license once the experience is done. Minnesota, for instance, lets applicants take the exam early and gives them three years from the original application date to submit their experience. Other states still require the experience first, so check the order with your board.

Step 5: Apply to your state board

The license comes from your state, not from NCEES. Once you have passed both exams and finished your experience, you apply to your state licensing board with your transcripts, exam results, experience record, and references, and pay the board’s license fee. Some states add their own requirements. California, for example, requires civil engineers to pass two extra state exams in seismic principles and engineering surveying.

NCEES lists every state board in its member board directory. If you work in Apollo’s core markets, start with the Georgia board, the Texas board, or the North Carolina board.

How much does a PE license cost?

Many employers, especially consulting firms, pay exam fees and review courses for their EITs and give a raise or title change when you pass. Ask about it before you accept an offer.

Keeping your license and working in other states

Most states require continuing education, usually measured in professional development hours, to renew your license. The rules and number of hours differ by state.

A PE license is valid only in the state that issued it. To work in another state you apply for licensure there by comity, which recognizes the exams and experience you already have. The NCEES Records program stores your transcripts, exam results, experience, and references in one file you can send to any board, which makes adding states much faster. Engineers who expect to work across state lines often set up a Record early.

Tips for getting licensed faster

• Take the FE before or right after graduation. It gets harder the longer you wait.
• Work under a PE from day one. Supervised experience is the easiest to get approved.
• Log your experience monthly. Projects, dates, duties, and who verified them.
• Check whether your state allows early PE testing. Taking the exam before the experience is done can save a year.
• Pick the right exam. Choose the PE discipline that matches the work you actually do, not the one that sounds easiest.

Frequently asked questions