NCEES · Fundamentals of Engineering · checked Oct 29, 2026
The FE Civil exam, section by section
FE Civil is the Fundamentals of Engineering exam that civil graduates take first on the way to a PE license. You get 5 h 20 min for 110 questions, written to a 14-section specification in force since July 2020. Structural, Geotechnical and Water Resources carry the largest question ranges, and every fact below links to its NCEES source.
Engineer intern (EI) or engineer-in-training (EIT) certification from a state boardNCEES writes and scores the exam; the state licensing board issues the EI/EIT certificate.
NCEES: FE exam · NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF) [1][2]
Questions
110 questionsIncludes unscored pretest questions that are not marked.
NCEES: FE exam · NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF) [1][2]
Exam time
5 hours 20 minutes
NCEES: FE exam · NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF) [1][2]
Appointment
6 hoursNondisclosure agreement 2 min, tutorial 8 min, exam 5 h 20 min, scheduled break 25 min (the guide table sums it as 5 h 55 min).
NCEES: FE exam · NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF) [1][2]
Delivery
Computer-based at Pearson VUE test centersNo online or at-home option.
NCEES: FE exam · NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF) [1][2]
When you can test
Year-roundNCEES testing windows run Jan–Mar, Apr–Jun, Jul–Sep and Oct–Dec.
NCEES: FE exam · NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF) [1][2]
Units
SI and USCS
NCEES: FE Civil specifications, July 2020 (PDF) [3]
Reference supplied
FE Reference Handbook, on screen as a searchable PDFThe current version is free in your MyNCEES account; on exam day search with the box on the left (Ctrl+F does not work); no personal copies.
NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF) · NCEES: FE exam [1][2]
Exam fee
$225 to NCEESFor each attempt, registrations from January 1, 2024 ($175 before).
NCEES: FE exam · NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF) · NCEES: new exam prices effective January 1, 2024 [1][2][4]
First-time pass rate
66%First-time takers from EAC/ABET programs within 12 months of graduation, Jan–Jun 2026 (6,247 takers; NCEES table updated July 2026).
32%All repeat takers, NCEES fiscal year Oct 2024–Sep 2025 (9,863 takers). The FE exam page publishes first-time rates only.
NCEES Squared 2025: pass rates, fiscal year Oct 2024–Sep 2025 (PDF) · NCEES Squared 2024: pass rates, fiscal year Oct 2023–Sep 2024 (PDF) [5][6]
Specifications in force
July 2020 editionNo FE change appears in the NCEES notice of July 20, 2026, which lists exam changes through fall 2027; NCEES gives boards at least one year of notice.
NCEES: FE Civil specifications, July 2020 (PDF) · NCEES memo to member boards, July 20, 2026: changes through fall 2027 (PDF, Virginia board copy) [3][7]
Fourteen sections, July 2020 specification
NCEES publishes a question range for each section, not a weight, and the ranges overlap, so they add up to more than 110. The largest are the civil design areas: Structural, Geotechnical and Water Resources at 10–15 questions each, Transportation at 9–14 and Construction at 8–12. Math, ethics and engineering economics are common to every FE discipline and are taught once, on the FE practice test and the engineering economics page. Statics, dynamics and mechanics of materials are taught on the FE Mechanical pages; their civil versions, a bridge truss or a floor beam, sit on Structural Engineering.
What changed:The July 2020 outline replaced the January 2014 one, dropped Computational Tools, merged structural analysis and design into Structural Engineering and hydraulics with environmental into Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, and raised Construction from 4–6 to 8–12 questions. A review book whose contents still list Computational Tools, or Structural Analysis and Structural Design as two chapters, was written for the old exam and gives construction half its current share. The July 2020 edition stays in force: NCEES has announced no FE change through fall 2027.
4 sample problems from the civil sections
0 / 4 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 4 · Geotechnical Engineering · 10–15 items
Which laboratory permeability test is most appropriate for determining the rate of flow through fine-grained soils such as clays?
Solution
k = (aL/(At))·ln(h1/h2)
FE Reference Handbook, Geotechnical — permeability tests.
The triaxial test measures shear strength (and can be adapted for flow), but it is not the routine permeability test for clays.
In a falling-head test the head drop in a small standpipe magnifies the tiny flow through a low-k clay, so it fits fine-grained soils.
Constant head suits coarse soils with high k; in clay the outflow over a practical time is too small to measure.
Direct shear measures shear strength on a forced failure plane; it gives no permeability.
Question 2 of 4 · Materials · 5–8 items
What is the main purpose of adding air-entraining agents to concrete mixtures?
Solution
Typical target: 4–7 % entrained air (ACI 318 sets air content by exposure class F) with a bubble spacing factor of about 0.008 in or less (ACI 201/212 guidance). FE Reference Handbook, Civil — concrete.
Accelerators speed up setting; air-entraining agents do not.
Air entrainment slightly lowers strength; it is not a way to save cement.
Entrained air does improve workability, but 'only' misses its main purpose, freeze–thaw protection.
Tiny, closely spaced air bubbles give freezing water room to expand, relieving the pressure that scales and cracks the paste.
Question 3 of 4 · Structural Engineering · 10–15 items
What is the slenderness ratio of a steel column with an effective length of 12 feet and a radius of gyration of 2 inches?
Given
Effective length KL = 12 ft
Radius of gyration r = 2 in
Find
Slenderness ratio KL/r
Solution
KL/r = (12 ft × 12 in/ft)/(2 in) = 144/2 = 72
Both lengths must be in the same unit. FE Reference Handbook, Structural Design — steel column design.
Dividing 12 by 2 to get 6 skips the feet-to-inches conversion, leaving the ratio 12 times too small.
Multiplying 12 ft by 2 in instead of dividing gives 24; slenderness is length over radius of gyration.
Converting KL to 144 in and dividing by r = 2 in gives KL/r = 72 (dimensionless).
144 is KL in inches; the division by r = 2 in was left out.
Question 4 of 4 · Transportation Engineering · 9–14 items
A road has a peak-hour volume of 3,200 vehicles and a peak hour factor (PHF) of 0.85. What is the peak 15-minute flow rate, in veh/h?
Given
Peak-hour volume V = 3,200 veh/h
Peak hour factor PHF = 0.85
Find
Peak 15-min flow rate v (veh/h)
Solution
v = V/PHF = 3,200/0.85 = 3,765 veh/h
FE Reference Handbook, Transportation — traffic flow, peak hour factor.
941 is the peak 15-minute volume, V/(4·PHF) = 3,200/3.4, reported as if it were an hourly rate; the flow rate expands it × 4.
2,720 multiplies by the PHF; the PHF is at most 1.0, so the peak flow rate must be higher than the hourly volume.
3,200 is the hourly volume itself, which averages out the peak 15 minutes.
v = V/PHF = 3,200/0.85 = 3,765 veh/h, the hourly rate of the busiest 15 minutes.
Answer every question to see your score
After the civil FE: certificate, experience, PE
Passing the FE is one of two steps toward EI/EIT certification: your state board, not NCEES, issues that certificate once you hold the degree it accepts (EIT certification). The license itself comes after qualifying experience and a second exam, the PE. For civil engineers that is PE Civil, taken in one of 5 modules at $400 an attempt, and unlike the FE it supplies design standards on screen.
How many years of experience you need, and whether you can sit the PE before they are done, is set by each board: how to become a PE walks through the NCEES model and two state examples, and FE vs PE compares the two exams.
Degree
EAC/ABET bachelor’s degree in engineering (the Model Law also counts ETAC/ABET, master’s and doctoral routes, with different experience years).
66% in the latest half-year, counting only first-time takers from EAC/ABET programs who tested within 12 months of graduating. Across all first-time takers in the NCEES fiscal year to September 2025 it was 61%, and 32% for repeat takers. The eight-half-year series is on exam facts.
Can I take the FE Civil exam online?
No: you sit it at a Pearson VUE center, booked once NCEES has your registration (registration).
Is the FE Civil exam open book?
No. The one reference is the NCEES Handbook, shown on screen; books, notes and design standards stay outside. Which chapters a civil candidate uses: reference handbook for civil.
Which calculator can I use?
One model from the NCEES list, which is reviewed every year. The list and the on-screen alternative: FE exam calculator.
The civil FE in an app
FE Civil questions, answers and worked solutions in a study app.