Licensure · NCEES Model Law 2026 · checked Oct 29, 2026
How to get a PE license, step by step
A PE license comes from a state licensing board, not from NCEES. Under the NCEES Model Law it takes an accredited engineering degree, a passing FE exam, years of progressive engineering experience and a passing PE exam. Each board adopts its own version of those rules, so the years and the order differ from state to state; Texas and California below show by how much.
Updated Oct 29, 2026 · Not affiliated with NCEES.
- experience, Model Law4 years (EAC/ABET degree)
- FE fee$225
- PE fee, year-round exams$400
- national: FE, then PE2 exams
The path to a PE license
The order the NCEES Model Law sets out (Model Law 2026, §130.10). Your board's version may change the years and the point at which you may sit the PE.
Degree
An EAC/ABET engineering bachelor's is the baseline; a technology degree adds years, a master's or doctorate removes some.
FE exam
One FE, in the discipline nearest your degree, best taken close to graduation.
EI / EIT
Degree plus FE pass: your board enrolls you as an engineer intern.
Experience
Four years of progressive work after an EAC/ABET bachelor's, under the Model Law.
PE exam
The PE of your field, before the experience ends only where the board allows it.
License
The board reviews the file and may require a state law or ethics exam first.
What each step asks of you
- A degree. The standard route starts with an EAC/ABET engineering bachelor's. Engineering technology degrees, master's and doctorates change the years of experience below; some boards also accept degrees outside ABET, with more years.
- The FE exam in the discipline closest to your degree: registration and cost.
- Engineer intern certification. Degree + FE is the Model Law formula; the board records you as an engineer intern or engineer-in-training: EIT certification.
- Experience. Four years after an EAC/ABET bachelor's is the Model Law baseline. An ETAC/ABET technology degree needs six, an acceptable master's three, and a doctorate with a passed FE two; without the FE a doctorate still needs four (Model Law 2026, §130.10 B.2.a(3)). Boards write their own numbers.
- The PE exam in your discipline: PE exam.
- The license application to your board, which may add an exam of its own on state law or ethics, as Texas and California do.
Texas and California, side by side
| Board | Exam | Intern title | PE exam before the experience | Experience for the license | State exam | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors |
| EIT | Yes (decoupled) | 4 years | Texas ethics exam | |
| California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists |
| EIT | Yes (exam first) | 2 years (EAC/ABET BS) | 2 state exams (civil) |
Can you take the PE before the experience?
That is the board's decision. The NCEES Model Rules let a candidate sit the PE once the jurisdiction's requirements are met and leave it to each board to say which requirements those are (Model Rules 2026, §210 B.2). Boards that let you sit first are said to have decoupled the exam from the experience.
- Texas: an engineer-in-training may take the PE before earning the four years of experience. The license still waits for the open-book Texas ethics exam and the experience: 4 years with an accredited degree, twice that with a non-accredited one (TBPELS: Engineer-in-Training, PE license requirements).
- California: after the FE you schedule and pass the PE through NCEES, then apply for the license once your experience qualifies: 24 months after an EAC/ABET bachelor's and a passed FE, or 12 with an EAC/ABET master's or doctorate. Civil applicants also pass two state exams, Seismic Principles and Engineering Surveying (BPELSG process flowcharts).
If your board decouples, you can sit the PE while school and the FE are still fresh. If it doesn't, the experience comes first and the PE follows the board's approval.
Comity: a license in a second state
A PE license counts only where it was issued. To practice in a second state you apply there by comity, and the Model Law gives the board three grounds for licensing you without repeating the national exams (Model Law 2026, §130.10 B.2.b):
- a license from another jurisdiction based on comparable requirements;
- an active NCEES Council Record, the file of verified education, exams, experience and references that NCEES transmits to boards for you;
- outside the structural discipline, a license from another U.S. state held under conditions the Model Law spells out.
The board may still examine your knowledge of its own laws and rules.
Structural engineers: the SE route
Some boards license structural engineers separately. The national exam for that route is PE Structural, four sections (vertical and lateral loads, each in breadth and depth) at $350 × 4. Depending on the board, it leads to a separate SE license or to a PE license. Its format and pass rates sit with the other PE exams on PE exam.
What a PE license gives you
A professional engineer is an engineer the state board has licensed to practice engineering for the public. The Model Law makes it unlawful to practice or offer to practice engineering, or to use a title suggesting you are a professional engineer, unless you are licensed or the law exempts you; each licensee may obtain a seal for the documents they sign (Model Law 2026, §110.10 A and §140.10 D).
An engineer-intern certificate doesn't do this: the Model Law says the enrollment does not authorize the holder to practice as a professional engineer. The license is what lets you sign and seal your own engineering work and offer it to the public in your own name.
FE and PE problems for each step
FE Civil app
FE Civil questions, answers and worked solutions in a study app.
Not affiliated with NCEES.
FE Mechanical app
FE Mechanical questions, answers and worked solutions in a study app.
Not affiliated with NCEES.
FE Electrical and Computer app
FE Electrical and Computer questions, answers and worked solutions in a study app.
Not affiliated with NCEES.
FE Environmental app
FE Environmental questions, answers and worked solutions in a study app.
Not affiliated with NCEES.
FE Chemical app
FE Chemical questions, answers and worked solutions in a study app.
Not affiliated with NCEES.
PE Mechanical HVAC & Refrigeration app
PE Mechanical HVAC & Refrigeration questions, answers and worked solutions in a study app.
Not affiliated with NCEES.
PE license questions
How many years does a PE license take?
Under the Model Law, the degree plus four years of experience after an EAC/ABET bachelor's, with the FE before and the PE at the end. California asks for two years after an EAC/ABET bachelor's and a passed FE; other boards set their own years.
Can I get a PE license without an engineering degree?
Under the Model Law an engineering technology degree adds years (six instead of four); Texas accepts a non-accredited degree with eight years. Your board's rules decide.
Does a Texas PE license work in California?
Not on its own: each state licenses its own engineers. In California a comity applicant files the same application as everyone else and may send an NCEES Record in place of the work-experience references and transcripts; civil applicants still pass the state Seismic Principles and Engineering Surveying exams (BPELSG: PE applicants).
Can I take the PE exam without experience?
Only where your board has decoupled the exam from the experience, as Texas and California have. Elsewhere the experience comes first. The license itself always waits for the experience.