Engineering students and new graduates ask the same question in every forum this time of year: how long does it actually take to become a licensed professional engineer, and what has to happen first? The answer has a national shape and a state-by-state finish. The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) writes and scores the exams. The license itself comes from a state or territorial board, and each board sets its own rules for who qualifies.

Who decides

NCEES is made up of 68 engineering and surveying licensing boards covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Board members are appointed by their governors. That structure explains why two engineers with the same degree and the same exam results can face different paperwork in different states: the exam is shared, the license is not.

Step 1: the degree

NCEES describes the typical starting point as a bachelor's degree from a program accredited by ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC). Accreditation is attached to the program, not the university, so a school can hold EAC accreditation for civil engineering and not for a newer major. ABET's public program search is the place to check the exact program name and its accreditation dates. Applicants without an EAC-accredited degree are not shut out everywhere, but many boards then ask for an education evaluation or more years of experience, and some do not accept that route at all.

Step 2: the Fundamentals of Engineering exam

The FE exam is the first exam on the path, and NCEES aims it at students close to finishing an EAC-accredited undergraduate degree and at recent graduates. It is computer-based and offered year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson test centers. The appointment runs six hours: a nondisclosure agreement and tutorial, a 25-minute scheduled break, and 5 hours and 20 minutes of exam time for 110 questions.

The fee is $225, paid to NCEES. Results usually arrive within 7 to 10 business days and are reported as pass or fail. A candidate who fails receives a diagnostic report showing performance by topic; a candidate who passes does not. NCEES allows one attempt per testing window and no more than three attempts in any 12-month period, so a failed attempt has a built-in waiting period before the next sitting.

Many graduates take the FE in their final year because the material is freshest then. Passing it, together with the degree, is what most boards require before they will classify someone as an engineer intern or engineer in training, the title used while experience accumulates. Boards differ on whether and how to apply for that title.

Step 3: experience

NCEES summarizes the experience requirement this way: most states require four years of acceptable, progressive and verifiable work experience. Each of those words matters to a board. Acceptable usually means engineering work, progressive means growing responsibility over time, and verifiable means a licensed engineer or supervisor who can attest to it. The definitions, the credit given for a graduate degree, and the form references must take are set by each board.

Step 4: the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam

The PE exam tests competence in a single discipline. NCEES lists more than twenty disciplines and subdisciplines across its FE and PE exam pages, from agricultural and biological engineering to structural. Several PE exams have changed format or schedule over the past two years, so candidates should read the current exam page for their discipline rather than a prep course's summary. Some boards let candidates sit the PE before their experience is complete and grant the license once it is; others require the experience first.

Where the steps diverge by state

Boards differ on the order of experience and the PE exam, on the experience credit for a master's or doctorate, on paths for applicants with engineering technology or non-engineering degrees, on how many references are needed, and on whether additional state-specific exams or ethics requirements apply. Comity licensure, for engineers already licensed in another state, is handled board by board as well. The NCEES member board directory links to every board's own site.

What to do next

If you are a student, confirm your program in ABET's search and look at the FE exam page for your discipline. If you have graduated, find your board in the NCEES directory, read its experience rules before you start counting years, and keep a running record of your projects and supervisors now rather than reconstructing it later.

Licensure and renewal rules differ by state and change over time. Check the current requirements with your state licensing board before you act on them.

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