FE Exam (Fundamentals of Engineering)
NCEES
Complete guide to passing the FE Exam (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam on your first attempt.
$225
~71% (first-time)
Lifetime (EIT designation)
USA
NCEES
EIT designation, pathway to PE
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Complete Overview
The FE exam (Fundamentals of Engineering) is a 110-question computer-based exam from NCEES that is the first of the two exams required for Professional Engineer (P.E.) licensure in the United States, and it costs $225 paid directly to NCEES. It is written for students in their final year of an EAC/ABET-accredited engineering program and for recent graduates, and passing it earns the Engineer Intern or Engineer-in-Training designation from a state licensing board.
NCEES publishes a question-count range for each knowledge area on its exam specifications rather than a percentage weight, so the domain weights below are counts out of 110 and the ranges overlap rather than summing to 100 percent.
NCEES offers the FE in seven discipline versions: Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Computer, Environmental, Industrial and Systems, Mechanical, and Other Disciplines. You pick the version when you register, and you can change it only by canceling your registration and re-registering, which costs a $50 administrative fee. Other Disciplines is the broadest version and is the one whose specification this guide follows.
The appointment runs six hours at a Pearson test center. That block is a 2-minute nondisclosure agreement, an 8-minute tutorial, 5 hours and 20 minutes of testing, and a 25-minute scheduled break. The exam is delivered in two sections. After you finish and submit roughly half the questions you cannot return to them, and the scheduled break comes at that point.
The FE is closed book. NCEES supplies the current FE Reference Handbook on screen as a searchable PDF, and every examinee tests on a 24-inch monitor so the question and the handbook fit side by side. Ctrl+F does not work inside the supplied reference, so you search using the search box on the left of the reference pane. You may bring one calculator from the NCEES approved list and nothing else beyond your ID, locker key, eyeglasses, and a light sweater.
NCEES publishes pass rates on the FE exam page itself, updated each January and July. The table last updated July 2026 covers first-time examinees from EAC/ABET-accredited programs who tested within 12 months of graduating: 73 percent for Mechanical, 71 percent for Environmental, 70 percent for Electrical and Computer, 68 percent for Chemical, 67 percent for Industrial and Systems, 66 percent for Civil, and 61 percent for Other Disciplines. Civil and Mechanical carry the volume at 6,247 and 5,153 examinees. NCEES publishes no repeat-taker rate on that page, so every number above describes the recent-graduate case.
NCEES does not publish a passing score. Your raw score is converted to a scaled score and compared with a standard set by subject-matter experts, and results arrive as pass or fail in your MyNCEES account, typically 7 to 10 days after your appointment.
Why Get FE Exam (Fundamentals of Engineering) Certified?
Passing the FE earns the EIT or Engineer Intern designation, the first of the two exam requirements every US state applies to P.E. licensure.
The result does not expire. Once you pass, you can wait the four or so years of qualifying experience most boards require and then sit the PE exam without retaking the FE.
First-time pass rates on the NCEES table updated July 2026 run from 61 percent for Other Disciplines to 73 percent for Mechanical, and they count only examinees who sat within 12 months of graduating from an EAC/ABET-accredited program. That 12-month condition is the strongest argument for testing while your coursework is still recent.
The fee is $225 paid directly to NCEES, with no separate seat fee to Pearson, and NCEES charges nothing for the FE Reference Handbook PDF or for the discipline specifications.
Civil, structural, environmental, and public-sector engineering roles that involve sealing drawings need a P.E., and the FE is the gate to that track. Employers in those sectors often ask for EIT status at the hiring stage.
The exam is offered year-round at Pearson test centers rather than on two fixed dates, so you can schedule around a thesis deadline or a job start date.
A failing result comes with a diagnostic report showing your performance on each major topic. NCEES lets you attempt the exam once per three-month testing window and up to three times in any 12-month period.
Exam Format & Structure
Duration
6-hour appointment: 2-minute nondisclosure agreement, 8-minute tutorial, 5 hours 20 minutes of testing, and a 25-minute scheduled break
Questions
110 questions, including a limited number of unscored pretest items that NCEES does not identify
Passing Score
NCEES does not publish the passing score. Raw scores are converted to a scaled score and compared with a standard set by subject-matter experts, and results are reported only as pass or fail. There is no deduction for wrong answers and no partial credit.
Question Types
- Traditional multiple choice with one correct answer
- Multiple correct options
- Point and click on part of a graphic
- Drag and drop to match, sort, rank, or label
- Fill in the blank with a numerical response
Delivery Method
Computer-based at NCEES-approved Pearson test centers, year-round, on a 24-inch monitor. No online-proctored option.
Exam Domains & Topics
Eight to twelve of the 110 questions, five subtopics. The items are fast if you can find the right handbook equation and slow if you try to derive anything, so the drill is locating forms, not proving them. Numerical methods is the subtopic candidates most often meet cold, and the specification scopes it to algebraic equations, roots, approximations, precision limits, and convergence.
Key Topics to Master:
- Analytic geometry and trigonometry
- Differential equations
- Numerical methods: algebraic equations, roots of equations, approximations, precision limits, and convergence
- Linear algebra and matrix operations
- Single-variable calculus
Four subtopics, all of which sit in a single handbook section with the distribution tables attached. Items give you a sample and ask for an interval, a test result, or a measure of fit. Nothing here requires a derivation, and the calculator statistics menu handles most of the arithmetic if you have practiced entering data on the model you will bring.
Key Topics to Master:
- Point estimation and confidence intervals
- Expected value and expected error in decision making
- Sample distributions and sizes, significance, and hypothesis testing
- Non-normal distributions
- Goodness of fit: correlation coefficient, standard errors, and R2
Three subtopics only. The specification stops at oxidation and reduction, acids and bases, and chemical reactions, so organic reaction mechanisms are outside scope. Corrosion control appears here and again under Materials, which makes it the highest-yield chemistry topic on the Other Disciplines form.
Key Topics to Master:
- Oxidation and reduction reactions
- Corrosion control
- Acids, bases, pH, and buffers
- Stoichiometry and chemical equilibrium
- Bioconversion
The smallest knowledge area on the exam, and the one most candidates meet for the first time in the specification rather than in a course. Three subtopics cover the whole area, and the handbook sections behind them are short enough to read start to finish in an evening.
Key Topics to Master:
- Sensors for temperature, pressure, motion, pH, and chemical constituents
- Data acquisition: logging, sampling rate, sampling range, and filtering
- Amplification, signal interface, and signal processing
- Analog to digital and digital to analog conversion
- Logic diagrams
Three subtopics, none of which require a calculation. Items present a dilemma and ask which action a code of ethics supports, or ask what a licensing board exists to protect. Reading the NSPE code and its board of ethical review cases prepares this area faster than working practice problems does.
Key Topics to Master:
- Codes of ethics and resolving ethical dilemmas
- Public protection issues and the role of licensing boards
- Societal impacts: economic, environmental, and public safety
- Sustainability and life-cycle analysis
Six subtopics, more than any other area of comparable size, which means the questions are spread thin rather than concentrated. Exposure limits, gas detection thresholds, and hazard label conventions are lookup items, and the FE Reference Handbook was revised specifically to carry the current OSHA labeling standards in this section.
Key Topics to Master:
- Industrial hygiene: carcinogens, toxicology, exposure limits, radiation exposure, biohazards, and half-life
- Pressure-relief valves, emergency shutoffs, and fire prevention and control
- Personal protective equipment
- Gas detection and monitoring for O2, CO, CO2, CH4, H2S, and radon
- Electrical safety
- Confined space entry and ventilation rates
- Hazard communication: safety data sheets, labeling, concentrations, and fire ratings
A self-contained block that rewards a weekend of drilling. Every formula you need sits in one handbook section along with the interest factor tables, and five subtopics cover the whole area. Items ask for present worth, rate of return, a break-even point, or a choice between projects with unequal lives.
Key Topics to Master:
- Time value of money: present worth, annual worth, future worth, and rate of return
- Cost analysis: incremental, average, sunk, and estimating
- Break-even and benefit-cost analysis
- Optimal economic life
- Expected value and risk
- Project selection: lease, buy, or make; depreciation; discounted cash flow; decision trees
Nine subtopics and 9 to 14 questions, the same top band as Dynamics, Strength of Materials, and Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer; only Fluid Mechanics is bigger. Every item starts with a free-body diagram, and candidates who draw one slowly run short of time later in the section. The weight and mass subtopic is the one people skip: it asks you to move between slug, lbm, lbf, kg, N, ton, dyne, and the gravitational constant gc without error.
Key Topics to Master:
- Vector analysis
- Force systems: resultants, concurrent, and distributed
- Force couple systems
- Equilibrium of rigid bodies and support reactions
- Internal forces in trusses, frames, and machines
- Area properties: centroids, moments of inertia, radius of gyration, and the parallel axis theorem
- Static friction
- Free-body diagrams
- Weight and mass computations across slug, lbm, lbf, kg, N, ton, dyne, and gc
Eight subtopics running from particle kinematics through vibrations. Linear and angular motion carry most of the items, and the mass moment of inertia tables in the handbook remove the need to derive anything for standard shapes. Vibrations appears as a single subtopic and usually reduces to a natural frequency calculation.
Key Topics to Master:
- Particle and rigid-body kinematics
- Linear motion: force, mass, and acceleration
- Angular motion: torque, inertia, and acceleration
- Mass moment of inertia
- Linear and angular impulse and momentum
- Work, energy, and power
- Dynamic friction
- Vibrations and natural frequency
Eight subtopics and the most calculation-heavy area per item. Shear and moment diagrams underpin the beam questions, and stress transformation questions expect you to move between Mohr's circle, maximum normal stress, Tresca, and von Mises without looking up which criterion is which. The material failure subtopic alone spans buckling, creep, fatigue, brittle fracture, and stress concentration.
Key Topics to Master:
- Normal and shear stress types
- Combined loading and the principle of superposition
- Stress and strain from axial loads, bending loads, torsion, and transverse shear
- Shear and moment diagrams
- Analysis of beams, trusses, frames, and columns
- Loads and deformations: axial extension, torque and angle of twist, moment and rotation
- Stress transformation, principal stresses, Mohr's circle, Tresca, and von Mises
- Material failure: Euler buckling, creep, fatigue, brittle fracture, stress concentration factors, factor of safety, and allowable stress
Six subtopics that are mostly about reading a table or a diagram and then choosing. Phase diagram items ask you to identify a phase or a composition at a stated temperature. Property items ask you to compare candidates for a stated service condition, which is why material selection is listed as its own subtopic rather than folded into the others.
Key Topics to Master:
- Alloy phase diagrams, phase equilibrium, and phase change
- Mechanical properties of materials
- Chemical properties of materials
- Thermal properties of materials
- Electrical properties of materials
- Material selection for a stated duty
The single largest knowledge area in the Other Disciplines specification, with twelve subtopics covering both liquids and gases. Items often need a property lookup followed by an energy balance, so handbook navigation speed shows up directly in your score here. The specification carries the real gas law and the z factor, which is unusual for an FE form and catches candidates who prepared only from a liquids-focused review.
Key Topics to Master:
- Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid properties for liquids and gases
- Reynolds, Froude, and Mach numbers
- Laminar and turbulent flow
- Fluid statics and hydrostatic head
- Energy, impulse, and momentum equations including Bernoulli
- Pipe and duct flow and friction losses through pipes, valves, and fittings
- Open-channel flow, Manning's equation, and drag
- Fluid transport systems in series and parallel
- Flow measurement with pitot tubes, venturi meters, and weirs
- Turbomachinery: pumps, turbines, fans, and compressors
- Ideal gas law and mixtures of nonreactive gases
- Real gas law and the z factor
Five subtopics that stop well short of a power systems course. The specification ends at RLC circuits, measuring devices, and balanced three-phase loads, so the scope is bounded and the handbook sections behind it are short. Candidates from non-electrical programs can learn this area cold in a week of evenings.
Key Topics to Master:
- Charge, current, voltage, resistance, power, and energy
- Kirchhoff and Ohm laws
- AC and DC circuits: real and imaginary components, reactance, impedance, and power factor
- Series and parallel circuits, capacitance, inductance, and RLC behavior
- Voltmeters, ammeters, and wattmeters
- Three-phase power, balanced loads, and motor efficiency
One combined area covering nine subtopics, from the first and second laws through psychrometrics. Reading T-s, P-h, and P-v diagrams inside the supplied PDF is different from reading a printed chart, and candidates who have only used printed steam tables should practice it in the handbook before exam day. Combustion products and psychrometrics are each a single subtopic but appear reliably.
Key Topics to Master:
- First and second laws of thermodynamics
- Thermodynamic equilibrium
- Entropy, enthalpy, and heat capacity
- Isothermal, adiabatic, reversible, and irreversible processes
- Conduction, convection, and radiation
- Mass and energy balances
- T-s, P-h, and P-v property and phase diagrams
- Combustion products including CO, CO2, NOx, ash, and particulates
- Psychrometrics, relative humidity, and wet bulb temperature
Recommended Study Plan
- 1Create or log in to a MyNCEES account, register for the discipline you actually studied, and pay the $225 fee
- 2Download the current FE Reference Handbook PDF from your MyNCEES dashboard and read the table of contents end to end
- 3Download the NCEES exam specification for your discipline and copy the knowledge areas and question counts into a tracker
- 4Take one timed 20-question set from a prep bank to find your weakest three knowledge areas
- 5Schedule your Pearson appointment now, since seats are first come, first served and your approval lasts 12 months
- 1Work through analytic geometry, trigonometry, and single-variable calculus problems using only the handbook
- 2Drill first-order and second-order differential equations until you can match a problem to the right handbook form in under a minute
- 3Practice matrix operations and determinants on a Casio fx-115 or TI-36X to learn the calculator's matrix menus
- 4Complete 30 probability and statistics items covering confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and goodness of fit
- 1Rebuild free-body diagram technique on 25 support reaction problems
- 2Work truss and frame problems by both the method of joints and the method of sections
- 3Drill centroids, moments of inertia, and the parallel axis theorem straight from the handbook tables
- 4Complete 25 dynamics problems on linear and angular motion, impulse and momentum, and work and energy
- 5Time yourself at three minutes per item to build exam pace
- 1Work shear and moment diagrams until you can sketch one without hesitation
- 2Practice combined loading and stress transformation, including Mohr's circle and von Mises
- 3Drill Euler buckling, fatigue, stress concentration, and factor of safety problems
- 4Review alloy phase diagrams and material property tables in the handbook
- 5Take a 55-question half-length practice test under time
- 1Work hydrostatics and manometer problems, then move to the Bernoulli and energy equations
- 2Drill pipe friction losses using the Moody diagram and minor loss coefficients in the handbook
- 3Practice open-channel flow with Manning's equation and flow measurement with pitot tubes and venturi meters
- 4Work pump and turbine problems including specific speed and system curves
- 5Review the ideal gas law and z factor sections for gas-phase items
- 1Work first and second law problems using the handbook property tables rather than printed steam tables
- 2Practice reading T-s and P-h diagrams inside the PDF at exam zoom levels
- 3Drill conduction, convection, and radiation problems including composite walls
- 4Complete a psychrometrics set covering relative humidity and wet bulb temperature
- 5Review stoichiometry, equilibrium, pH, and corrosion for the chemistry items
- 1Work DC and AC circuit problems including impedance, power factor, and three-phase balanced loads
- 2Practice sensor, sampling, and logic diagram items from the instrumentation section
- 3Drill engineering economics with the handbook interest factor tables until present worth and rate of return are automatic
- 4Read the NSPE Code of Ethics and work 20 ethics items
- 5Review exposure limits, gas detection, confined space entry, and safety data sheet questions
- 1Sit an NCEES interactive practice exam for your discipline in timed test mode: 50 items, held to 2 hours 25 minutes, which is the real exam's pace of just under three minutes per question
- 2Log every miss by knowledge area and by cause: concept gap, handbook navigation, arithmetic, or time
- 3Rework every missed item using only the handbook
- 4Practice the alternative item types, especially drag and drop and fill in the blank numerical entry
- 1Spend two thirds of your study time on the three knowledge areas with the lowest practice scores
- 2Build a one-page index of handbook page numbers for the equations you searched for most often
- 3Work 100 mixed problems in random order to break topic-by-topic pattern recognition
- 4Confirm your calculator is on the 2026 NCEES approved list and practice with that exact model
- 1Build a full 110-item simulation from the second NCEES volume plus your question bank, run it in two sections with a 25-minute break between, and aim to leave 20 minutes of review time in each section
- 2Rehearse the section-submit rule by reviewing and finalizing the first half before you take the break
- 3Confirm your Pearson test center location, travel time, and the 30-minute early arrival
- 4Check that your photo ID is physical, unexpired, and matches your MyNCEES name exactly
- 5Do a light review of ethics, engineering economics, and unit conversions the day before, then stop
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Best Study Resources
NCEES FE Reference Handbook
Official referenceThe only reference you get during the exam, supplied on screen as a searchable PDF. Study from the same version you will be given so page layout and section order are familiar.
Free PDF from your MyNCEES dashboard
NCEES FE exam specifications
Official blueprintA three-page PDF per discipline listing every knowledge area with the number of questions and the subtopics under each. This is the authoritative content list for your version of the exam.
Free
NCEES FE interactive practice exams
Practice examVolume 1 and Volume 2 exist for all seven disciplines and each contains 50 items with worked solutions; the two volumes share no questions. They mirror the real exam software, offer a timed test mode, immediate solution review, and item specification information, and you may access or reset them as often as you like. Each volume is built on the July 2020 specifications and is retired when new specifications take effect, with existing purchasers keeping access for six months after the new specifications launch.
$50 per volume, non-refundable and non-transferable
NCEES Examinee Guide
Official policy documentCovers registration, testing windows, ID rules, prohibited items, break policy, scoring, and the retake limits. Read it once in full before you schedule so nothing at check-in surprises you.
Free
PrepFE
Question bankBrowser and iOS question bank with timed and topic-based exams, step-by-step solutions that cite handbook sections, and a strengths and weaknesses breakdown. Covers FE Civil, Electrical and Computer, Mechanical, Chemical, and Other Disciplines.
$79.99 for one month, $99.99 for three months, $119.99 for six months
PPI FE exam prep
Course and booksPPI, a Kaplan company, publishes the Lindeburg FE review manuals and runs live online, on-demand, and Learning Hub bundles with diagnostic exams, a question bank, and full-length practice exams.
Varies by bundle; live online courses carry a passing guarantee
NCEES approved calculator list
Official policyFor 2026 exams the only accepted models are any Casio fx-115 or fx-991, the HP 33s and HP 35s, and any Texas Instruments TI-30X or TI-36X. The list is reviewed annually, so check it before buying.
Free to read; calculators typically $15-$60
NCEES FE pass rate tables
StatisticsPublished on the FE exam page and updated each July and January for the preceding January-June or July-December population. Rates cover first-time examinees from EAC/ABET-accredited programs who tested within 12 months of graduating. Other Disciplines is broken out further by degree program for any program with more than 25 first-time examinees, which in the July 2026 table ran from 41 percent for Mining and Mineral to 83 percent for Naval Architecture and Marine, with Architectural at 55 percent.
Free
NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers
Reference documentThe ethics questions on the FE test the reasoning in a professional code. Reading the NSPE code and its board of ethical review cases is faster preparation than working practice problems for this knowledge area.
Free
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Studying from a printed copy of the FE Reference Handbook and then meeting a searchable PDF on exam day.
Study from the PDF on a screen. Practice the reference pane's own search box, because Ctrl+F is disabled inside the supplied reference during the exam.
Treating the exam as one continuous 110-question block and leaving questions flagged for later in the first half.
The exam is delivered in two sections. Once you review and submit the first section you cannot go back to it, so clear every flag before you take the scheduled break.
Buying a calculator that is not on the NCEES list, or bringing a spare into the room.
Check the current year's list, which for 2026 allows only Casio fx-115 and fx-991 models, the HP 33s and 35s, and TI-30X and TI-36X models. Bring one calculator without its cover and leave spares in your locker.
Registering for Other Disciplines because it sounds easier, when your degree is Mechanical or Civil.
Other Disciplines carries the lowest first-time pass rate NCEES publishes, 61 percent against 66 percent for Civil and 73 percent for Mechanical. Register for the discipline you actually studied, and remember that changing discipline later means canceling and losing $50.
Skipping engineering economics and the ethics and safety areas because they feel unlike engineering.
In the Other Disciplines specification those areas are worth 17 to 26 questions combined, and none require calculus. Drill the interest factor tables and read the NSPE code; these are the fastest points on the exam.
Leaving items blank when time runs short.
NCEES deducts nothing for wrong answers and gives no partial credit. Answer every item, including alternative item types, and mark uncertain ones for review rather than skipping them.
Using the full 25-minute scheduled break, or taking unscheduled breaks to stretch.
Unused scheduled break time does not roll into your testing time, but unscheduled break time is deducted from it. Take the scheduled break, keep it short if you want the room time, and avoid unscheduled breaks entirely.
Waiting several years after graduation to sit the exam because work is busy.
Every FE pass rate NCEES publishes counts only first-time examinees from EAC/ABET-accredited programs who tested within 12 months of graduating, so those 61 to 73 percent figures describe candidates who did not wait. NCEES publishes no rate for anyone else. Book the exam while your coursework is still recent.
Arriving with a digital driver's license on a phone or a student ID.
NCEES accepts only a physical, unexpired government-issued ID, an international passport in roman characters, or a US military ID. Digital IDs and student IDs are refused, and you would have to re-register and pay again.
Exam Day Tips
- 1
Arrive at the Pearson test center 30 minutes before your appointment. Check-in includes a digital photo and a palm vein scan, and that takes time.
- 2
Bring a printed copy of your appointment confirmation letter along with your physical photo ID; the first and last name on both must match your MyNCEES account exactly.
- 3
Only your ID, one approved calculator without its cover, your locker key, eyeglasses without the case, and a light non-outerwear sweater or jacket come into the room. Phones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, wallets, watches, food, and drink stay in the locker.
- 4
You get reusable booklets and markers from Pearson, not scratch paper. Raise your hand for a fresh booklet; the proctor takes the old one first.
- 5
A TI-30XS is available on screen during the exam, so you have a backup if your own calculator fails mid-question.
- 6
Read the nondisclosure agreement quickly but do click yes. Clicking no ends the exam and forfeits both your appointment and your fee.
- 7
Use the 8-minute tutorial to practice opening the reference handbook, flagging an item, and using the reference search box, not to rehearse navigation you already know.
- 8
The scheduled break comes after you submit the first section. You may leave the building, but allow time for the proctor to readmit you, because the exam clock restarts automatically when the break expires.
- 9
If the software stalls or a question looks corrupted, raise your hand immediately. The administrator cannot answer content questions but can log a technical issue while it is still verifiable.
Career Paths & Salary Ranges
Engineer Intern or Engineer-in-Training
The designation your state board grants after you pass the FE and file the application. It is the credential you list while you accumulate the qualifying experience your board requires before the PE exam.
EIT designation, pathway to PE
Civil or structural design engineer on the licensure track
Design work under a licensed engineer's seal, with the FE pass on file as the first licensure milestone. Civil is the highest-volume FE discipline in the table NCEES publishes, 6,247 first-time examinees against 5,153 for Mechanical, and it passed 66 percent of them.
EIT designation, pathway to PE
Public-sector engineer at a DOT, utility, or municipal agency
Agencies that review or approve designs for the public frequently require EIT status at hire and a P.E. for promotion, because a licensed engineer must sign off on work provided directly to the public.
EIT designation, pathway to PE
Professional Engineer
After the FE, several years of qualifying experience, and a passing score on a discipline-specific PE exam, a P.E. may approve design plans, oversee other engineers' work, and offer services directly to the public.
EIT designation, pathway to PE
Forensic or consulting engineer
Expert testimony and independent consulting typically require a P.E. license, which makes the FE the entry step. NCEES does not publish salary data for any of these roles.
EIT designation, pathway to PE
Prerequisites & Requirements
- No universal prerequisite from NCEES. The FE is designed for students close to finishing an EAC/ABET-accredited undergraduate engineering program and for recent graduates.
- Each state licensing board sets its own eligibility rules, and you select your board during registration. Some boards require you to be within a set number of terms of graduation.
- A MyNCEES account is required to register, to download the reference handbook, and to view results.
- Some state boards charge their own application fee in addition to the $225 NCEES exam fee. Check your board's entry on the NCEES FE exam page before you register.
- International candidates approved through an entity other than Canada must take the exam at an NCEES-approved test center in that country.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the FE exam cost?
The FE exam fee is $225, paid directly to NCEES when you register. Some state licensing boards charge a separate application fee on top of that, which varies by board and is listed on the NCEES FE exam page under your state. If you cancel an unscheduled registration you receive a refund of the NCEES fee less a $50 administrative fee, and if you already paid Pearson a cancellation fee, NCEES waives the $50.
How soon can I retake the FE exam if I fail?
You may attempt the FE once per testing window and no more than three times in any 12-month period. The four windows run January to March, April to June, July to September, and October to December, so a failure in March allows a retake in April. Some licensing boards apply a stricter rule than the NCEES policy, so check your board before you plan a retake.
What happens if I fail the FE?
You receive a fail result in your MyNCEES account along with a diagnostic report showing your performance on each major topic. NCEES does not release your questions, your answers, or a numeric score, and it does not perform manual answer verification for computer-based exams. Use the diagnostic report to pick the two or three knowledge areas to rebuild before you register again.
What is the passing score on the FE exam?
NCEES does not publish a passing score. Your total number of correct answers is converted to a scaled score that adjusts for small differences in difficulty across exam forms, and that scaled score is compared with a standard set by subject-matter experts through psychometric methods. There is no fixed percentage of candidates who pass, and first-time and repeat takers are held to the same standard.
How long do FE results take?
Results are typically available 7 to 10 days after your appointment; the NCEES Examinee Guide says 7 to 10 days and the FE exam page says 7 to 10 business days, so plan for the longer reading. NCEES emails you when they are ready and you view them in your MyNCEES account. Results are reported only as pass or fail, and a failing result includes the topic-level diagnostic report.
Does the FE exam expire or need recertification?
No. A passing FE result does not expire and carries no continuing education requirement. The EIT or Engineer Intern designation your state board grants remains on file, and you can sit the PE exam years later without retaking the FE. A small number of boards apply their own rules, so confirm with the board where you intend to be licensed.
What ID do I need for the FE exam?
You must present one physical photo ID: an ID issued by a government entity in the country where you are testing, an international travel passport in roman characters from your country of citizenship, or a US military ID. Digital IDs are not accepted and neither are student IDs. The ID must be current, show an expiration date, your name, date of birth, a recognizable photo, and your signature, and the first and last name must match your appointment confirmation.
Can I take the FE exam online at home?
No. The FE is administered only at NCEES-approved Pearson test centers. There is no online-proctored option, which is a difference from many IT certifications and from the ARE for architects. Test centers are open year-round and seats are first come, first served, so schedule early for popular dates.
What calculator can I bring to the FE exam?
For 2026 exams NCEES accepts only three families: any Casio with fx-115 or fx-991 in the model name, the HP 33s and HP 35s, and any Texas Instruments with TI-30X or TI-36X in the model name. You may bring one of them into the room without its cover and store spares with your belongings. An on-screen TI-30XS is also available during the exam. The approved list is reviewed each year.
What reference material am I allowed to use?
The FE is closed book with one exception: the current NCEES FE Reference Handbook for your discipline appears on screen as a searchable PDF. Every examinee tests on a 24-inch monitor so the question and the handbook display together. You search using the search box on the left of the reference pane, because Ctrl+F is disabled. No personal notes, books, or printed handbooks are permitted.
How do breaks work during the FE exam?
The six-hour appointment includes a 25-minute scheduled break that becomes available after you review and submit roughly half the questions. You may leave the building during it, but the exam clock restarts when the break expires, so allow readmittance time. You may also take unscheduled breaks by raising your hand, but that time is deducted from your 5 hours and 20 minutes of testing and you may not leave the building.
Are testing accommodations available for the FE?
Yes. NCEES provides reasonable accommodations for examinees who meet the eligibility criteria and document the request. Requests are made during registration and handled with Pearson, and NCEES has an accommodations team you can contact if a request stalls. Approval must be in place before you schedule, since accommodations cannot be applied to an existing appointment.
Which FE discipline should I choose?
Choose the discipline matching the degree you studied. NCEES offers Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Computer, Environmental, Industrial and Systems, Mechanical, and Other Disciplines, each with its own specification and its own reference handbook sections. On the NCEES table updated July 2026, first-time pass rates ran from 61 percent for Other Disciplines to 73 percent for Mechanical, with Civil at 66 percent. Changing discipline after registering means canceling and re-registering with a $50 fee.
How is the FE different from the PE exam?
The FE tests undergraduate fundamentals across a whole discipline in 110 questions and requires no work experience, while the PE tests competence in a specific practice area and generally requires about four years of qualifying experience first. The FE earns you the EIT designation; the PE earns the license that lets you seal drawings and offer services directly to the public. Both are NCEES exams delivered at Pearson test centers with an on-screen reference handbook.
How many questions do I need to answer correctly?
NCEES does not disclose that number, and it shifts slightly between exam forms because the scaled score compensates for difficulty. What is published is that there is no deduction for incorrect answers, no partial credit on any item type, and a limited number of unscored pretest items scattered randomly through the 110 questions. Answering every item is therefore always the right strategy.
How long do I have to sit the exam after registering?
Once your board approves you and NCEES sends the authorization notice, you have 12 months to take the exam. If you neither test nor cancel within that period, you forfeit the registration fee. You must schedule your appointment at least one business day before testing, and in practice much earlier, since test center seats are limited.
What item types appear besides multiple choice?
Most FE questions are traditional multiple choice with one correct answer, but the exam also uses multiple correct options, point and click on a graphic, drag and drop to match or rank items, and fill in the blank numerical entry. Every item is scored right or wrong with no partial credit, so on multiple correct options you must select every correct choice.
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