Failed FE Exam (Fundamentals of Engineering)? Here's Your Recovery Plan

Pro tip: The NCEES reference handbook is provided digitally, learn to navigate it quickly.

• 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.

• Take during or right after college for best results
• 110 questions in 5 hours 20 minutes
• NCEES Reference Handbook provided digitally, learn to navigate it
• Available in 7 disciplines (Other Disciplines is most general)
• PrepFE and PPI2Pass are top prep resources
• 35% pass rate for repeat takers, pass it first time