National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors. The Council’s members are the engineering and surveying licensure boards from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These boards are divided into four geographic zones: Central, Northeast, Southern, Western. It is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. NCEES develops and scores the FE, PE and SE exams for engineering licensure. The FE exam is generally the first step in the process to becoming a professional licensed engineer (PE). It is designed for recent graduates and students who are close to finishing an undergraduate engineering degree from an EAC/ABET- accredited program. The PE exam is designed to test for a minimum level of competency in a particular engineering discipline. It is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years of work experience in their chosen engineering discipline. The PE Structural Engineering exam is predominantly developed to test engineers who practice in jurisdictions that license structural engineers separately from other professional engineers. The Fundamentals of Engineering exam (FE exam) is generally the first step in the process to becoming a professional licensed engineer (PE). It is designed for recent graduates and students who are close to finishing an undergraduate engineering degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited program. The FE exam is a computer-based exam administered year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson VUE test centers. The Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam (PE exam) tests for a minimum level of competency in a particular engineering discipline. It is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years’ post-college work experience in their chosen engineering discipline. The PE Structural Engineering exam tests for a minimum level of competency in structural engineering.