What is the difference between the FE and PE exams?
The FE exam is generally the first step toward a professional engineer license, meant for recent graduates and students close to finishing an undergraduate engineering degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited program. It has 110 questions in 5 hours and 20 minutes and costs $225 per attempt. The PE exam tests minimum competency in one discipline and is for engineers with at least four years of post-college work in that discipline, for a fee of $400 per attempt (PE Structural is priced per section).
How the FE and PE exams compare
The two exams sit at different points in licensure: the FE checks undergraduate fundamentals, while the PE checks whether you can practice at the level NCEES calls minimum competency in a single discipline. The question count and testing time in the PE column below are for each PE Civil module: Construction, Geotechnical, Structural, Transportation, and Water Resources and Environmental.
| Item | FE exam | PE exam |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Usual first exam on the path to a license | Minimum competency in one discipline |
| Who it is for | Recent graduates and students close to an EAC/ABET-accredited undergraduate program | Engineers with at least four years of post-college work in that discipline |
| Questions | 110 | 80 on each PE Civil module |
| Testing time | 5 hours and 20 minutes | 8 hours on PE Civil |
| Fee per attempt | $225, paid to NCEES when you register | $400, paid to NCEES (PE Structural is priced per section) |
| References | Electronic FE Reference Handbook only; no design standards | PE Civil Reference Handbook plus the listed design standards |
| Materials | Closed book, with an electronic reference | Closed book, with electronic references |
PE Civil is computer-based and offered year-round. The appointment runs 9 hours: 2 minutes for the nondisclosure agreement, 8 minutes for the tutorial, 8 hours for the exam, and a scheduled break of 50 minutes. Specifications say you work all the questions, and the problems use both SI and U.S. Customary units. How the PE Civil exam is formatted walks through that appointment, and what the FE exam is covers the fundamentals exam on its own.
Which exam you take first
NCEES describes licensure as education, experience, and exams together. The most common path is an EAC/ABET bachelor’s degree, the FE exam, about four years of what NCEES calls “acceptable progressive experience,” and the PE exam. Many states keep additional paths, so the board you apply to decides the sequence that applies to you. How much experience you need before the PE exam is where that experience step is spelled out.
The PE exam is written for engineers who already have four years of post-college work in the discipline, though the date you may sit can differ from the date you may be licensed. Since May 2, 2016, Texas EITs may take the PE exam before they earn the four years of experience required for licensure, a policy the Texas board calls decoupling, and EITs in Texas who have not taken a PE exam before are approved automatically. You can test before those four years are done, and the experience is still required for the license.
Florida requires you to hold an ABET-accredited degree and to have passed the FE exam before you take the PE exam. Experience is not required to sit, and the board notes that NCEES data show first-time examinees with at least four years of experience are more likely to pass. PE license basics in Texas, California, Florida, and New York points to how those states publish their rules.
References allowed on each exam
The FE specifications describe a closed-book exam with one electronic reference, the FE Reference Handbook, and the exam uses no design standards. You prepare by learning where material sits in that handbook, since it is the reference supplied with the exam.
PE Civil specifications also describe a closed-book exam with electronic references: the PE Civil Reference Handbook and the design standards listed for that exam. The standard list is part of studying for the module you choose. See what references you can use on the PE exam.
How the pass rates compare
NCEES last updated these figures in July 2026. The FE table counts first-time takers.
| Discipline | First-time takers | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical | 743 | 68% |
| Civil | 6,247 | 66% |
| Electrical and Computer | 1,782 | 70% |
| Environmental | 1,063 | 71% |
| Industrial and Systems | 259 | 67% |
| Mechanical | 5,153 | 73% |
| Other Disciplines | 921 | 61% |
The PE Civil table from that same update includes repeat takers for each module.
| Module | First-time volume | First-time pass | Repeat volume | Repeat pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 1000 | 60% | 417 | 38% |
| Geotechnical | 434 | 63% | 201 | 44% |
| Structural | 1624 | 62% | 847 | 43% |
| Transportation | 1929 | 61% | 1097 | 43% |
| Water Resources and Environmental | 2620 | 71% | 876 | 49% |
FE first-time rates run from 61% for Other Disciplines to 73% for Mechanical. PE Civil first-time rates run from 60% for Construction to 71% for Water Resources and Environmental, with repeat rates from 38% to 49%. Read the row for your own exam, group, and discipline or module, since each rate applies only to that specific combination.
What passing each exam changes
A license rests on education, experience, and exams. Passing the FE completes the exam NCEES treats as the usual first step, and the rest of licensure is still ahead of you; boards decide separately whether to record you as an EIT. What EIT or EI certification is, and how you get it covers that step, and your board is the authority that grants it.
Passing the PE meets the exam requirement for minimum competency in one discipline, though the degree and experience still have to satisfy the board that issues the license. If you sit under a decoupling rule, the pass result and the experience requirement remain two separate checks.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to pass the FE exam before the PE exam?
On the most common path, the FE exam comes before the PE exam, with about four years of progressive experience after the degree. States can use additional paths. Florida, for example, requires an ABET-accredited degree and a passed FE exam before the PE exam.
Is the PE exam harder than the FE exam?
The exams cover different stages of a career, so the pass rates are not one difficulty score. In the July 2026 first-time tables, FE rates run from 61% to 73%, and PE Civil first-time rates run from 60% to 71%. Repeat rates on PE Civil are lower, from 38% to 49%. The PE is written for people with years of practice in one discipline, and the FE is written for people at the end of a degree.
How long after the FE exam can you take the PE exam?
The audience NCEES has in mind for the PE is someone who has already put in four years of discipline-specific work after college, and the usual route also places about four years of progressive experience before that exam. Boards can open the seat on a different clock than the license. Florida lets you sit after an ABET-accredited degree and a passed FE exam, with no experience requirement to sit, while Texas has allowed EITs since May 2, 2016 to take the PE exam before the four years required for licensure.
Are the FE and PE exams open book?
Both are closed book. On the FE, the only reference is the electronic FE Reference Handbook, and the exam does not use design standards. On PE Civil, the electronic references are the PE Civil Reference Handbook and the design standards listed for your module.
Sources
- NCEES: FE exam. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
- NCEES: PE exam. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
- NCEES: PE Civil exam. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
- NCEES: Licensure. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
- Texas board: Decoupling of PE exam and experience requirement. Retrieved October 3, 2026.