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What references can you use on the PE exam?

By Dr. Mohamed Elansary, PhD Environmental EngineeringUpdated

You use only the references NCEES supplies on screen. PE Civil is closed book: the PE Civil Reference Handbook and the design standards named in the exam specification. PE Environmental uses the PE Environmental Reference Handbook, and the NCEES Examinee Guide lists no design standards for that exam. You cannot bring your own codes or books. When a PE Civil question uses a standard, your answer is scored on the listed edition.

Closed book with electronic references

PE Civil specifications call for both SI and U.S. Customary units, and the exam is closed book with electronic references: the PE Civil Reference Handbook and the design standards for your depth area, both available on screen for the whole exam. The handbook is a searchable PDF, and you search it and the standards with the search box on the left; Ctrl + F does not work in the exam software, and references display best at 100% zoom. Design standards open as searchable PDF chapters, and only one chapter can be open and searched at a time, so know which chapter holds the table or provision you need before you sit down.

That reference setup is part of the PE Civil exam format. For the earlier exam, compare whether the FE exam is open book and how you use the FE Reference Handbook during the exam.

Handbook versions for Civil and Environmental

The PE Civil Reference Handbook is version 2.2, with its third posting in December 2025, and the file runs 502 pages. The PE Environmental Reference Handbook is version 2.0, first posted in October 2025, running 222 pages. Candidates preparing for the PE Environmental exam study that handbook, since it is the file NCEES puts on screen for the exam. Study the posted version of whichever handbook applies, so the text you practice with matches the text in the exam software.

How design standards are scored

PE Civil questions that reference a standard are scored on the edition listed in the specifications, and an answer based on any other standard gets no credit, even if your office has already moved to a newer manual. NCEES posts specifications and design standards 6 months before they take effect; specifications change once every 5 to 7 years, while design standards change more often, so read the specification that covers your test date before you study a standard.

Which exams use design standards

The Examinee Guide table lists design standards for PE Civil and none for PE Environmental. On PE Civil, the list follows the depth you choose, so settle which PE Civil exam to take before you collect books. The editions below are the ones supplied with the specifications effective April 2024.

Construction

Construction standards for those specifications are:

  • ACI 347R (2014)
  • ACI SP-4, 8th ed. (2014)
  • AISC Steel Construction Manual, 15th ed. (2017)
  • ASCE 37-14 (2015)
  • CMWB bracing masonry walls (2012)
  • PCA EB001, 17th ed. (2021)
  • MUTCD Part 6 (2009, Revisions 1 and 2, May 2012)
  • CFR Title 29 Parts 1903 and 1926 (July 2020)

Geotechnical

April 2024 geotechnical standards include ASCE 7-16, USACE EM 1110-2-1902 Slope Stability (2003), NAVFAC DM-7.02 (1986), CFR Title 29 Part 1926 (July 2020), UFC 3-220-05 (2004), and UFC 3-220-10 (2022). The FHWA references on that same list are:

  • FHWA NHI-05-037 (2006)
  • FHWA NHI-06-088 and NHI-06-089 Soils and Foundations (2006)
  • FHWA-NHI-11-032 GEC No. 3 (2011)
  • FHWA NHI-16-009 and NHI-16-010 GEC No. 12 driven piles (2016)
  • FHWA NHI-16-072 GEC No. 5 site characterization (2017)
  • FHWA NHI-18-024 GEC No. 10 drilled shafts (2018)

Structural

Structural wood design is ASD only in both the April 2024 and April 2027 specifications. April 2024 lists CFR Title 29 Parts 1910 and 1926 (July 2020), while April 2027 lists CFR Title 29 (2024). TMS 402/602-16 is the April 2024 masonry standard, and TMS 402/602-22 is the April 2027 masonry standard. Other structural editions are:

Standard April 2024 April 2027
AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications 8th ed. (2017) 10th ed. (2024)
IBC 2018 2024
ASCE 7 ASCE 7-16 ASCE 7-22
ACI 318 ACI 318-14 ACI 318-19 (2022)
AISC Steel Construction Manual 15th ed. (2017) 16th ed. (2022)
AWC NDS 2018 package 2024 package (wind and seismic provisions 2021)
PCI Design Handbook 7th ed. (2010) 8th ed. (2017)

Transportation

April 2024 transportation standards include FHWA HIF-12-026 HDS 5 culverts (2012), HCM 6th ed. (2016), and MUTCD 2009 (Revisions 1 and 2, May 2012). They also include these AASHTO publications:

  • AASHTO GDHS-7 (2018)
  • AASHTO GDPS-4-M (1993 with 1998 supplement)
  • AASHTO GPF-2 (2021)
  • AASHTO HSM-1 (2010 with 2014 supplement)
  • AASHTO MEPDG-3 (2020)
  • AASHTO RSDG-4 (2011)

Water resources and environmental

The April 2024 list for this depth names TSS Recommended Standards for Wastewater Facilities (2014) and TSS Recommended Standards for Water Works (2018). Wider additions show up only on the April 2027 list, covered below.

Buying standards for study

NCEES does not sell printed copies of the handbook and does not provide design standards for study; publishers sell the design standards, so get the edition named for your depth and for the specification date you will test under. One way to prepare is to search a PDF one chapter at a time, since that is how a standard opens in the exam software, and keep the handbook PDF at the same version NCEES will supply on screen.

The April 2027 PE Civil update

NCEES has posted PE Civil specifications effective beginning April 2027 with updated design standards. Comparing those PDFs with the April 2024 specifications, the knowledge areas and the question ranges are the same. Use what changes in the PE Civil design standards in April 2027 while you match each depth to your test date; the structural changes appear in the table above, and the changes for construction, geotechnical, transportation, and water resources and environmental follow below.

For construction, the April 2027 standards are the titles below. The April 2024 list includes CMWB bracing masonry walls (2012) and a separate ACI 347R entry, but on the 2027 list, ACI 347R is folded inside ACI SP-4.

  • ACI 318-19 (2022)
  • ACI SP-4, 8th ed. (2014, includes ACI 347R)
  • AISC Steel Construction Manual, 16th ed. (2022)
  • ASCE 37-14 (2015)
  • PCA EB001, 17th ed. (2021)
  • MUTCD Part 6 Temporary Traffic Control, 11th ed. (2023)
  • CFR Title 29 Parts 1903, 1904, and 1926 (2024)

For geotechnical, ASCE 7-22 replaces ASCE 7-16, CFR Title 29 updates to 2024, and the April 2027 list adds FHWA-NHI-07-092 Geosynthetic Design and Construction Guidelines (2008) and UFC 3-220-20 Foundations and Earth Structures (2025). Those are the geotechnical changes named for the April 2027 specifications.

For transportation, HCM 7th ed. (2022) replaces HCM 6th ed. (2016), and MUTCD 11th ed. (2023) replaces MUTCD 2009 (Revisions 1 and 2, May 2012). Those are the transportation changes named for April 2027.

For water resources and environmental, TSS Recommended Standards for Water Works 2022 replaces the 2018 edition, and the April 2027 list also adds CFR Title 29 Part 1926 (2024), USACE EM 1110-2-1902 Slope Stability (2003), FHWA HDS 5 culverts (2012), and FHWA HEC No. 14 (2006). TSS Recommended Standards for Wastewater Facilities (2014) is not among the named 2027 changes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I bring my own codes to the PE exam?

No. PE Civil is closed book, and NCEES supplies the handbook and the listed design standards on screen, so your printed codes and personal PDFs are not part of the exam. A question that references a standard is scored on the edition in the specification, and an answer based on any other standard gets no credit.

Which design standards are on the PE Civil exam?

They are the design standards named in the PE Civil specification for your depth: construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, or water resources and environmental. Under the April 2024 specifications, that set includes the editions listed above for that depth, such as AISC Steel Construction Manual, 15th ed. (2017), ASCE 7-16, and MUTCD 2009 where those titles appear on the depth list. Specifications effective April 2027 keep the same knowledge areas and question ranges, with updated editions such as AISC 16th ed. (2022), ASCE 7-22, and MUTCD 11th ed. (2023) on the depths that use them.

Does PE Environmental use design standards?

No. The Examinee Guide table lists no design standards for PE Environmental. The on-screen reference is the PE Environmental Reference Handbook, version 2.0, first posted in October 2025, running 222 pages. PE Civil is the exam in that guide table that uses design standards.

Does Ctrl + F work on the PE exam?

No. You search with the search box on the left; Ctrl + F does not work in the exam software. Only one design-standard chapter can be open and searched at a time, and references display best at 100% zoom.

Do PE Civil question ranges change in April 2027?

No. The posted specifications effective beginning April 2027 update the design standards, but the knowledge areas and the question ranges stay the same as in the April 2024 specifications. What you re-check is the edition list for your depth.

Sources

  1. NCEES: PE Civil exam. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
  2. NCEES Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF). Retrieved October 3, 2026.
  3. NCEES PE Civil: Structural exam specifications, effective April 2024 (PDF). Retrieved October 3, 2026.
  4. NCEES: PE Environmental exam. Retrieved October 3, 2026.