United States · Licensing exam
To become a licensed professional engineer (P.E.) in the US, you usually pass two NCEES exams. The FE comes first, often in your last year of college or soon after. The PE comes after about four years of work. NCEES writes and scores both, but your state licensing board decides if you can sit them and issues the license. This guide covers both exams, with the most detail on the FE. There’s a free practice test further down.
Key facts
How it works
Topics
Calculus, algebra and geometry tools you’ll use across the whole exam. On FE Other Disciplines it’s 8 to 12 questions.
Forces, moments and equilibrium for bodies that don’t move. FE Other Disciplines has 9 to 14 statics questions.
Motion and the forces and energy behind it. Expect 9 to 14 questions on FE Other Disciplines.
How parts stretch, bend and twist under load. FE Other Disciplines has 9 to 14 questions here.
Pressure, flow and energy in liquids and gases. It’s the biggest area on FE Other Disciplines, with 12 to 18 questions.
Energy, heat, work and the limits on engines. FE Other Disciplines has 9 to 14 questions.
DC and AC circuit basics. FE Other Disciplines has 6 to 9 questions.
Time value of money and comparing options. FE Other Disciplines has 6 to 9 questions.
Professional conduct, licensure and the NCEES Model Rules. FE Other Disciplines has 5 to 8 ethics and societal impact questions.
Free practice test
These 20 questions are our own, written in the style of the FE Other Disciplines exam. They cover math, statics, dynamics, strength of materials, fluids, thermodynamics, electricity, engineering economics and ethics. The real FE has 110 questions. NCEES doesn’t publish a passing percentage, so we use 70% as a practice target: 14 right out of 20. Keep an approved calculator handy, and the free FE Reference Handbook too, since you’ll have it on screen in the real exam. After each answer you can ask the tutor to explain it another way.
Sample of the exam: same format, 20 questions.
Test day
Study options
Start with what NCEES gives you for free: the FE Reference Handbook and the exam specifications for your discipline. The handbook is the only reference you get in the exam, so learn your way around it. For more practice, we’ve compared the official practice exams, prep courses, books and apps people use.
| Option | Price | Free to use | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official and free | |||
NCEES FE Reference HandbookOfficial · PDFThis is the only reference you get in the FE exam, shown on screen as a searchable PDF. Study with it open from day one. You need a free MyNCEES account to download it. | Free | The full handbook, downloaded from MyNCEES | |
NCEES exam specificationsOfficial · PDFEach FE and PE discipline has its own. They tell you which topics are tested and how many questions each gets. For the PE, the last page lists the design standards you’ll have on screen. | Free | The topic list and question counts for each exam | |
NCEES PE reference handbooksOfficial · PDFEach PE exam comes with its own electronic NCEES reference handbook, and some also supply design standards. NCEES doesn’t sell printed handbooks or give out the standards ahead of time. You buy the standards from their publishers if you want to study with them. | Free | The handbook for your PE exam, in MyNCEES | |
NCEES practice examsOfficial · onlineWritten by NCEES, so they’re the closest thing to the real exam. They’re interactive and sold through your MyNCEES account. We couldn’t confirm the current price without logging in. | Paid, sold in MyNCEES | Nothing; the price is shown in MyNCEES | |
| Apps and websites | |||
PPI (Kaplan)Courses and books · onlineOne of the best-known names in FE and PE prep, and the publisher of the PE Civil Reference Manual. It sells live online and on-demand courses, tutoring and a Learning Hub of practice problems. Its passing guarantee offers one free repeat of the 3-month on-demand course, with conditions. | Paid; prices shown per course | Free articles and tools in its FE and PE resource centers | |
School of PECourses · live online and on demandCovers the FE Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Other/General, Environmental, Chemical and Industrial exams, plus most big PE exams. It also offers onsite classes for groups. It advertises a pass guarantee; read the terms before you buy. | From $349 (FE Civil on demand); PE Civil on demand from $499 | Practice quizzes, a blog and a monthly webinar series | |
PrepFEQuestion bank · web, iPhone and AndroidAn online FE question bank for the FE disciplines, with step-by-step solutions and a pass guarantee (a free repeat subscription if you fail). The iPhone apps are rated poorly, mostly over sign-in problems: FE Other Disciplines has 2.2 stars from 22 ratings. The website is the better way in. | From $79.99; in the app, $59.99 for 1 month, $79.99 for 3 or $99.99 for 6 | A set of free FE practice problems on its website | |
Engineering Pro GuidesBooks, practice exams and courses · onlineBest known for PE Mechanical (HVAC and Refrigeration, Thermal and Fluids, Machine Design and Materials) and PE Electrical Power. It also covers FE Mechanical, Electrical and Computer, and Other Disciplines. | Paid; prices in its store | Free cheat sheets, tips and sample content | |
Engineering & FE PrepApp · iPhoneThe most-rated FE app on the App Store: 4.4 stars from 192 ratings. It leans toward FE Civil, though much of it applies to other disciplines. Its last update was in August 2022, so treat it as extra practice, not your main source. | Free; Premium Content $4.99 | Some review topics and practice questions | |
Prices and ratings checked October 2026.
Explore
FAQ
The FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) tests the basics from an engineering degree. It’s usually your first step, taken near or soon after graduation. The PE (Principles and Practice of Engineering) tests whether you can practice competently in one discipline. It’s meant for engineers with about four years of work experience. Most states require both, plus that experience, before they license you as a P.E.
110, in every FE discipline. Your appointment is about 6 hours. That includes a short agreement and tutorial, 5 hours 20 minutes of exam time and a 25-minute break. Most PE exams have 80 questions in 8 hours of exam time. Some have 85.
NCEES doesn’t publish one. Your score is the number of questions you got right, with no penalty for guessing. It’s converted to a scaled score and compared with a passing standard set by experts. You only see pass or fail. If you fail, you get a report showing how you did in each topic.
As of October 2026, the FE costs $225 and most PE exams cost $400, paid to NCEES when you register. Each PE Structural component costs $350. Your state board may charge its own application fee on top. Rescheduling with Pearson costs $50.
For 2026 exams, only these: Casio models with fx-115 or fx-991 in the name, the HP 33s and HP 35s, and Texas Instruments models with TI-30X or TI-36X in the name. You can bring one into the room. NCEES reviews the list every year.
NCEES lets you take the same exam once per testing window (each calendar quarter) and no more than three times in any 12 months. Some state boards have stricter rules, so check yours. You pay the full fee each time.
For f(x) = x³ − 6x² + 9x, where does f have a local maximum?
x = 1 Set the first derivative to zero: f′(x) = 3x² − 12x + 9 = 3(x − 1)(x − 3), so the critical points are x = 1 and x = 3. The second derivative is f″(x) = 6x − 12. At x = 1 it’s −6, which is negative, so that point is a local maximum.
What is the determinant of the matrix [[4, 2], [3, 5]]?
14 For a 2 × 2 matrix [[a, b], [c, d]], the determinant is ad − bc. Here that’s (4)(5) − (2)(3) = 20 − 6 = 14.
Evaluate the definite integral of 3x² dx from x = 0 to x = 2.
8 An antiderivative of 3x² is x³. Evaluate it at the limits: 2³ − 0³ = 8.
A simply supported beam is 10 m long, with supports at each end (A on the left, B on the right). A single 20 kN load acts 4 m from support A. Ignoring the beam’s weight, what is the vertical reaction at A?
12 kN Take moments about B. The load is 6 m from B, so R_A × 10 = 20 × 6, and R_A = 12 kN. Check: R_B = 20 − 12 = 8 kN, and moments about A give 8 × 10 = 20 × 4 = 80. It balances.
Two forces act on a particle: 30 N pointing east and 40 N pointing north. What is the size of the resultant force?
50 N The forces are at right angles, so the resultant is the hypotenuse: √(30² + 40²) = √(900 + 1,600) = √2,500 = 50 N.
You push with 50 N at the end of a wrench, at right angles to the handle. The distance from the bolt to where you push is 0.4 m. What moment do you apply to the bolt?
20 N·m Moment equals force times perpendicular distance: M = 50 N × 0.4 m = 20 N·m.
A car starts from rest and accelerates uniformly at 3 m/s² for 4 s. How far does it travel in that time?
24 m From rest with constant acceleration, s = ½at² = ½ × 3 × 4² = ½ × 3 × 16 = 24 m.
A 2 kg ball moves at 6 m/s. What is its kinetic energy?
36 J Kinetic energy is ½mv² = ½ × 2 × 6² = ½ × 2 × 36 = 36 J.
A steel rod with a cross-sectional area of 500 mm² carries an axial tensile load of 50 kN. What is the normal stress in the rod?
100 MPa Stress is force divided by area: σ = 50,000 N ÷ 500 mm² = 100 N/mm², and 1 N/mm² = 1 MPa. So σ = 100 MPa.
A steel bar 2 m long with a cross-sectional area of 1,000 mm² carries an axial load of 100 kN. Take E = 200 GPa. How much does the bar stretch?
1 mm Elongation is δ = PL/(AE). In N and mm: δ = (100,000 × 2,000) ÷ (1,000 × 200,000) = 200,000,000 ÷ 200,000,000 = 1 mm. (200 GPa = 200,000 N/mm².)
What is the gauge pressure at a depth of 10 m in fresh water? Use ρ = 1,000 kg/m³ and g = 9.81 m/s².
98.1 kPa Hydrostatic gauge pressure is p = ρgh = 1,000 × 9.81 × 10 = 98,100 Pa, which is 98.1 kPa.
Water flows at 2 m/s in a pipe with an inside diameter of 100 mm. The pipe narrows to 50 mm. Assuming incompressible flow, what is the velocity in the narrow section?
8 m/s Continuity says A₁V₁ = A₂V₂. Area goes with diameter squared, so halving the diameter cuts the area to a quarter. The velocity must go up four times: 2 × 4 = 8 m/s.
Water with a kinematic viscosity of 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ m²/s flows at 1 m/s through a pipe with a 0.1 m inside diameter. What is the Reynolds number, and what kind of flow is it?
100,000; turbulent Re = VD/ν = (1 × 0.1) ÷ (1.0 × 10⁻⁶) = 100,000. In a pipe, flow is laminar only at low Reynolds numbers, around 2,000 or below, so 100,000 is well into turbulent flow.
A heat engine works between a hot reservoir at 327°C and a cold reservoir at 27°C. What is the highest thermal efficiency it could possibly have?
50% The highest possible efficiency is the Carnot efficiency, 1 − T_cold/T_hot, using absolute temperatures. 327°C = 600 K and 27°C = 300 K, so the efficiency is 1 − 300/600 = 0.50, or 50%.
How much heat does it take to warm 2 kg of liquid water by 10°C? Use a specific heat of 4.18 kJ/(kg·K).
83.6 kJ Sensible heat is Q = mcΔT = 2 × 4.18 × 10 = 83.6 kJ. A change of 10°C is the same as a change of 10 K.
A 6 Ω resistor and a 3 Ω resistor are connected in parallel. What is their equivalent resistance?
2 Ω For two resistors in parallel, R = (R₁R₂)/(R₁ + R₂) = (6 × 3)/(6 + 3) = 18/9 = 2 Ω.
A 12 V source is connected across a 4 Ω resistor. How much power does the resistor dissipate?
36 W P = V²/R = 12² ÷ 4 = 144 ÷ 4 = 36 W. You can check with the current: I = 12 ÷ 4 = 3 A, and P = VI = 12 × 3 = 36 W.
What is the present worth of $10,000 to be received 5 years from now, at 6% interest compounded annually?
$7,473 Present worth is P = F ÷ (1 + i)ⁿ = 10,000 ÷ 1.06⁵ = 10,000 ÷ 1.3382 ≈ $7,473. This is the (P/F, 6%, 5) factor, about 0.7473.
You invest $5,000 today at 8% interest compounded annually. How much will you have after 3 years?
$6,299 Future worth is F = P(1 + i)ⁿ = 5,000 × 1.08³ = 5,000 × 1.259712 ≈ $6,299.
A licensed engineer finds a design flaw that could endanger the public. The engineer’s employer refuses to fix it. Under the NCEES Model Rules of Professional Conduct, what should the engineer do?
Tell the employer or client and the appropriate authority The Model Rules put the safety, health and welfare of the public first. If a licensee’s engineering judgment is overruled where public safety is at risk, they must inform their employer or client and the appropriate authority.