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United States · Licensing exam

The PE exam in California

In California you take the NCEES PE exam first and apply for the license after you pass; the board says to wait until you’ve passed. Civil engineers also need two California exams, Seismic Principles and Engineering Surveying. The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG) checks your experience only at that point, so you register for the NCEES exam yourself.

Apply with BPELSGFree practice test

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

Experience California asks for

With the FE passed, the board’s flowchart asks for this much qualifying experience after your bachelor’s graduation:

Your degreeExperience
ABET EAC bachelor’s in engineering24 months
That plus an ABET EAC master’s or PhD12 months
Non-ABET engineering degree, or ABET ETAC engineering technology bachelor’s48 months (12 with an ABET EAC master’s or PhD)
No engineering degree72 months

Experience must be complete when you apply, counted on actual time up to 40 hours a week. You don’t need an EIT certificate, but you must pass the FE or qualify for a waiver. Traffic engineer applicants follow different steps.

What extra exams does California add to the PE exam for civil engineers?

Civil applicants must also pass the Civil Seismic Principles and Civil Engineering Surveying exams. They’re given at Prometric centers every quarter. After your application passes technical review, you request and pay in BPELSG Connect and pick one of the next two quarters; you can’t test in the quarter you pay. Results come by email as pass or fail.

California board fees

FeeFrom July 1, 2026
PE application (all disciplines)$250
Seismic Principles exam$250
Engineering Surveying exam$250
EIT application$100

These go to the board, on top of NCEES’s $400 PE fee.

NCEES fees →

Which branches California licenses

Civil, electrical and mechanical are practice acts: only licensees may practice them. Nine other branches, such as chemical and fire protection, are title acts. Structural and geotechnical are title authorities on top of a civil license.

How other states compare →The civil PE exam →
Sources: California BPELSG and 4 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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