The NCEES FE Reference Handbook

How it works in the exam

The handbook opens beside the questions on a 24-inch monitor, so you can see both at once. It’s searchable, which helps a lot if you know what words to search for.

NCEES supplies the current version. Download your copy from MyNCEES while you study, so you’re practicing with the same document you’ll see on the day.

How to study with it

• Do every practice problem with the handbook open, not from memory.
• Learn which section each topic lives in, so you don’t waste time scrolling.
• Practice searching the PDF. Notice which symbols and terms the handbook uses, because a search only works if you type its words.
• Read your discipline’s exam specifications. They tell you which topics are tested and roughly how many questions each one gets.

The PE exams: handbooks and design standards

Every PE exam also comes with an electronic NCEES reference handbook. Some PE exams, like Civil, also supply design standards on screen. The last page of your exam specifications lists exactly what you’ll get. These are the only references allowed.

What about the “Civil Engineering Reference Manual”?

That’s a commercial study book, not an NCEES document. It’s the PE Civil Reference Manual by Michael Lindeburg, published by PPI (now part of Kaplan). Many people study with it, but you can’t take it into the exam. Books aren’t allowed in the testing room. In the exam you only have the NCEES handbook and any standards NCEES supplies.