What is PE Exam?

The PE Exam measures an individual’s professional competency to practice a specific discipline of engineering. An exam is available for 17 engineering disciplines. Passing this exam is a requirement for engineers who wish to earn the title of Professional Engineer (P.E.). Exam candidates should have four or more years of applicable work experience beyond college before attempting to register.

The PE Exam can be available in paper or CBT form. For Civil Engineers, the exam is given in paper format and is offered in April and October. All updates to the exam specifications are published six months before the test date. All reference materials that are used during this exam must be bound. The test is eight hours long, is divided into two sections, and consists of 80 questions. The PE Civil Exam assesses the candidate’s knowledge of construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources and environmental topics. The morning session will cover all five subject areas while the afternoon session will explore the specific civil engineering specialtythat was chosen by the examinee at the time of registration.

NCEES is the governing body for the PE Exam. The NCEES Examinee Guide is recommended for clarification on official test policies and procedures.