Engineering Licensure: The FE Exam and Getting Your EIT
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 04, 2026 • Graduate & Professional School
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam is the first of two exams on the path to becoming a licensed engineer, and most students take it in their senior year or right after graduation while course material is still fresh.
🎓 110 questions, computer-based, roughly 5 hours 20 minutes of testing time
⏱️ Offered year-round at NCEES-approved test centers, split by engineering discipline
📩 Passing gives you Engineer in Training (EIT) or Engineer Intern status, not a full license
No work experience required to sit for the FE, unlike the PE exam that follows it
EIT status starts the clock toward the supervised experience you need for a PE license
What the FE exam covers
The Fundamentals of Engineering exam tests the core math, science, and engineering principles you learn across an ABET-accredited engineering degree. It is the first of two national exams, administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) , that lead toward a Professional Engineer (PE) license.
NCEES offers separate FE exams for major disciplines, including civil, mechanical, electrical and computer, chemical, environmental, industrial and systems, and a general other disciplines version for majors without a discipline-specific exam. You choose the exam that matches your degree program.
Format: 110 questions across two sessions
The FE exam runs 110 questions inside a 5-hour, 20-minute testing window, within a 6-hour total appointment that includes a short tutorial and an optional scheduled break, per NCEES. Questions split into two 55-question sessions, and once you submit the first session you cannot return to it. Most questions are multiple choice, with a handful of alternative formats such as fill-in-the-blank or point-and-click.
Why students take it before graduation
Unlike the PE exam, the FE exam does not require work experience to sit for it, which is why most engineering students take it during their senior year or shortly after graduating. The material overlaps closely with your coursework, so testing while classes are recent tends to require less separate review than waiting years into your career.
Exam fee and what's included
NCEES charges a $225 exam fee, payable directly to NCEES, according to the NCEES FE exam page . Some states or testing regions add a separate registration fee on top of the NCEES charge, so check your state licensing board for the full cost before you register. During the exam, you work from an electronic reference handbook provided on screen rather than a printed book or personal notes, so review the handbook itself as part of your preparation instead of relying only on outside study guides.
Choosing the right discipline exam
Pick the FE exam that matches your degree program, such as FE Civil, FE Mechanical, FE Electrical and Computer, FE Chemical, FE Environmental, or FE Industrial and Systems. If your major does not fit one of the named disciplines, NCEES offers a general other-disciplines exam covering broader engineering fundamentals. Choosing the wrong discipline exam wastes your registration fee and study time, so confirm the right one with your academic advisor if your major does not map clearly to a single NCEES category.
Many engineering programs build the FE into the curriculum
Some ABET-accredited engineering programs require or strongly encourage the FE exam as part of a senior capstone course, and a number of schools cover part of the registration fee or offer on-campus review sessions. Ask your department whether your program supports the FE exam directly, since it can lower both the cost and the coordination work of scheduling the exam on your own.
If you don't pass on your first attempt
You can retake the FE exam, though each state licensing board sets its own wait period between attempts rather than following one national rule. Review your score report closely, since it breaks down performance by topic area, and focus your retake preparation on the specific sections where you scored weakest rather than restudying the entire syllabus from scratch.
Some paths into licensure skip the FE
A small number of states allow engineers with many years of qualifying work experience to bypass the FE exam and move straight into eligibility for the PE exam, though this route is far less common than the standard FE-then-PE sequence and is not available in every state. Check with your state licensing board directly if you are years into a technical career without an ABET-accredited degree, rather than assuming the standard student path applies to you.
What EIT status means
Passing the FE exam earns you the title Engineer in Training (EIT), called Engineer Intern (EI) in some states. Many entry-level engineering job postings, especially in civil and structural roles, list EIT status as preferred or required, since it signals to employers that you cleared the technical exam standing between you and a future PE license. EIT status is not a professional license and does not let you sign or stamp engineering drawings on your own. It confirms you have met the technical knowledge requirement and starts you toward the supervised work experience most states require before you can sit for the PE exam.
How it connects to the PE license
After earning EIT status, you work under a licensed Professional Engineer for a set number of years, commonly four, before you qualify to take the PE exam in your specific discipline. Passing the PE exam and meeting your state's application requirements is what makes you a fully licensed Professional Engineer, able to stamp drawings, sign off on public projects, and in many states, operate your own engineering firm.