Professional Engineers

No. FBPE requires that the most current application be used. Current applications are available on the FBPE website.

Yes, you must pass the FE exam before you can register to take the PE exam.

Applicants for both Engineer Intern certification and Professional Engineer licensure in Florida must complete the FBPE Laws and Rules Study Guide with a score of 90 percent or greater. During the application process, you will receive an automatically generated email with your Study Guide login information. The Study Guide contains multiple-choice questions on Chapter 471, Florida Statutes, and Division 61G15, Florida Administrative Code. You have unlimited attempts to pass the Study Guide. However, following 15 attempts, you will be locked out until you contact FBPE staff to reset your account. (See Rule 61G15-20.0016, F.A.C., Laws and Rules Examination.)

No. Florida does not license by engineering discipline, but you must be competent in the fields in which you practice. The Board can restrict you from practicing in certain fields or require you to take a PE exam in another engineering discipline, but that is usually the result of a disciplinary action.

No. Florida offers licensure through endorsement, which means that you must meet the requirements for licensure in Florida. Florida recognizes passage of the FE and PE exams elsewhere, but other criteria for licensure may be different from other states. If you hold a current and active PE license in another state, you must complete the Application for Licensure as Professional Engineer to apply for licensure in Florida.

All correspondence, including renewal notices and the FBPE newsletter, are typically sent by email.

Regarding your application, here is what will be sent to your email address by the Board:

• Notice that your application has been received;
• Notice of application status within 30 days from date received;
• Laws and Rules Study Guide (which is required to complete your application); and
• Notice of Approval or Notice of Denial.

Email addresses are public records pursuant to Chapter 119.011(12), F.S. If you wish to receive correspondence by email, a valid email address must be provided.

The Laws and Rules Study Guide is available in an online format only accessible via hyperlink. Even if you do not wish to receive correspondence by email, you must provide a valid email address in order to receive the secure hyperlink to the Study Guide.

Social Security numbers are mandatory pursuant to Title 42, United States Code, Sections 653 and 654; and Sections 455.203(9), 455.213(1), 409.2577, and 409.2598, Florida Statutes. Social Security numbers are used to allow efficient screening of applicants and licensees by a Title IV-D child support agency to assure compliance with child support obligations.

Social Security numbers must also be recorded on all professional and occupational license applications, and will be used for licensee identification pursuant to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Welfare Reform Act), 104 Pub.L.193, Sec. 317.

Social Security numbers are not public record, and cannot be accessed by the public.

Your name will appear exactly as it appears on your application. Be sure that it is correct on your application.

Because records from your university or from previous exam attempts, as well as your EI certificate, maybe in a previous or maiden name.

The total is $230 $180*, and includes an application fee, initial licensure fee, and unlicensed activity fee (collected by Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation).

You must submit the total fee with your application. FBPE accepts personal and business checks, cashier’s checks, or money orders. Checks must be made payable to FBPE. FBPE does not accept credit cards or cash.

See Rule 61G15-24.001, F.A.C., Fee Schedule.

* As a result of HB 1091 becoming law on July 1, 2023, initial PE licensure fees are reduced by 50 percent for Fiscal Years 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Only the initial licensure fee may be refundable.

No. FBPE only accepts personal and business checks, cashier’s checks, or money orders.

Yes. FBPE has leeway regarding fees for low-income individuals and for U.S. military personnel, veterans, and their spouses. For more information, please see Military & Low-Income Fee Waivers.

To qualify for licensure, you must be able to demonstrate a Board-approved engineering or engineering technology degree. If you do not have a Board-approved degree, then you must have your education reviewed by a Florida-approved evaluation company to demonstrate that your education is substantially equivalent to an EAC/ABET- or ETAC/ABET-accredited degree. The Board will make the final determination.

Please see Section 471.013(1)(a), F.S., and Rules 61G15-20.007 or 61G15-20.008, F.A.C.

We can use the one on file if it is less than 5 years old.

Yes. Because the educational requirements for Florida licensure may be different from those required in other states, you must have a credentials evaluation performed for Florida purposes, which ensures the evaluating agency uses the correct criteria and standards.

None. You must meet Florida’s requirements for licensure. Please refer to the education requirements in Rules 61G15-20.007 and 61G15-20.008, F.A.C., and the experience requirements in Rule 61G15-20.002, F.A.C., regarding eligibility for licensure in Florida.

Florida does not recognize any of the education agreements, such as the Washington Accord, for individuals applying for licensure through examination or endorsement. Interested applicants must have an education evaluation completed by one of the two FBPE-approved education evaluators: Josef Silny & Associates or NCEES Credentials.

You cannot send FBPE your transcript. Official transcripts must be sent by your university in a sealed envelope to the Florida Board of Professional Engineers, 2400 Mahan Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32308.

FBPE holds onto transcripts and supporting documents for up to six months. If they are not matched with an application within six months, they are deleted.

Yes, you must take the Study Guide and score at least 90 percent to pass.

After your application has been received, FBPE will email you a link to the online Laws and Rules Study Guide. Follow the link and complete the Study Guide. Even if you do not wish to receive correspondence by email, you must provide a valid email address to receive the link; all email addresses are public records pursuant to Chapter 119.011(2), F.S.

No, the Laws and Rules Study Guide is only available online via hyperlink.

With each attempt to complete the Study Guide, your results will be sent directly to FBPE for inclusion in your file. You will receive a Certificate of Completion once you have successfully completed the Study Guide.

No, the Laws and Rules Study Guide does not count toward your continuing education requirements.

You need to fill out the Verification of Licensure section if:

• You don’t have an NCEES Records account,
• You took the FE and PE exams prior to 2010, or
• You are certified or licensed in a state that does not send verifications electronically.

You send this form to a state that does not send licensure verifications electronically.

Yes, you must list all of your engineering work experience.

(See Chapter 61G15-20.002, Florida Administrative Code.)

Yes, include all work experience after receiving your undergraduate degree in the Work Experience Summary part of the application. You must have no gaps, so include everything: whether or not you were employed, and whether or not your employment was related to the practice of engineering.

Non-engineering experience does not require verification unless the Board requests it when reviewing your application.

Yes, start with your earliest experience and end with your most recent employment (include any periods of unemployment).

Your work experience must be verified by an employer or a supervisor employed in the engineering profession or who is a Professional Engineer.

(See Chapter 61G15-20.002, Florida Administrative Code.)

List the work you performed in clear and concise descriptions. Don’t provide marketing information or excessive materials in the packet. Your description should enable the Board to determine what activities you performed and whether they qualify as engineering experience.

The engineering experience that you claim must be of a character indicating competence to be in responsible charge of engineering. Engineering experience can be gained through: investigation, evaluation, planning, and design of engineering works and systems; planning the use of land and water; teaching principles and methods of engineering design; performing engineering surveys; or the inspection of construction for the purpose of determining if the work is proceeding in compliance with drawings and specifications.

Engineering experience must:

• Demonstrate a knowledge of engineering mathematics, physical and applied science, properties of materials, and the fundamental principles of engineering design;
• Demonstrate the application of engineering principles in the practical solution of engineering problems; and
• Be progressive, on engineering projects of increasing quality and requiring greater responsibility.

(See Section 471.005(7) and 471.015(2)(a)1 & 2, Florida Statutes, and Rule 61G15-20.002(1), Florida Administrative Code.)

No, you only get credit for full-time work.

You can claim either the work experience or the experience equivalents of the advanced degree, but not both.

To claim foreign work experience, you must provide to the Board verifiable evidence of the engineering experience under the supervision of the equivalent to a U.S. licensed Professional Engineer. It will then review the evidence to determine if it meets requirements.

(See Chapter 61G15-20.002, Florida Administrative Code.)