The National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors has updated its schedule for transitioning all Principles & Practice of Engineering (PE) and the Structural Engineering (SE) exams to computer-based testing.
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam went to CBT in 2014. The first PE exams to move to CBT were the PE Chemical and PE Nuclear in 2018. Selected exams are transitioning to CBT each year through 2024. (No exams are administered in both pencil-and-paper and CBT.)
All CBT exams are offered at Pearson VUE test centers. You must first apply to take the exams through NCEES.
Complete information about the transition is available on the NCEES website.
NCEES has successfully converted, or is in the process of converting, the following exams to a computer-based format. They are no longer offered in pencil-and-paper format.
| Year | Exam | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | FE exam (all disciplines) | Year round |
| 2018 | PE Chemical | Year round |
| 2018 | PE Nuclear | Single day (see date) |
| 2019 | PE Petroleum | Single day (see date) |
| 2019 | PE Environmental | Year round |
| 2020 | PE Fire Protection | Single day (see date) |
| 2020 | PE Industrial and Systems | Single day (see date) |
| 2020 | PE Mechanical: HVAC and Refrigeration | Year round |
| 2020 | PE Mechanical: Machine Design and Materials | Year round |
| 2020 | PE Mechanical: Thermal and Fluid Systems | Year round |
| 2020 | PE Electrical and Computer: Power | Year round (beginning December 2020) |
| 2021 | PE Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering | Single day (see date) |
| 2021 | PE Electrical and Computer: Electronics, Controls, and Communications | Single day (see date) |
All other NCEES exams are currently in the conversion process and scheduled to launch in computer-based format between now and 2024. They are currently offered in pencil-and-paper format and available once or twice per year depending on the exam. See the current pencil-and-paper exam schedule.
| Year | Exam | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | PE Agricultural and Biological | Single day (date TBD) |
| 2021 | PE Mining and Mineral Processing | Single day (date TBD) |
| 2022 | PE Architectural | Single day (date TBD) |
| 2022 | PE Control Systems | Single day (date TBD) |
| 2022 | PE Metallurgical and Materials | Single day (date TBD) |
| 2022 | PE Naval Architecture and Marine | Single day (date TBD) |
| 2022 | PE Civil: Construction | Year round |
| 2022 | PE Civil: Geotechnical | Year round |
| 2022 | PE Civil: Structural | Year round |
| 2022 | PE Civil: Transportation | Year round |
| 2022 | PE Civil: Water Resources and Environmental | Year round |
| 2024 | Structural exam (SE) | TBD |
This article is an updated version of “NCEES Releases CBT Transition Schedule,” which was published on the FBPE website on Jan. 11, 2018.