January/February 2018

PE Report
On Road to PE, Applicants See Lower Fee on FE

The registration fee for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam will be cut to $175—a $50 reduction—beginning January 1, 2018.

The FE exam is the first of two exams administered to a qualified individual who is interested in pursuing professional engineering licensure. The computer-based exam is designed to test students’ knowledge of concepts learned while earning an accredited bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline. According to the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, there were 43,648 FE exam takers between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2016, and the pass rate for first-time exam takers with EAC/ABET-accredited bachelor’s degrees was 73%.

NCEES and its member licensing boards decreased the exam cost as part of a commitment to reducing barriers to licensure. “Moving to year-round computer-based testing for these exams, which gives candidates greater scheduling flexibility, was an important part of those measures,” said NCEES Chief Executive Officer Jerry Carter. “The organization is taking the additional step of lowering the price of the fundamentals exams to ensure that cost is not a prohibitive factor in starting on the path to licensure.”

The reduced fee will only apply to registrations completed on or after January 1.