Alaska PE Requirements: Exams, Experience, and Comity

To earn a professional engineer license in Alaska, you must hold an accredited engineering degree, pass the FE and PE exams, complete a board-approved arctic engineering course, accumulate at least four years of qualifying work experience, and submit a $300 application to the state Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS Board). The Alaska PE license requirements are set by statute and by Title 12, Chapter 36 of the Alaska Administrative Code, and every applicant meets the same core standards whether they come up through Alaska schools or transfer in from another state.

Education

The cleanest path is a bachelor’s degree in engineering from a program accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, in the same branch you plan to practice. Under 12 AAC 36.063, that degree counts as four years of education credit toward the eight total years of combined education and experience Alaska requires.¹

Other credentials shift the balance between school and work:

ABET degree plus a master’s or doctorate: five years of education credit, three years of experience required.
ABET degree in a different branch than the one you’re applying for: three years of education credit, five years of experience.
ABET-accredited engineering technology degree: three years of education credit, five years of experience.
Non-ABET bachelor’s in engineering: three years of education credit, six years of experience.
Master’s or doctorate only, without a bachelor’s in engineering: two to three years of education credit and five to six years of experience, depending on the degree level and whether the school also runs an ABET-accredited undergraduate program.

Every combination totals either eight or nine years of education plus experience.¹

Foreign and Non-Accredited Degrees

If your degree came from a program that wasn’t ABET-accredited at the time you graduated, you’ll likely need a credentials evaluation. NCEES offers one that compares your coursework against U.S. standards, checking for at least 32 semester credit hours in higher mathematics and basic sciences and 48 credit hours in engineering science or design. Engineering technology courses don’t count toward the engineering credits.² Contact the AELS Board before paying for an evaluation. If your degree was accredited by ABET’s Engineering Accreditation Commission when you graduated, you don’t need one.

The Two NCEES Exams

Licensure requires passing two exams administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying: the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam and the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam. Both are computer-based and delivered at Pearson VUE testing centers.

Fundamentals of Engineering

The FE exam runs six hours (including tutorial and optional break) and contains 110 questions across seven discipline-specific versions. Most candidates take it during their final year of college or shortly after graduation, and passing earns you Engineer-in-Training status in Alaska. You must pass the FE, or have it waived under 12 AAC 36.090(a), before sitting for the PE exam.¹

Principles and Practice of Engineering

The PE exam tests engineering judgment in your specific discipline. All disciplines have moved to computer-based testing, and NCEES provides an electronic reference handbook and any specified design standards during the exam.³ Some disciplines are offered year-round; others run only a few times per year. You must apply for the exam in a branch recognized by the AELS Board under 12 AAC 36.990(17).

Arctic Engineering Course

This is the requirement out-of-state applicants overlook. Under 12 AAC 36.110, every applicant for engineering registration must complete a board-approved university-level course in arctic engineering, or its equivalent, before receiving a license.⁴ The material covers permafrost engineering, cold-weather construction, and infrastructure design for extreme climates.

Approved offerings include courses at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the University of Washington.⁵ UAA’s Fundamentals of Arctic Engineering short course is a common choice for working professionals who don’t want to enroll in a full semester program.⁶ Check the board’s current approved list before enrolling.

Work Experience

Minimum experience depends on your education. For the standard ABET-in-branch route, you need four years of progressive engineering work. Regardless of the path, at least two of those years must be responsible charge experience, verified by a licensed professional engineer who supervised you. That supervisor must have been registered in your branch, or practicing in it, at the time of supervision.¹

The AELS Board evaluates experience based on the type of project, your role, and the oversight involved. Research, teaching, and engineering management can count when they involve direct engineering application. Purely administrative work does not. Responsible charge means you were making engineering decisions and signing off on the work, not just executing someone else’s design.

The Application and Fees

Once you’ve cleared education, exams, and experience, you file a formal application to the AELS Board under 12 AAC 36.010. Include documentation of your education, work history, and responsible charge experience.⁷ You’ll also list five professional references, at least three of whom must be licensed professional engineers.⁸

Fees are set by 12 AAC 02.110:

Application fee: $200 (nonrefundable)
Initial registration fee: $100
Total due at application: $300

The fees are paid to the State of Alaska and apply whether you’re applying by examination or by comity.⁹ Unverifiable experience, missing documentation, or a disciplinary history in another jurisdiction can delay or derail a review. The board processes applications on a rolling basis, and applicants who are denied have appeal rights under Alaska administrative procedures.

Applying by Comity if You’re Already Licensed Elsewhere

Under 12 AAC 36.105, the board may grant Alaska registration to an engineer already licensed in another state if that jurisdiction’s education, experience, and exam requirements were at least equivalent to Alaska’s when the out-of-state license was issued. You must have passed an NCEES engineering exam in the same branch you’re applying for, and you need to have passed the FE or had it waived.¹⁰

Comity applicants need at least 24 months of responsible charge experience verified by a PE in the same discipline. Engineers who have been registered for five years or more can substitute two reference letters from registered professional engineers in their branch. Everyone applying by comity still has to complete the arctic engineering course and a jurisprudence questionnaire covering Alaska’s statutes and regulations.¹⁰ An NCEES Record can bundle your transcripts, exam results, and references for transmission to Alaska, but it doesn’t cover the arctic course or the jurisprudence questionnaire, which are state-specific.¹¹

Renewal and Continuing Education

All Alaska engineering registrations expire on December 31 of odd-numbered years, regardless of when the license was first issued. Renewal is biennial.¹² The renewal fee is $100.⁹

You also need at least 24 professional development hours (PDHs) in the 24 months before renewal. Acceptable activities include seminars, technical courses, and professional development related to your field, and they can cover technical, ethical, or managerial content.¹³ Up to 12 excess PDHs carry forward into the next cycle. Keep records for at least four years in case the board audits you.¹⁴ If you let a registration lapse, you’ll need to satisfy AS 08.48.231 and 12 AAC 36.500–550 before practicing again.

Practicing Without a License

Under AS 08.48.295, the AELS Board can impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each offense of unregistered or unauthorized engineering practice. The board sets the amount based on the seriousness of the violation, the economic benefit gained, and the person’s history of violations. If the penalty isn’t paid within 30 days, the board refers the matter to the attorney general for civil enforcement, and the board can also seek an injunction to stop ongoing unauthorized practice.¹⁵ The provision reaches anyone who offers engineering services, stamps plans, or holds themselves out as a professional engineer without an active Alaska registration.

1
Alaska State Legislature. Alaska Administrative Code 12 AAC 36.063 – Engineering Education and Work Experience
2
NCEES. Credentials Evaluations
3
NCEES. PE Exam
4
Alaska State Legislature. Alaska Administrative Code 12 AAC 36.110 – Arctic and Seismic Requirement
5
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Approved Courses in Cold Regions Design
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University of Alaska Anchorage. Fundamentals of Arctic Engineering
7
Legal Information Institute. Alaska Administrative Code 12 AAC 36.010 – Applications
8
Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Engineer Registration Application Instructions
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Justia. Alaska Administrative Code 12 AAC 02.110 – Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors
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Alaska State Legislature. Alaska Administrative Code 12 AAC 36.105 – Engineer Registration by Comity
11
NCEES. Records Program
12
Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. Alaska State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors – FAQs
13
Justia. Alaska Administrative Code 12 AAC 36.510 – Continuing Education Requirements
14
Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Instructions for Meeting Requirements of Continuing Education for Architects, Engineers, Land Surveyors and Landscape Architects
15
Justia. Alaska Code 08.48.295 – Civil Penalty for Unregistered or Unauthorized Practice