To earn a Professional Engineer license in California, you need to meet the state’s education, examination, experience, and character requirements set by the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG). In practice, the California PE license requirements come down to a qualifying engineering degree, passing the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, six years of qualifying engineering experience (with credit given for your degree), passing the discipline-specific PE exam plus any California-only exams that apply to your branch, a criminal background check, and a passing score on the Laws and Rules Exam. The whole path typically takes at least six years after high school.
Which Engineering Branches Require a License
BPELSG licenses more than a dozen engineering branches, but the legal weight of the license depends on which one you’re in. Civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering are governed by practice acts: you cannot perform that engineering work at all without the license. The other branches (agricultural, chemical, control systems, fire protection, industrial, metallurgical, nuclear, petroleum, and traffic engineering) are title acts: you can do the work, but you cannot call yourself a professional engineer in that discipline unless you’re licensed.1Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Professional Engineer Application
Civil engineers can also pursue two additional title authorities: structural engineering and geotechnical engineering. The structural authority requires an existing California civil PE license, a passing score on the NCEES PE Structural exam, and additional experience.2Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Structural Engineer Application
Education That Qualifies
ABET-Accredited Engineering Degrees
The cleanest route is a bachelor’s degree in engineering from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). An ABET degree earns you the maximum education credit toward California’s six-year experience requirement, and it’s the credential most other states recognize if you ever want to license by comity.3Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 16, Section 4244ABET. Licensure, Registration and Certification
Non-ABET and International Degrees
You can still qualify with a non-ABET degree or a degree from outside the United States, but the path is longer. NCEES offers a credentials evaluation that compares your coursework against the NCEES Engineering Education Standard. To meet that standard, your transcript generally needs at least 32 semester credit hours in higher mathematics and basic sciences (including calculus and at least two lab science courses in different areas) and at least 48 semester credit hours in engineering science or design courses. Engineering technology courses don’t count toward the engineering requirement, and international transcripts need certified literal English translations.5NCEES. Credentials Evaluations
If you don’t hold a standalone engineering bachelor’s, you can pair a non-accredited bachelor’s in engineering, engineering technology, related science, or math with a master’s or doctorate in engineering. Non-ABET graduates typically need more work experience to reach California’s six-year threshold.4ABET. Licensure, Registration and Certification
Passing the FE Exam
The Fundamentals of Engineering exam is your first licensing exam and is usually taken near the end of your undergraduate program or shortly after graduating. It’s computer-based, offered year-round at Pearson VUE test centers, and costs $225 through your MyNCEES account.6NCEES. FE Exam
Once you’ve passed the FE, you can apply for an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certificate from BPELSG. The EIT is not required for PE licensure. It formally documents your progress, and some employers ask for it. The EIT application is $75 through BPELSG Connect.7Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. EIT/LSIT Certification – Information and Application
Six Years of Qualifying Experience
California requires six years of qualifying engineering experience before it will issue a PE license. Under Title 16, California Code of Regulations section 424, an ABET-accredited bachelor’s degree earns four years of that requirement, leaving roughly two years of actual post-graduation work to accumulate. Without an ABET degree, you’ll need more real work years to reach six.3Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 16, Section 4248Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. 2026 Professional Engineers Act
The work has to be progressive, demonstrating increasing complexity and responsibility in your discipline, and it must involve practical application of engineering principles under the supervision of a licensed PE or another legally qualified person. Routine drafting, technician-level tasks, and construction inspection without engineering judgment generally don’t count.
You document all of this through the BPELSG Connect portal by submitting at least four Work Experience Engagements and References. Each reference (typically your supervising PE) gets an email link and has to independently verify what you did and for how long. A slow or disputing reference can hold up the whole application, so choose people who will respond and who saw your work firsthand.1Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Professional Engineer Application
Passing the PE Exam
The Principles and Practice of Engineering exam is the national discipline-specific licensing exam, developed and administered by NCEES. You take it in your chosen discipline (mechanical, electrical, chemical, one of the civil sub-disciplines, and so on). The fee is $400 per attempt for most disciplines, and the appointment runs about nine hours with roughly eight hours and fifty minutes of exam time across two sections. It’s offered year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson VUE centers.9NCEES. Examinee Guide July 2025
You have to apply to the California Board to confirm eligibility before registering for the exam through NCEES, and for most disciplines you need to pass the PE exam before submitting your final application for licensure.
The PE Structural exam is a separate exam used to add the structural engineer authority to an existing California civil PE license. It has two components (vertical and lateral), each with a breadth and depth section, and each component costs $350. You choose either buildings or bridges as your depth area, and you must use the same choice on both components.10NCEES. PE Structural Exam
California-Only Exams for Civil Engineers
If you’re pursuing a civil PE license, California adds two exams that don’t exist in other states: the Seismic Principles Examination and the Engineering Surveying Examination. The seismic exam covers earthquake-resistant design and construction; the surveying exam covers engineering survey methods, legal principles, and surveying calculations.11Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Examination Candidate Information
Both are multiple-choice, computer-based, two and a half hours long, administered at Prometric test centers, and $175 each. You can only sit for them after the Board has approved your initial application through a technical review.12Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Fee Schedule
Final Application, Fingerprints, and the Laws and Rules Exam
After you’ve passed the required exams and met the experience threshold, you submit a full application package through BPELSG Connect with a $175 application fee. The package includes your application form, work-experience verifications, and official score reports for every exam.12Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Fee Schedule
Every applicant clears a criminal background check. In California, you submit fingerprints electronically at a Live Scan location: $32 for the DOJ search, $17 for the FBI search, and a rolling fee that varies by location. Out-of-state applicants can either travel to California for Live Scan or mail two FD-258 fingerprint cards to the Board with the $49 processing fee. Results usually reach the Board in two to three weeks, and both DOJ and FBI results must clear before a license can issue.13Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Fingerprinting Frequently Asked Questions
You also need to pass the Laws and Rules Exam, an open-book test on the Professional Engineers Act and related California regulations, with a minimum score of 70%. The Board will not start its full technical review of your application until you’ve passed it. Once education, verified experience, exam results, and the background check all check out, the Board issues the license.
What It Costs
Fees add up quickly. For a typical non-civil applicant, the direct exam and application costs look like this:
- FE exam: $225 to NCEES
- EIT certificate (optional): $75 to BPELSG
- PE exam: $400 to NCEES
- BPELSG application: $175
- Fingerprint processing: $49 plus a rolling fee
Civil engineering applicants add $350 for the two California-specific exams. Applicants pursuing the structural engineer authority pay $350 per component for the PE Structural exam.12Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Fee Schedule
Renewal and Continuing Education
California PE licenses are valid for two years from the assigned renewal date and are renewed biennially through BPELSG Connect.14Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. License Renewal Information California is one of the few states with no continuing education or professional development hour requirement for PE renewal. NCEES recommends 15 professional development hours per year as a national standard, but California hasn’t adopted it.15NCEES. CPC Tracking You’re still legally responsible for competent practice, and letting the license lapse can push you into a reinstatement process.
Penalties for Practicing Without a License
Unlicensed practice in a practice-act branch (civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering) is a misdemeanor under the Professional Engineers Act and can bring fines and jail time. The penalties get much steeper if the work is tied to a governor-declared state of emergency or a presidential disaster declaration: fines up to $10,000 and 16 months to three years in state prison. Using the PE title without authorization also exposes you to prosecution and civil liability.16California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code Chapter 7 Article 6
If You Plan to Work in Other States
If California is one of several states you plan to license in, the NCEES Records program lets you keep verified transcripts, exam results, employment history, and references in one place and transmit them to other boards. The first transmittal is $175, each additional transmittal is $100, and there is no annual maintenance fee.17NCEES. Records Program Record holders who meet additional criteria (ABET degree, four years of acceptable experience, FE and PE passes, no felony convictions, clean disciplinary record) can be designated Model Law Engineers, which speeds up comity in some states.18NCEES Knowledge Base. Model Law Designation FAQs A Record doesn’t guarantee licensure elsewhere: each state still runs its own review, and some require the Record before they’ll even open a comity file.