EIT Certification in Georgia: FE Exam, Conduct Rules, and PE Path

To earn EIT certification in Georgia, you register directly with NCEES for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, pass it, and then submit an application with a $30 fee and official transcripts to the Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. The Board verifies your education and issues the certificate. Since May 2025, you no longer need Board approval before sitting for the exam.

What Changed in 2025

Before May 2025, candidates had to apply to the Georgia Board first, wait for approval, and only then register for the FE exam. Senate Bill 125, signed by Governor Brian Kemp on May 9, 2025, removed that prerequisite. You can now create an NCEES account, choose your exam, pay the fee, and schedule a test date without waiting on the Board.¹²

The Board still issues the EIT certificate itself. That step just happens after you pass the FE, not before you register for it. SB 125 made a similar change for the PE exam, letting candidates sit for it before completing their experience requirement, though the experience is still required for actual licensure.

Education You Need First

The standard qualification is a bachelor’s degree from an engineering program accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET (EAC/ABET). The FE exam is designed for graduates of these programs, and Georgia treats the ABET degree as the baseline.³ Students near the end of their degree can sit for the exam before graduation.

Non-ABET and International Degrees

A degree from a non-ABET program or a foreign university does not disqualify you. NCEES offers a credentials evaluation that compares your education against the NCEES Engineering Education Standard, which looks for at least 32 semester credit hours in higher mathematics and basic sciences (including calculus, calculus-based physics, and chemistry) and 48 semester credit hours in engineering science or design coursework.⁴

The evaluation costs $400 and typically takes about 15 business days after NCEES receives your official transcripts, diplomas, course descriptions, and certified English translations of any non-English documents. If you hold a non-ABET bachelor’s in engineering technology, a related science, or mathematics, NCEES will only evaluate it when paired with a master’s or doctoral degree in engineering.⁴

Registering for the FE Exam

Registration runs through your MyNCEES account at ncees.org. You pick your exam discipline, choose a Pearson VUE testing center, and select a date. The exam is offered year-round, so you are not locked into a narrow window, though popular centers do fill up.³

The exam fee is $225 per attempt.³ If you fail, you can retake it up to three times in any 12-month period, with only one attempt allowed per testing window.⁵ Each retake costs another $225.

Exam Format and Choosing a Discipline

The FE is a computer-based exam with 110 questions. The total appointment is six hours: five hours and 20 minutes of exam time, a scheduled 25-minute break, and a few minutes for a tutorial and nondisclosure agreement.³ Most questions are multiple-choice, but the exam also uses drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, and point-and-click items.

NCEES provides an electronic reference handbook on-screen during the exam. You cannot bring your own notes, textbooks, or formula sheets, so downloading a free copy of the handbook well before test day and studying from it is one of the most useful things you can do.

Discipline Options

When you register, you choose from more than 20 discipline-specific versions of the exam:

Civil, with five sub-disciplines including Construction, Geotechnical, Structural, Transportation, and Water Resources/Environmental
Mechanical, with sub-disciplines in HVAC and Refrigeration, Machine Design and Materials, and Thermal and Fluids Systems
Electrical and Computer, split into Computer Engineering, Electrical and Electronics, and Power
Standalone disciplines including Chemical, Environmental, Industrial, Nuclear, Petroleum, Fire Protection, and Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Each version tests discipline-specific material alongside shared topics like mathematics, probability, ethics, and engineering economics.³ Pick the one that matches your degree and intended career.

Preparing for the Exam

First-time pass rates run around 72% across all takers, according to NCEES data from the 2023–24 fiscal year. Repeat takers pass at about 60%.⁶ Most prepared candidates pass on the first try, but a meaningful share do not, and the exam does not get easier through familiarity alone.

Start by downloading the exam specifications for your discipline from the NCEES website. Every topic is listed with its approximate weight, so you know where to focus. The NCEES practice exam is the best diagnostic tool you have. Take it under timed conditions early in your preparation, not as a final check, so you can identify weak areas while there is still time to fix them.

Time management is where most people struggle. With 110 questions across five hours and 20 minutes, you have about three minutes per question. Some go in 30 seconds; others need multi-step calculations. Practicing under realistic time pressure matters more than reviewing one more chapter of theory, and getting comfortable with the electronic reference handbook is part of that practice.

Getting Your EIT Certificate After You Pass

Exam results usually appear within 7 to 10 days, delivered as pass or fail with no numerical score. NCEES sends an email notification, and you view results through your MyNCEES account.⁷

Passing the FE does not automatically make you a certified EIT in Georgia. You still submit an application to the Georgia Board with a $30 fee and official transcripts.⁸ The Board verifies your education, may request additional documentation, and issues the certificate. Processing can take several weeks. Once issued, the EIT certificate does not expire or require renewal.¹

Conduct Rules That Apply to EITs

Georgia’s Rules of Professional Conduct in Chapter 180-6 of the Georgia Administrative Code apply to everyone holding a Board-issued certificate, EITs included.⁹ The core obligations are to protect public safety, practice only within your area of competence, and act with honesty and integrity.

The competence rule deserves attention. You can work on projects that extend beyond your specific training, but only on the portions you are qualified to handle; the rest must be done by qualified colleagues or consultants. Violations can lead to Board discipline ranging from fines to suspension or revocation.¹⁰

The Path to PE Licensure

EIT certification is the first credential, not the last. Full PE licensure gives you the legal authority to sign and seal engineering work and take full professional responsibility for designs. Georgia recognizes two experience paths:

Four years of qualifying engineering experience with an ABET-accredited engineering degree
Seven years of qualifying engineering experience with a non-ABET degree or a related science or mathematics degree with additional education

Experience must be progressive, demonstrate increasing responsibility, and be gained under the supervision of a licensed PE or someone legally authorized to practice engineering. Student work does not count, and your supervisor must verify the work on your PE application.¹¹

Because of SB 125, you can now take the PE exam before finishing that experience requirement. Passing the PE while the technical material is still fresh can be easier than circling back after years of specialized practice. Passing the exam alone does not grant licensure, though. You still need the full experience and a Board application to become a licensed PE.¹

1
Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board. Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board
2
Georgia General Assembly. Senate Bill 125
3
NCEES. Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam
4
NCEES. Credentials Evaluations
5
NCEES. NCEES Examinee Guide
6
NCEES. NCEES Squared 2024
7
NCEES. Exam Scoring
8
Georgia Secretary of State. Fee Schedule
9
Georgia Secretary of State. Chapter 180-6 Rules of Professional Conduct
10
Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board. Board Information
11
Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board. Georgia PELS Laws and Rules 2025