Civil PE Exam FAQS

What is the format of the exam?
What types of problems will there be on the exam?
What units are used on the exam?
What are the exam topics?
What are the exam dates?
Do exam requirements differ from state to state?
What is the exam's calculator policy?
What are the most current design standards for my exam?
How does exam scoring work, and when will I get my results?
Where can I find an exam review course?
What should I do if my question isn't answered here?

What is the format of the exam?

The Civil PE exam is 8 hours long, divided into two 4-hour long sessions (morning and afternoon).

The Civil PE exam morning session is the same for all Civil PE examinees, and consists of 40 multiple-choice problems drawn from all areas of civil engineering.

In the afternoon, you work one of five depth exam sections: Construction, Geotechnical, Structural, Transportation, or Water Resources and Environmental. Each depth section consists of 40 multiple-choice problems that gauge your knowledge of the topics specified. You are required to choose your afternoon exam section when you register for the Civil PE exam.

Refer to the question What are the exam topics? for more information about the exam specifications for your exam section.

What types of problems will there be on the exam?

The problems are all multiple-choice and there are four solution options for each problem. Nearly all problems are unique—that is, there is one problem statement followed by one problem. There may be a few multi-part problems, where one problem statement is followed by two or three problems, but in these cases the solutions to the problems will be independent from one another.

What units are used on the exam?

The Civil PE exam uses U.S. Customary (English) units for all problems except those dealing with areas of practice that normally use SI (metric) units (such as problems involving chemical concentrations).

What are the exam topics?

All Civil PE examinees take the same morning exam, and there are five different Civil PE exam sections offered in the afternoon. You can find all Civil PE exam specifications in the Introduction (pages xviii–xxi) to Civil Engineering Reference Manual, 13th Edition.

Alternatively, you can download the most current breadth and depth Civil PE exam specifications from the NCEES website using the following links.

Note that the specifications are examples of topics that you will see on exam day, but they are not exclusive or exhaustive categories.

What are the exam dates?

The Civil PE exam is scheduled twice a year on the same Fridays in every state. Here is a list of exam dates for future exam administrations.

October 28, 2011
April 13, 2012
October 26, 2012
April 12, 2013
October 25, 2013
April 11, 2014
October 24, 2014
April 17, 2015
October 30, 2015
April 15, 2016
October 28, 2016

Do exam requirements differ from state to state?

Yes, they often do differ from state to state. Click here to find a link to each state board's website and to find out more about each state's FE and PE exam requirements.

What is the exam's calculator policy?

The NCEES often changes their calculator policy. Click here for the current calculator policy.

What are the most current design standards for my exam?

If you are a taking the Civil PE Structural, the Civil PE Transportation exam, or the Civil PE Construction exam, access the most current design standards here.

There are no design standards for the Civil PE Geotechnical and Civil PE Water Resources and Environmental exams.

How does exam scoring work, and when will I get my results?

The maximum number of points you can earn on the Civil PE exam is 80. The minimum number of points for passing (referred to by the NCEES as the cut score) varies from exam to exam. The cut score is determined through a rational procedure (not on a curve). Each correct solution is worth one point.

Your state board (not the NCEES) will typically send exam results by mail within four months of the exam date. Your score may or may not be revealed to you, depending on your state's procedure. Generally examinees receive results of "Pass" or "Fail" only.

For more information about historical passing rates on all PE exams, visit our Passing Rates page.

Where can I find an exam review course?

PPI offers a number of Civil PE Review Courses. Click here for more information.

An alternative to our review courses is the Passing Zone, which you can learn about here.

What should I do if my question isn't answered here?

For anecdotes and tips about the Civil PE exam, refer to our advice from previous Civil PE examinees.

You can find extensive Civil PE exam information in the Introduction to Civil Engineering Reference Manual, 13th Edition.

In addition to these Civil PE exam-specific FAQs, we also have General FAQs for all PE candidates.

For unresolved questions about exam licensing and accreditation processes visit NCEES.org.