Engineers working toward professional licensure who plan to sit for a Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam in the next several months face a string of scheduled changes. NCEES, which develops the exams used by U.S. licensing boards, put new PE Architectural Engineering specifications into effect in October 2026 and has posted new specifications or design standards for several other exams that take effect in April 2027. The details below come from NCEES's own notices and specification documents.

How NCEES announces changes

NCEES gives its member boards at least one year of notice before exam changes, under its Exam Development Policy 8. A memo dated October 20, 2025, from NCEES's chief officer of examinations to member board administrators listed the changes scheduled through fall 2027. NCEES posts specifications on its website ahead of each change, and its exam pages state that specifications typically change every six to eight years, while design standards change more often.

PE Architectural Engineering: new specifications in October 2026

The PE Architectural Engineering exam moved to new specifications beginning in October 2026. Under the updated document, the computer-based exam has 85 questions and a 9.5-hour appointment that includes a tutorial and an optional scheduled break. It is closed book with an electronic reference, and it uses U.S. Customary units.

The specifications divide the exam into four knowledge areas:

  • Electrical Systems: 23 to 35 questions
  • Mechanical Systems: 25 to 38 questions
  • Structural Systems: 15 to 23 questions
  • Project Administration: 7 to 11 questions

The codes supplied during the exam include the 2018 International Building Code, the 2017 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70), ASCE 7-16 and ACI 318-19, among others. NCEES scores answers against the editions on its list, and solutions based on other editions do not receive credit.

PE Structural: new specifications in April 2027

Both components of the PE Structural exam, vertical and lateral, move to new specifications in April 2027. According to the NCEES memo, the breadth sections keep the same number of questions. The depth sections will have 48 questions each. The NCEES PE Structural page lists the depth sections from April 2027 as 40 scored and 8 pretest questions in a 6.5-hour appointment that includes a 6-hour exam. The depth sections had already moved to 6.5 hours in spring 2026, adding 60 minutes. Breadth sections are offered year-round, while depth sections are offered twice a year.

PE Civil: new design standards in April 2027

NCEES's PE Civil page lists updated design standards effective beginning in April 2027 for all five civil modules: Construction, Geotechnical, Structural, Transportation, and Water Resources and Environmental. Candidates testing before that date use the standards currently in effect. The PE Civil exam remains a year-round, computer-based exam.

PE Control Systems and PE Fire Protection: April 2027

Both exams have new specifications labeled effective beginning April 2027. Each has 85 questions in a 9.5-hour appointment and uses both SI and U.S. Customary units.

The Control Systems specifications cover five areas: Measurement (16 to 24 questions), Control Systems (17 to 26), Final Control Elements (14 to 21), Signals, Transmission, and Networking (11 to 17) and Safety Instrumented Systems (12 to 18). The control systems area includes cybersecurity and security practices. The design standards supplied are ANSI/ISA-5.1 (2024) and ISA/IEC 61511 Part 1 (2018).

The Fire Protection specifications cover eight areas, including a fire protection analysis section that lists energy storage systems as a topic. The supplied codes include NFPA 13-2022, NFPA 72-2022, NFPA 101-2024 and NFPA 855-2023 for stationary energy storage systems. NCEES exam pages list the next administrations of both exams in mid-April 2027.

What professional licensure candidates and employers can do now

  • Check the exact effective date against the planned test date. An appointment before the change uses the old specifications and standards.
  • Download the specification and design standards list for the intended exam from ncees.org, and confirm the code editions before buying references.
  • Confirm eligibility and application deadlines with the state licensing board, which sets its own requirements for professional licensure.

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