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PE License By State: Mechanical Engineer Licensing 2026

The licensing board for all 50 US states plus DC, the one fee that is identical everywhere, and state fees read off the boards' own schedules.

Quick answer: what the PE costs

The NCEES exam fee is $425, paid directly to NCEES. Every other cost is set by your state board and varies widely: among the boards checked for this page, renewal ran from $68 (Wisconsin) to $250 (California), and the application side from $50 (Pennsylvania) to $300 (Alaska). Boards reprice on their own timetable, so the board's own fee schedule is the only current source. See the verified table below, then the board directory.

State fees on this page were read off the linked board documents on 4 October 2026. We publish a state fee only where we read it on a board document.

The PE license: one standardized exam, 51 separate licensures

The Professional Engineer (PE) license is issued by individual state engineering boards, not by any federal body. The exam itself is standardized: the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) writes and administers it, with mechanical-specific tracks in HVAC and Refrigeration, Thermal and Fluids Systems, and Machine Design and Materials. NCEES states a $425 exam fee payable directly to NCEES as part of registration. Pass the exam, then apply for licensure in your state of practice, where the fees and the renewal term are the board's to set.

All states require the same baseline: an ABET-accredited BS engineering degree, the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam, four years of qualifying engineering experience under a licensed PE, then the PE exam. Some states shorten the experience requirement for MS or PhD holders. After licensure, engineers complete state-specific continuing education, commonly counted in PDH (professional development hour) units per renewal cycle.

State fees read off board documents

Checked 4 October 2026. Each row links the document the figures were read from.

State	Application	Renewal	Cycle	Source
Pennsylvania	$50	$100	2 years	49 Pa. Code § 37.17A separate $25 temporary-permit fee exists and is not the licensure application fee.
California	Not published on the fee schedule	$250	2 years	BPELSG fee scheduleThe board's schedule sets $250 effective 1 July 2026, up from $180.
Alaska	$200 + $100 registration ($300 total)	$100	2 years	AELS board application formRead off the board's engineer-by-exam application form 08-4713.
Massachusetts	Not published on the fee table	$150	2 years, expiring 30 June of even years	Massachusetts licensing fee tableA $57 late-renewal fee applies after expiry.
Wisconsin	$68 initial credential	$68	2 years, expiring 31 July of even years	DSPS credential feesListed as Professional Engineer on the department's credential fee table.

Pennsylvania

Application: $50
Renewal: $100
Cycle: 2 years

A separate $25 temporary-permit fee exists and is not the licensure application fee.

Source: 49 Pa. Code § 37.17

California

Application: Not published on the fee schedule
Renewal: $250
Cycle: 2 years

The board's schedule sets $250 effective 1 July 2026, up from $180.

Source: BPELSG fee schedule

Alaska

Application: $200 + $100 registration ($300 total)
Renewal: $100
Cycle: 2 years

Read off the board's engineer-by-exam application form 08-4713.

Source: AELS board application form

Massachusetts

Application: Not published on the fee table
Renewal: $150
Cycle: 2 years, expiring 30 June of even years

A $57 late-renewal fee applies after expiry.

Source: Massachusetts licensing fee table

Wisconsin

Application: $68 initial credential
Renewal: $68
Cycle: 2 years, expiring 31 July of even years

Listed as Professional Engineer on the department's credential fee table.

Source: DSPS credential fees

Why this page does not price all 51 jurisdictions

Because the boards do not make that possible to do honestly. Many publish no consolidated fee schedule, several block automated access, and the ones that do publish reprice on their own timetable rather than a common one: California's renewal fee moved from $180 to $250 on 1 July 2026, and Arizona's fees changed on 1 January 2026. A single table of 51 fee pairs would be out of date in places the day it shipped, and a reader cannot tell which places. The fees above are the ones we read on a board document; for everything else the board directory below is the source, and it is the one worth using.

Board directory: all 50 states plus DC

Every link status-checked 4 October 2026. NCEES also maintains a member licensing board directory if a board has moved since.

State	Licensing board
Alabama	Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Alaska	Alaska State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors
Arizona	Arizona Board of Technical Registration
Arkansas	Arkansas State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors
California	California Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists
Colorado	Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers, and Professional Land Surveyors
Connecticut	Connecticut State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Delaware	Delaware Association of Professional Engineers
District of Columbia	DC Board of Professional Engineering
Florida	Florida Board of Professional Engineers
Georgia	Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Hawaii	Hawaii Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Landscape Architects
Idaho	Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses
Illinois	Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
Indiana	Indiana Professional Licensing Agency
Iowa	Iowa Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board
Kansas	Kansas State Board of Technical Professions
Kentucky	Kentucky State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Louisiana	Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board
Maine	Maine State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers
Maryland	Maryland State Board for Professional Engineers
Massachusetts	Massachusetts Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Michigan	Michigan Board of Professional Engineers
Minnesota	Minnesota Board of AELSLAGID
Mississippi	Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors
Missouri	Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Professional Landscape Architects
Montana	Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors
Nebraska	Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects
Nevada	Nevada State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
New Hampshire	New Hampshire Joint Board of Licensure and Certification
New Jersey	New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
New Mexico	New Mexico Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors
New York	New York State Education Department Office of the Professions
North Carolina	North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors
North Dakota	North Dakota State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Ohio	Ohio State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors
Oklahoma	Oklahoma State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Oregon	Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists
Rhode Island	Rhode Island State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers
South Carolina	South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors
South Dakota	South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation
Tennessee	Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners
Texas	Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Utah	Utah Division of Professional Licensing
Vermont	Vermont Board of Professional Engineering
Virginia	Virginia Board for APELSCIDLA
Washington	Washington State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
West Virginia	West Virginia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
Wyoming	Wyoming Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Inter-state licensure: NCEES Records and comity

PE licensure is state-by-state, but engineers can hold licenses in several states at once. The usual multi-state path uses NCEES Records, which stores your transcripts, FE and PE exam records, work history, and reference letters in one place and forwards the verified credentials to an additional board. That board can then license you by comity instead of requiring a new exam. The new state's application fee still applies; the exam fee does not. Processing times are set board by board, so check yours rather than planning around a general figure.

Consulting engineers, travelling MEP designers, and engineers at firms with multi-state project portfolios commonly hold several licenses at once, and the recurring cost is simply the sum of those boards' renewal fees. On the verified figures above that arithmetic runs from about $34 a year per state at the Wisconsin end to $125 a year per state at the California end, which is small set against the bill-rate premium that PE sign-off authority unlocks in consulting. Work it out from your own states' schedules rather than from an average.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the PE exam cost?+

The NCEES exam fee is $425, paid directly to NCEES as part of registration. That is the one figure that is the same wherever you sit the exam in the United States. State fees are separate, are set by each state board, and change on each board's own timetable: California's renewal fee rose from $180 to $250 on 1 July 2026, and Arizona repriced on 1 January 2026.

What does a state board charge on top of the NCEES fee?+

It varies by board, and the only honest answer is to read your board's own fee schedule. Of the boards checked for this page, renewal fees ran from $68 in Wisconsin to $250 in California, and the application side ranged from $50 in Pennsylvania to $300 in Alaska (a $200 application fee plus a $100 registration fee). Several boards, including California and Massachusetts, do not publish an application fee on the schedule they put online at all.

Do all states renew on a two-year cycle?+

No. Most boards renew biennially, but some renew annually and some run a three-year term: Arizona registers on a three-year cycle, and New York re-registers triennially. Renewal dates are fixed by the board rather than by your licensure date in many states, so a first renewal can fall much sooner than two years after licensure. Wisconsin credentials expire 31 July of even-numbered years and Massachusetts registrations expire 30 June of even-numbered years regardless of when you were licensed.

Is the PE license valid across state lines?+

No. PE licensure is state-by-state. NCEES Records, an online credential-tracking system, stores transcripts, exam records, work history, and reference letters so that an additional state board can license you by comity rather than requiring a fresh exam. The application fee for the new state still applies; the exam fee does not, assuming your original PE exam is recognised. Processing time is set by each board, so check the board rather than assuming a standard turnaround.

Do I need a PE license to work as a mechanical engineer?+

No. Most ME roles in the US do not require PE licensure: hardware, semiconductor, aerospace and defense product engineering, auto, medical devices, and oil and gas all hire heavily without it. The license is mandatory for engineers who sign off on building HVAC plans, structural mechanical designs, or public infrastructure under state engineering practice laws. On pay, the most specific published figure from a mechanical-engineering body remains ASME's 2017 Salary and Benefits Survey (released February 2018, 2016 base-salary data, 1,661 ASME-member respondents), which reported that MEs holding a PE license earned nearly $16,000 more than MEs without licensure. That is nine-year-old survey data on a member sample, so treat it as a direction rather than a current market rate.

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