Transfer Your Engineering License to Alaska: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Alaska State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS) ↗
Alaska grants PE licensure by comity — its term for endorsement — to an out-of-state Professional Engineer in good standing: the Alaska State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS) reviews the credentials in your NCEES Record instead of re-examining you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (the Council Record verifies education, exams, and current registration) and are not retaken; Alaska adds two state-specific requirements for every engineer applicant, including comity applicants: a Board-approved arctic engineering course (the arctic and seismic requirement, 12 AAC 36.110) and an Alaska jurisprudence questionnaire covering AS 08.48, AS 08.01, and 12 AAC 36 and 12 AAC 02. Application fee: $300 ($200 non-refundable application fee plus $100 registration fee ($300 total) for engineer registration by comity, payable to the State of Alaska; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES).
Moving to Alaska from a specific state?
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Comity is Alaska's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the Alaska State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets Alaska's practice act, rather than re-examining you. The lever that makes this smooth is your NCEES Record — NCEES compiles your transcripts, experience, references, and FE/PE results and transmits them straight to Alaska, and a Model Law Engineer designation speeds many boards further. One prerequisite is absolute: your current license must be active and unencumbered, so clear any open disciplinary matter before you file.
Read the exam line on this page closely before you assume the move is exam-free. Most boards add nothing to the FE and PE, but a few require a state-specific examination — seismic, surveying, or a statutes-and-rules review — that comity does not waive, and where Alaska requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.
Comity registration (12 AAC 36.105): Alaska explicitly offers NO reciprocity agreement with any state; comity is granted at the Board's discretion to applicants who passed the FE and PE examinations. The arctic engineering course and the jurisprudence questionnaire are Alaska's distinctive extra requirements and both apply to comity applicants. The NCEES Council Record is accepted for education, exams, and current-registration verification, but the applicant must separately document responsible-charge experience. All values were confirmed from the board's Engineer-by-Comity instruction PDF (form 08-4085), read in full this pass.
Alaska requirements at a glance
| Exam | FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (the Council Record verifies education, exams, and current registration) and are not retaken; Alaska adds two state-specific requirements for every engineer applicant, including comity applicants: a Board-approved arctic engineering course (the arctic and seismic requirement, 12 AAC 36.110) and an Alaska jurisprudence questionnaire covering AS 08.48, AS 08.01, and 12 AAC 36 and 12 AAC 02 |
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| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | $300 ($200 non-refundable application fee plus $100 registration fee ($300 total) for engineer registration by comity, payable to the State of Alaska; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES) |
| Processing time | No fixed turnaround published; the Board reviews comity applications only at its quarterly meetings (typically Feb, May, Aug, Nov), a complete application and fees must reach the Juneau office about 30 days before a meeting, and applicants are notified within ~3 weeks after the meeting |
Step by step
- Confirm Alaska's current requirements on the Alaska State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS) website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Alaska State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS) (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current engineer registration in another jurisdiction obtained by the FE and PE examinations (the FE may be waived by verified experience under 12 AAC 36.090).
- Complete a Board-approved arctic engineering course, or its equivalent (arctic and seismic requirement, 12 AAC 36.110).
- Complete the Alaska jurisprudence questionnaire (AS 08.48, AS 08.01, 12 AAC 36 and 12 AAC 02).
- Verify responsible-charge experience: at least 24 months verified by a PE in the branch sought, or (if registered 5+ years) two current PE reference letters — the NCEES Record does not cover this section.
- Underlying standard: EAC/ABET-accredited engineering degree plus qualifying progressive experience.
- Pay the fees ($300 ($200 non-refundable application fee plus $100 registration fee ($300 total) for engineer registration by comity, payable to the State of Alaska; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES)) and allow No fixed turnaround published; the Board reviews comity applications only at its quarterly meetings (typically Feb, May, Aug, Nov), a complete application and fees must reach the Juneau office about 30 days before a meeting, and applicants are notified within ~3 weeks after the meeting.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Alaska:
Frequently asked questions
Does my PE license transfer to Alaska?
Alaska grants PE licensure by comity — its term for endorsement — to an out-of-state Professional Engineer in good standing: the Alaska State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS) reviews the credentials in your NCEES Record instead of re-examining you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (the Council Record verifies education, exams, and current registration) and are not retaken; Alaska adds two state-specific requirements for every engineer applicant, including comity applicants: a Board-approved arctic engineering course (the arctic and seismic requirement, 12 AAC 36.110) and an Alaska jurisprudence questionnaire covering AS 08.48, AS 08.01, and 12 AAC 36 and 12 AAC 02. Application fee: $300 ($200 non-refundable application fee plus $100 registration fee ($300 total) for engineer registration by comity, payable to the State of Alaska; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES).
Do I retake the FE or PE exam to get licensed in Alaska?
FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (the Council Record verifies education, exams, and current registration) and are not retaken; Alaska adds two state-specific requirements for every engineer applicant, including comity applicants: a Board-approved arctic engineering course (the arctic and seismic requirement, 12 AAC 36.110) and an Alaska jurisprudence questionnaire covering AS 08.48, AS 08.01, and 12 AAC 36 and 12 AAC 02.
What does PE licensure in Alaska cost an out-of-state applicant?
$300 ($200 non-refundable application fee plus $100 registration fee ($300 total) for engineer registration by comity, payable to the State of Alaska; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES).
How long does the Alaska State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS) take to act on a comity application?
No fixed turnaround published; the Board reviews comity applications only at its quarterly meetings (typically Feb, May, Aug, Nov), a complete application and fees must reach the Juneau office about 30 days before a meeting, and applicants are notified within ~3 weeks after the meeting.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Alaska AELS — Engineer by Comity Registration Application Instructions (form 08-4085; fees, arctic course, jurisprudence questionnaire, experience) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Alaska AELS — Board of Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (home) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES — Records Program (comity transmittal fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]