Transfer Your Engineering License to Idaho: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) ↗
Idaho grants PE licensure by comity — its term for endorsement — to an out-of-state Professional Engineer in good standing: the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) reviews the credentials in your NCEES Record instead of re-examining you. FE and PE (NCEES) exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken — having passed the NCEES exams satisfies Idaho's examination requirement; Idaho has no separate state law exam for PE comity (a state surveying exam applies only to land surveyors, not to the PE credential). Application fee: Idaho Code 54-1219 caps the comity application fee at a maximum of $150 (examination applicants are capped at $100 under 54-1213); the specific fee is set by DOPL within that cap. DOPL reduced all board fees by ~60% effective July 1, 2025 (Idaho Code 67-2608(3)), and the current DOPL fee schedule could not be loaded from a reachable official page at verification, so the exact current comity fee is left null rather than guessed. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES.
Moving to Idaho from a specific state?
Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Comity is Idaho's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets Idaho'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 Idaho, 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 Idaho requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.
Comity licensure via DOPL: an out-of-state PE is issued a NEW Idaho license after the board confirms substantially equivalent education, experience, and examination credentials (or applies the 8-year experience waiver). No interstate compact and no automatic reciprocity. Fee left null because a July 1, 2025 statewide 60% DOPL fee reduction supersedes the $150 statutory ceiling and the current published amount was not retrievable from a reachable official page (the DOPL and Idaho Legislature domains refused the automated fetcher, so the rule/statute text was read via the Cornell LII mirror and official-domain search extraction).
Idaho requirements at a glance
| Exam | FE and PE (NCEES) exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken — having passed the NCEES exams satisfies Idaho's examination requirement; Idaho has no separate state law exam for PE comity (a state surveying exam applies only to land surveyors, not to the PE credential) |
|---|---|
| Additional requirements |
|
| Fees | Idaho Code 54-1219 caps the comity application fee at a maximum of $150 (examination applicants are capped at $100 under 54-1213); the specific fee is set by DOPL within that cap. DOPL reduced all board fees by ~60% effective July 1, 2025 (Idaho Code 67-2608(3)), and the current DOPL fee schedule could not be loaded from a reachable official page at verification, so the exact current comity fee is left null rather than guessed. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES |
| Processing time | DOPL does not publish a comity processing time; each comity application is considered by the board for substantial compliance with Idaho's licensure requirements |
Step by step
- Confirm Idaho's current requirements on the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a PE license in good standing from another jurisdiction whose licensing system maintains substantially equivalent professional standards.
- Meet the underlying standard: an EAC/ABET-accredited (or equivalent, via NCEES credentials evaluation) engineering degree plus a minimum of 4 years of progressive post-graduation experience, and the FE and PE exams.
- Board may waive the prescriptive education/exam credentials for an applicant licensed and in practice at least 8 years with no outstanding discipline and in good standing.
- Submit an NCEES Record (or equivalent verification of licensure and exam results).
- Pay the fees (Idaho Code 54-1219 caps the comity application fee at a maximum of $150 (examination applicants are capped at $100 under 54-1213); the specific fee is set by DOPL within that cap. DOPL reduced all board fees by ~60% effective July 1, 2025 (Idaho Code 67-2608(3)), and the current DOPL fee schedule could not be loaded from a reachable official page at verification, so the exact current comity fee is left null rather than guessed. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES) and allow DOPL does not publish a comity processing time; each comity application is considered by the board for substantial compliance with Idaho's licensure requirements.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Idaho:
Frequently asked questions
Does my PE license transfer to Idaho?
Idaho grants PE licensure by comity — its term for endorsement — to an out-of-state Professional Engineer in good standing: the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) reviews the credentials in your NCEES Record instead of re-examining you. FE and PE (NCEES) exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken — having passed the NCEES exams satisfies Idaho's examination requirement; Idaho has no separate state law exam for PE comity (a state surveying exam applies only to land surveyors, not to the PE credential). Application fee: Idaho Code 54-1219 caps the comity application fee at a maximum of $150 (examination applicants are capped at $100 under 54-1213); the specific fee is set by DOPL within that cap. DOPL reduced all board fees by ~60% effective July 1, 2025 (Idaho Code 67-2608(3)), and the current DOPL fee schedule could not be loaded from a reachable official page at verification, so the exact current comity fee is left null rather than guessed. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES.
Do I retake the FE or PE exam to get licensed in Idaho?
FE and PE (NCEES) exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken — having passed the NCEES exams satisfies Idaho's examination requirement; Idaho has no separate state law exam for PE comity (a state surveying exam applies only to land surveyors, not to the PE credential).
What does PE licensure in Idaho cost an out-of-state applicant?
Idaho Code 54-1219 caps the comity application fee at a maximum of $150 (examination applicants are capped at $100 under 54-1213); the specific fee is set by DOPL within that cap. DOPL reduced all board fees by ~60% effective July 1, 2025 (Idaho Code 67-2608(3)), and the current DOPL fee schedule could not be loaded from a reachable official page at verification, so the exact current comity fee is left null rather than guessed. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES.
How long does the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) take to act on a comity application?
DOPL does not publish a comity processing time; each comity application is considered by the board for substantial compliance with Idaho's licensure requirements.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Idaho Code 54-1219 — Comity Licensure; Fee (comity fee not to exceed $150) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho Admin. Code IDAPA 24.32.01.019 — Licensees or Certificate Holders of Other States, Boards, and Countries (comity requirements + 8-year waiver) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho DOPL — Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (IPELS home) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho DOPL — press release: statewide ~60% board fee reduction effective July 1, 2025 ↗ (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]