Engineering License from Illinois to Maine: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Maine State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers ↗
A PE license transfers from Illinois to Maine by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Maine State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers, verify your Illinois license, and meet Maine's endorsement requirements. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Maine requires no state-specific exam.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Maine grants PE licensure by comity, so a Professional Engineer licensed in Illinois does not start over — but does file a full Maine application. Your Illinois license, ABET degree, qualifying experience, and FE and PE results reach the Maine State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers through your NCEES Record; the board's task is to confirm they meet Maine's practice act, not to re-test you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Maine requires no state-specific exam. Two things govern your timeline: keeping your Illinois license active and unencumbered while the Maine application is pending, and clearing any Maine-specific exam or statutes review before the license issues.
What changes, Illinois → Maine
| Illinois (current) | Maine (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $100 ($100 Professional Engineer license application fee (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1380.275; the same single application fee applies to endorsement); renewal is $30 per year. Request that NCEES transmit your Record to Illinois — NCEES charges $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately) | $170 (Maine cost to license by comity = $50 application fee + $120 licensure fee, paid together at application; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board paid to NCEES) |
| Processing time | IDFPR does not publish a guaranteed endorsement turnaround; the board's PE FAQ states that using an NCEES Record may shorten processing time | The board publishes no comity turnaround; the Maine and NCEES databases are separate, so the applicant must have NCEES transmit the Record before the application can be reviewed |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers | Maine State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Maine sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Maine's current requirements on the Maine State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Maine State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a PE license in good standing in another U.S. state, territory, D.C., or foreign country.
- Provide a current NCEES Record (accepted for comity) or equivalent transcripts, FE/PE exam results, experience, and references.
- Meet the standard comity path (ABET-approved curriculum, at least four years of experience after graduation, FE and PE passed) OR the eight-year path (licensed in good standing 8+ years with substantially equivalent qualifications, where the board may waive additional requirements).
- Submit Engineering Employment Verification Forms if not relying solely on a complete NCEES Record.
- Pay the fees ($170 (Maine cost to license by comity = $50 application fee + $120 licensure fee, paid together at application; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board paid to NCEES)) and allow The board publishes no comity turnaround; the Maine and NCEES databases are separate, so the applicant must have NCEES transmit the Record before the application can be reviewed.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Maine accept a Illinois PE license?
A PE license transfers from Illinois to Maine by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Maine State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers, verify your Illinois license, and meet Maine's endorsement requirements. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Maine requires no state-specific exam.
Do I retake the FE or PE exam moving from Illinois to Maine?
FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Maine requires no state-specific exam.
What does the Illinois-to-Maine comity application cost?
$170 (Maine cost to license by comity = $50 application fee + $120 licensure fee, paid together at application; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board paid to NCEES).
Can I keep my Illinois PE license after I'm licensed in Maine?
Yes — PE licenses stack. Keep the Illinois license active (its renewal and continuing-education/PDH clock run separately) and you hold both. Engineers working near state lines or nationally routinely carry several PE licenses at once, all sourced from a single NCEES Record.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Maine Board of Licensure for PEs — Professional Engineer Licensing (comity fees & pathway) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Maine Revised Statutes Title 32 sec. 1352-A — Qualifications (comity subsections 1.A and 1.A-1) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES — Records Program (comity licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- IDFPR — Professional Engineering Frequently Asked Questions (endorsement pathway, FE/PE requirement, NCEES Record, PE vs SE) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Ill. Admin. Code tit. 68, § 1380.275 — Fees (Professional Engineer license $100) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- IDFPR — Professional Engineering (Practice Act, rules, application forms) ↗ (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]