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LicenseReciprocity

Transfer Your Engineering License to Illinois: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers ↗

Yes — Illinois issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers, which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Illinois's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Illinois requires passage of both the FE and PE exams for licensure, but an endorsement applicant whose FE was waived in another jurisdiction may submit a waiver request to the Board (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1380.280); Illinois has no separate state law exam. Note: Professional Engineer (PE) and Structural Engineer (SE) are separate Illinois licenses. 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).

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Comity is Illinois's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets Illinois'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 Illinois, 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 Illinois requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.

Licensure by endorsement (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1380.280): IDFPR issues a NEW PE license to an out-of-state PE who meets Illinois-specific requirements (an EAC/ABET degree or approved equivalent plus at least four years of acceptable experience and passage of the FE and PE exams). Online applications are filed through IDFPR's CORE system (launched Oct 30, 2024). No interstate compact and no automatic reciprocity. PE and SE are licensed separately.

Illinois requirements at a glance

Out-of-state PE license transfer requirements for Illinois, verified 2026-07-21
ExamFE and PE exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Illinois requires passage of both the FE and PE exams for licensure, but an endorsement applicant whose FE was waived in another jurisdiction may submit a waiver request to the Board (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1380.280); Illinois has no separate state law exam. Note: Professional Engineer (PE) and Structural Engineer (SE) are separate Illinois licenses
Additional requirements
  • Hold a current, active PE license issued by another U.S. jurisdiction under substantially equivalent standards
  • Satisfy the NCEES Engineering Education Standard (EAC/ABET degree or approved equivalent; evaluations showing deficiencies are not accepted)
  • Submit an NCEES Record in lieu of transcripts, experience forms, and exam certifications (encouraged; may shorten processing)
  • Note that PE and SE are licensed separately in Illinois and neither can offer the other's services
Fees$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)
Processing timeIDFPR does not publish a guaranteed endorsement turnaround; the board's PE FAQ states that using an NCEES Record may shorten processing time

Step by step

  1. Confirm Illinois's current requirements on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers website — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers.
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
  4. Hold a current, active PE license issued by another U.S. jurisdiction under substantially equivalent standards.
  5. Satisfy the NCEES Engineering Education Standard (EAC/ABET degree or approved equivalent; evaluations showing deficiencies are not accepted).
  6. Submit an NCEES Record in lieu of transcripts, experience forms, and exam certifications (encouraged; may shorten processing).
  7. Note that PE and SE are licensed separately in Illinois and neither can offer the other's services.
  8. Pay the fees ($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)) and allow IDFPR does not publish a guaranteed endorsement turnaround; the board's PE FAQ states that using an NCEES Record may shorten processing time.

Official links

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers ↗License verification ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Illinois:

Alabama → IllinoisAlaska → IllinoisArizona → IllinoisArkansas → IllinoisCalifornia → IllinoisColorado → IllinoisConnecticut → IllinoisDelaware → IllinoisDistrict of Columbia → IllinoisFlorida → IllinoisGeorgia → IllinoisHawaii → IllinoisIdaho → IllinoisIndiana → IllinoisIowa → IllinoisKansas → IllinoisKentucky → IllinoisLouisiana → IllinoisMaine → IllinoisMaryland → Illinois
All 50 origin states
Massachusetts → IllinoisMichigan → IllinoisMinnesota → IllinoisMississippi → IllinoisMissouri → IllinoisMontana → IllinoisNebraska → IllinoisNevada → IllinoisNew Hampshire → IllinoisNew Jersey → IllinoisNew Mexico → IllinoisNew York → IllinoisNorth Carolina → IllinoisNorth Dakota → IllinoisOhio → IllinoisOklahoma → IllinoisOregon → IllinoisPennsylvania → IllinoisRhode Island → IllinoisSouth Carolina → IllinoisSouth Dakota → IllinoisTennessee → IllinoisTexas → IllinoisUtah → IllinoisVermont → IllinoisVirginia → IllinoisWashington → IllinoisWest Virginia → IllinoisWisconsin → IllinoisWyoming → Illinois

Frequently asked questions

Does my PE license transfer to Illinois?

Yes — Illinois issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers, which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Illinois's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Illinois requires passage of both the FE and PE exams for licensure, but an endorsement applicant whose FE was waived in another jurisdiction may submit a waiver request to the Board (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1380.280); Illinois has no separate state law exam. Note: Professional Engineer (PE) and Structural Engineer (SE) are separate Illinois licenses. 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).

Do I retake the FE or PE exam to get licensed in Illinois?

FE and PE exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Illinois requires passage of both the FE and PE exams for licensure, but an endorsement applicant whose FE was waived in another jurisdiction may submit a waiver request to the Board (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1380.280); Illinois has no separate state law exam. Note: Professional Engineer (PE) and Structural Engineer (SE) are separate Illinois licenses.

What does PE licensure in Illinois cost an out-of-state applicant?

$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).

How long does the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers take to act on a comity application?

IDFPR does not publish a guaranteed endorsement turnaround; the board's PE FAQ states that using an NCEES Record may shorten processing time.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 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]