Transfer Your Engineering License to Indiana: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA) ↗
Yes — Indiana issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Indiana's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE (Part I) and PE (Part II, the NCEES PE exam) results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken (the FE is waived if already passed elsewhere); HOWEVER Indiana requires every comity applicant to complete Part III of the Indiana PE examination — a take-home (open-book) exam on professional conduct and Indiana registration law, submitted with the application. Application fee: $300 ($300 comity/reciprocity registration fee (864 IAC 1.1-12-1, non-refundable and non-transferable). A separate original certificate (issuance) fee applies: $50 if the registration is issued in an odd-numbered year or $100 if issued in an even-numbered year. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES).
Moving to Indiana from a specific state?
Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Comity is Indiana's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets Indiana'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 Indiana, 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 Indiana requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.
Registration by comity (IC 25-31-1-21): the board issues a NEW Indiana PE registration to an out-of-state PE whose credentials do not conflict with Indiana law (an EAC/ABET degree plus four years of experience; foreign degrees require an NCEES education evaluation). Indiana is a genuine state-specific-exam exception — comity applicants must complete Part III of the Indiana examination (professional conduct + Indiana registration law) even though the FE and PE results transfer through the NCEES Record. No interstate compact and no automatic reciprocity.
Indiana requirements at a glance
| Exam | FE (Part I) and PE (Part II, the NCEES PE exam) results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken (the FE is waived if already passed elsewhere); HOWEVER Indiana requires every comity applicant to complete Part III of the Indiana PE examination — a take-home (open-book) exam on professional conduct and Indiana registration law, submitted with the application |
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| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | $300 ($300 comity/reciprocity registration fee (864 IAC 1.1-12-1, non-refundable and non-transferable). A separate original certificate (issuance) fee applies: $50 if the registration is issued in an odd-numbered year or $100 if issued in an even-numbered year. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES) |
| Processing time | The board does not publish a comity turnaround; comity applications are reviewed by the board for substantial equivalence to Indiana's requirements, including Part III and the reference reports |
Step by step
- Confirm Indiana's current requirements on the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA) website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA) (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a PE registration in another U.S. state/territory issued under requirements that do not conflict with Indiana's (education, experience, and the FE + PE exams).
- Complete Part III of the Indiana PE examination (take-home, open-book exam on professional conduct and Indiana registration law).
- Provide reference reports on the applicant's competence — at least three from registered professional engineers (Indiana's application requests five references, three of them from PEs).
- Have the NCEES Record made available to Indiana, or submit certification of FE/PE passage plus official college transcripts.
- Pay the fees ($300 ($300 comity/reciprocity registration fee (864 IAC 1.1-12-1, non-refundable and non-transferable). A separate original certificate (issuance) fee applies: $50 if the registration is issued in an odd-numbered year or $100 if issued in an even-numbered year. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES)) and allow The board does not publish a comity turnaround; comity applications are reviewed by the board for substantial equivalence to Indiana's requirements, including Part III and the reference reports.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Indiana:
Frequently asked questions
Does my PE license transfer to Indiana?
Yes — Indiana issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Indiana's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE (Part I) and PE (Part II, the NCEES PE exam) results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken (the FE is waived if already passed elsewhere); HOWEVER Indiana requires every comity applicant to complete Part III of the Indiana PE examination — a take-home (open-book) exam on professional conduct and Indiana registration law, submitted with the application. Application fee: $300 ($300 comity/reciprocity registration fee (864 IAC 1.1-12-1, non-refundable and non-transferable). A separate original certificate (issuance) fee applies: $50 if the registration is issued in an odd-numbered year or $100 if issued in an even-numbered year. 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 Indiana?
FE (Part I) and PE (Part II, the NCEES PE exam) results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken (the FE is waived if already passed elsewhere); HOWEVER Indiana requires every comity applicant to complete Part III of the Indiana PE examination — a take-home (open-book) exam on professional conduct and Indiana registration law, submitted with the application.
What does PE licensure in Indiana cost an out-of-state applicant?
$300 ($300 comity/reciprocity registration fee (864 IAC 1.1-12-1, non-refundable and non-transferable). A separate original certificate (issuance) fee applies: $50 if the registration is issued in an odd-numbered year or $100 if issued in an even-numbered year. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES).
How long does the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA) take to act on a comity application?
The board does not publish a comity turnaround; comity applications are reviewed by the board for substantial equivalence to Indiana's requirements, including Part III and the reference reports.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Indiana Code 25-31-1-21 — License by reciprocity (IGA official, Title 25 Art. 31 Ch. 1) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- 864 IAC 1.1-12-1 — Fees charged by board (comity registration $300; original certificate $50/$100) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Indiana PLA — Engineering Licensing Information (comity: Part III exam, PE references, NCEES file) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES — Records Program (comity licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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