Transfer Your Engineering License to Mississippi: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors ↗
Yes — Mississippi issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors, which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Mississippi's own statute rather than re-testing you. Both the FE and PE (PPE) exams must have been passed; results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken. Mississippi has no state-specific PE exam or jurisprudence exam (a Mississippi Section exam applies only to Professional Surveyor applicants, not engineers). Application fee: $75 (PE application (initial or comity) is $75 per the Board's 2026 fee schedule (effective June 2, 2026); a small credit-card/e-check convenience fee applies at online payment. A $25 processing fee applies only to paper applications where online submission is available (comity is filed online). Biennial renewal is $70; exam/licensure verification is $50 for comity licensees. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES).
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Comity is Mississippi's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets Mississippi'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 Mississippi, 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 Mississippi requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.
Comity licensure under Miss. Code 73-13-35; the license bears the date the Board approves the application. Requirements: ABET BS engineering degree + FE + 4 years experience + PE exam + current out-of-state licensure. Foreign/non-ABET degrees must be evaluated by NCEES Credentials Evaluations (no waiver); CEAB (Canada) degrees are deemed equivalent to ABET
Mississippi requirements at a glance
| Exam | Both the FE and PE (PPE) exams must have been passed; results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken. Mississippi has no state-specific PE exam or jurisprudence exam (a Mississippi Section exam applies only to Professional Surveyor applicants, not engineers) |
|---|---|
| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | $75 (PE application (initial or comity) is $75 per the Board's 2026 fee schedule (effective June 2, 2026); a small credit-card/e-check convenience fee applies at online payment. A $25 processing fee applies only to paper applications where online submission is available (comity is filed online). Biennial renewal is $70; exam/licensure verification is $50 for comity licensees. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES) |
| Processing time | No published turnaround; an application review committee usually meets at the end of each month to approve completed comity applications, and licensure is issued at that time. Mississippi does not issue temporary permits and does not allow any unlicensed practice while an application is pending |
Step by step
- Confirm Mississippi's current requirements on the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold current PE licensure in another U.S. jurisdiction.
- Submit an NCEES Record; after review the Board may request experience-verification forms (at least 4 years) and character references (5 total, at least 3 from PEs, with one reference dated within the last 12 months).
- Hold an ABET-accredited BS engineering degree (or a CEAB/NCEES-evaluated equivalent); an engineering technology degree alone is not eligible.
- Have passed the FE exam (with EI enrollment) and the PE exam.
- Pay the fees ($75 (PE application (initial or comity) is $75 per the Board's 2026 fee schedule (effective June 2, 2026); a small credit-card/e-check convenience fee applies at online payment. A $25 processing fee applies only to paper applications where online submission is available (comity is filed online). Biennial renewal is $70; exam/licensure verification is $50 for comity licensees. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES)) and allow No published turnaround; an application review committee usually meets at the end of each month to approve completed comity applications, and licensure is issued at that time. Mississippi does not issue temporary permits and does not allow any unlicensed practice while an application is pending.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Mississippi:
Frequently asked questions
Does my PE license transfer to Mississippi?
Yes — Mississippi issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors, which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Mississippi's own statute rather than re-testing you. Both the FE and PE (PPE) exams must have been passed; results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken. Mississippi has no state-specific PE exam or jurisprudence exam (a Mississippi Section exam applies only to Professional Surveyor applicants, not engineers). Application fee: $75 (PE application (initial or comity) is $75 per the Board's 2026 fee schedule (effective June 2, 2026); a small credit-card/e-check convenience fee applies at online payment. A $25 processing fee applies only to paper applications where online submission is available (comity is filed online). Biennial renewal is $70; exam/licensure verification is $50 for comity licensees. 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 Mississippi?
Both the FE and PE (PPE) exams must have been passed; results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken. Mississippi has no state-specific PE exam or jurisprudence exam (a Mississippi Section exam applies only to Professional Surveyor applicants, not engineers).
What does PE licensure in Mississippi cost an out-of-state applicant?
$75 (PE application (initial or comity) is $75 per the Board's 2026 fee schedule (effective June 2, 2026); a small credit-card/e-check convenience fee applies at online payment. A $25 processing fee applies only to paper applications where online submission is available (comity is filed online). Biennial renewal is $70; exam/licensure verification is $50 for comity licensees. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES).
How long does the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors take to act on a comity application?
No published turnaround; an application review committee usually meets at the end of each month to approve completed comity applications, and licensure is issued at that time. Mississippi does not issue temporary permits and does not allow any unlicensed practice while an application is pending.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- MS Board of Licensure for PE & Surveyors — Comity PE (NCEES Record) application instructions (PDF) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- MS Board — Fee Schedule (2026, effective 06-02-26) (PDF) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- MS Board — Fee Schedule page ↗ (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
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]