Transfer Your Engineering License to Montana: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) ↗
Yes — Montana issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Montana's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Montana requires no state seismic or surveying exam, but every comity applicant must complete the Board's PE Laws and Rules questionnaire in full. Application fee: $75 (Montana PE comity application fee (checks payable to the Board of PE & PLS); biennial renewal is also $75. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES).
Moving to Montana from a specific state?
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Comity is Montana's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets Montana'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 Montana, 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 Montana requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.
Comity licensure under MCA Title 37, ch. 67; applications are filed through the state ePass/eBiz online portal. A distinctive 2015 statutory rule requires comity applicants who were licensed elsewhere with less than Montana's required experience to make up twice the deficit in post-licensure experience. 30 PDH continuing education per biennium after licensure.
Montana requirements at a glance
| Exam | FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Montana requires no state seismic or surveying exam, but every comity applicant must complete the Board's PE Laws and Rules questionnaire in full |
|---|---|
| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | $75 (Montana PE comity application fee (checks payable to the Board of PE & PLS); biennial renewal is also $75. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES) |
| Processing time | Board publishes no comity turnaround; contact DLI Business Standards at (406) 444-6880 for current timelines |
Step by step
- Confirm Montana's current requirements on the Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active out-of-state PE license and apply by comity under MCA 37-67-312 / 37-67-323 via the state online portal, with prior passage of the NCEES PE exam.
- Have NCEES transmit your NCEES Record to the board; foreign degrees must be evaluated by NCEES.
- Provide five character references, three of which must be from U.S.-licensed Professional Engineers.
- Complete the Board's PE Laws and Rules questionnaire; if licensed elsewhere with less experience than Montana requires, show post-licensure experience equal to twice the deficit (MCA 37-67-312, 2015 amendment).
- Pay the fees ($75 (Montana PE comity application fee (checks payable to the Board of PE & PLS); biennial renewal is also $75. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES)) and allow Board publishes no comity turnaround; contact DLI Business Standards at (406) 444-6880 for current timelines.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Montana:
Frequently asked questions
Does my PE license transfer to Montana?
Yes — Montana issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Montana's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Montana requires no state seismic or surveying exam, but every comity applicant must complete the Board's PE Laws and Rules questionnaire in full. Application fee: $75 (Montana PE comity application fee (checks payable to the Board of PE & PLS); biennial renewal is also $75. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES).
Do I retake the FE or PE exam to get licensed in Montana?
FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Montana requires no state seismic or surveying exam, but every comity applicant must complete the Board's PE Laws and Rules questionnaire in full.
What does PE licensure in Montana cost an out-of-state applicant?
$75 (Montana PE comity application fee (checks payable to the Board of PE & PLS); biennial renewal is also $75. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES).
How long does the Montana Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) take to act on a comity application?
Board publishes no comity turnaround; contact DLI Business Standards at (406) 444-6880 for current timelines.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Montana Board of PE & PLS — Professional Engineer license information (comity, $75 fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Montana Board of PE & PLS — PE Application with NCEES Record (comity requirements, laws-and-rules questionnaire, references) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES — Records Program (comity transmittal fees) ↗ (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]