Transfer Your Engineering License to New Hampshire: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: New Hampshire Board of Professional Engineers (NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) ↗
New Hampshire grants PE licensure by comity — its term for endorsement — to an out-of-state Professional Engineer in good standing: the New Hampshire Board of Professional Engineers (NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) reviews the credentials in your NCEES Record instead of re-examining you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; under HB 594 endorsement, an applicant holding an active, good-standing license from a substantially similar jurisdiction need not even submit exam results, transcripts, experience, or references. No state seismic or surveying exam applies. Application fee: $165 (New Hampshire PE application fee per the OPLC engineers' fee schedule (renewal is also $165). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES).
Moving to New Hampshire from a specific state?
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Comity is New Hampshire's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the New Hampshire Board of Professional Engineers (NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets New Hampshire'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 New Hampshire, 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 New Hampshire requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.
New Hampshire's Board of Professional Engineers sits inside the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC). Under HB 594 (2023; applications accepted from May 2024), the OPLC issues a license to an applicant holding an active, good-standing license from a substantially similar jurisdiction without requiring transcripts, exam results, experience, or references. The verified PE application fee is $165; a widely repeated aggregator figure of $825 is incorrect.
New Hampshire requirements at a glance
| Exam | FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; under HB 594 endorsement, an applicant holding an active, good-standing license from a substantially similar jurisdiction need not even submit exam results, transcripts, experience, or references. No state seismic or surveying exam applies |
|---|---|
| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | $165 (New Hampshire PE application fee per the OPLC engineers' fee schedule (renewal is also $165). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES) |
| Processing time | OPLC publishes no PE endorsement turnaround; HB 594 reciprocity is designed as a streamlined pathway but no time figure is stated on an official page |
Step by step
- Confirm New Hampshire's current requirements on the New Hampshire Board of Professional Engineers (NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Hampshire Board of Professional Engineers (NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active PE license in good standing from a jurisdiction whose licensing requirements are substantially similar to New Hampshire's (HB 594 endorsement / reciprocity).
- Submit the online application with the application fee and a copy of the license from the qualifying jurisdiction.
- Complete a criminal background check if indicated.
- Standard (non-reciprocity) applicants must additionally complete the board's Law and Ethics Questionnaire and reference form.
- Pay the fees ($165 (New Hampshire PE application fee per the OPLC engineers' fee schedule (renewal is also $165). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES)) and allow OPLC publishes no PE endorsement turnaround; HB 594 reciprocity is designed as a streamlined pathway but no time figure is stated on an official page.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into New Hampshire:
Frequently asked questions
Does my PE license transfer to New Hampshire?
New Hampshire grants PE licensure by comity — its term for endorsement — to an out-of-state Professional Engineer in good standing: the New Hampshire Board of Professional Engineers (NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) reviews the credentials in your NCEES Record instead of re-examining you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; under HB 594 endorsement, an applicant holding an active, good-standing license from a substantially similar jurisdiction need not even submit exam results, transcripts, experience, or references. No state seismic or surveying exam applies. Application fee: $165 (New Hampshire PE application fee per the OPLC engineers' fee schedule (renewal is also $165). 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 New Hampshire?
FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; under HB 594 endorsement, an applicant holding an active, good-standing license from a substantially similar jurisdiction need not even submit exam results, transcripts, experience, or references. No state seismic or surveying exam applies.
What does PE licensure in New Hampshire cost an out-of-state applicant?
$165 (New Hampshire PE application fee per the OPLC engineers' fee schedule (renewal is also $165). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES).
How long does the New Hampshire Board of Professional Engineers (NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) take to act on a comity application?
OPLC publishes no PE endorsement turnaround; HB 594 reciprocity is designed as a streamlined pathway but no time figure is stated on an official page.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- NH OPLC — Reciprocity Licensing (HB 594 endorsement pathway) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NH OPLC Board of Professional Engineers — Engineers' License Fees ($165 application) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NH OPLC Board of Professional Engineers — Engineers' Applications ↗ (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]