Transfer Your Engineering License to New Jersey: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Division of Consumer Affairs) ↗
Yes — New Jersey issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Division of Consumer Affairs), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against New Jersey's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (or direct board-to-board verification) and are not retaken; New Jersey requires that your original license was earned by the full written examination (8-hour Fundamentals plus 8-hour Principles and Practice) and imposes no separate state jurisprudence exam. Application fee: $75 (NJ professional engineer application fee is $75 (nonrefundable) plus an initial license fee of $80 in year one or $40 in year two of the biennial period; transmitting an NCEES Record to the board costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES).
Moving to New Jersey from a specific state?
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Comity is New Jersey's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Division of Consumer Affairs) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets New Jersey'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 Jersey, 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 Jersey requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.
Comity licensure under N.J.S.A. 45:8-35(1)(e). The Board has no reciprocity or 'grandfather' clause: every applicant, regardless of prior registration, must meet NJ's own standard (four-year Board-approved engineering degree plus four years of acceptable experience, and a prior license earned by the 16-hour NCEES written exam). The Board may waive the FE portion for an applicant with 15 years of acceptable experience but has no authority to waive the PE. A master's adds one year of experience credit and a Ph.D. one more. Applicants from non-English-speaking countries must pass TOEFL (575) and TSE (50) unless exempt.
New Jersey requirements at a glance
| Exam | FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (or direct board-to-board verification) and are not retaken; New Jersey requires that your original license was earned by the full written examination (8-hour Fundamentals plus 8-hour Principles and Practice) and imposes no separate state jurisprudence exam |
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| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | $75 (NJ professional engineer application fee is $75 (nonrefundable) plus an initial license fee of $80 in year one or $40 in year two of the biennial period; transmitting an NCEES Record to the board costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES) |
| Processing time | Board publishes no comity turnaround; comity applications are reviewed by the Board against N.J.S.A. 45:8-35, which meets periodically |
Step by step
- Confirm New Jersey's current requirements on the New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Division of Consumer Affairs) website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Division of Consumer Affairs) (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active out-of-state PE license granted upon the written 8-hour FE plus 8-hour PE examination.
- Graduate from a Board-approved four-year engineering curriculum plus four years of acceptable experience (or a four-year engineering technology curriculum plus six years).
- Submit five references, at least three from U.S.-licensed professional engineers with personal knowledge of your experience.
- Provide written verification of licensure in good standing from every state in which you are licensed.
- Pay the fees ($75 (NJ professional engineer application fee is $75 (nonrefundable) plus an initial license fee of $80 in year one or $40 in year two of the biennial period; transmitting an NCEES Record to the board costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES)) and allow Board publishes no comity turnaround; comity applications are reviewed by the Board against N.J.S.A. 45:8-35, which meets periodically.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into New Jersey:
Frequently asked questions
Does my PE license transfer to New Jersey?
Yes — New Jersey issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Division of Consumer Affairs), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against New Jersey's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (or direct board-to-board verification) and are not retaken; New Jersey requires that your original license was earned by the full written examination (8-hour Fundamentals plus 8-hour Principles and Practice) and imposes no separate state jurisprudence exam. Application fee: $75 (NJ professional engineer application fee is $75 (nonrefundable) plus an initial license fee of $80 in year one or $40 in year two of the biennial period; transmitting an NCEES Record to the board 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 Jersey?
FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (or direct board-to-board verification) and are not retaken; New Jersey requires that your original license was earned by the full written examination (8-hour Fundamentals plus 8-hour Principles and Practice) and imposes no separate state jurisprudence exam.
What does PE licensure in New Jersey cost an out-of-state applicant?
$75 (NJ professional engineer application fee is $75 (nonrefundable) plus an initial license fee of $80 in year one or $40 in year two of the biennial period; transmitting an NCEES Record to the board costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES).
How long does the New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Division of Consumer Affairs) take to act on a comity application?
Board publishes no comity turnaround; comity applications are reviewed by the Board against N.J.S.A. 45:8-35, which meets periodically.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- NJ Board of PE&LS — Comity Review for Professional Engineers License ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NJ Board of PE&LS — Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Fee Schedule (N.J.A.C. 13:40-6.1) ↗ (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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