Engineering License from Texas to Virginia: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-01 · source: Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) ↗
A PE license transfers from Texas to Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), verify your Texas license, and meet Virginia's endorsement requirements. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (or NCEES verification) and are not retaken; Virginia requires no state-specific exam — comity relies on the examination you passed for your original license.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Virginia grants PE licensure by comity, so a Professional Engineer licensed in Texas does not start over — but does file a full Virginia application. Your Texas license, ABET degree, qualifying experience, and FE and PE results reach the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) through your NCEES Record; the board's task is to confirm they meet Virginia's practice act, not to re-test you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (or NCEES verification) and are not retaken; Virginia requires no state-specific exam — comity relies on the examination you passed for your original license. Two things govern your timeline: keeping your Texas license active and unencumbered while the Virginia application is pending, and clearing any Virginia-specific exam or statutes review before the license issues.
What changes, Texas → Virginia
| Texas (current) | Virginia (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $75 (TBPELS PE license application fee (covers the Texas Ethics of Engineering exam); a fingerprint-based criminal-history check is also required (fee paid to the state's fingerprint vendor). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES. Renewal is $100 for two years.) | $134.5 ($134.50 is the total application fee DPOR collects for a Virginia PE license by endorsement (comity), transaction code 1021, per the board's current application form A416-0402LIC-v9 (effective 07/01/2026); application by examination is the same $134.50. The underlying "Application for Professional Engineer License by Endorsement" fee set by 18VAC10-20-170 is $120, and DPOR's form footnotes the amount charged to the technology fee it is directed to collect under 2026 House Bill 30 ($7.25 per year). Application fees are nonrefundable and are not prorated, and are paid to the Treasurer of Virginia. Separate from this fee: license renewal ($160 under 18VAC10-20-170), FE/PE exam fees paid to NCEES, and NCEES Record transmittal ($175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES). Reinstatement of a Virginia PE license that expired five or more years ago is $474.50.) |
| Processing time | ~8 weeks (TBPELS states an average application processing time of about two months (eight weeks) on its PE Application Process page, depending on the adequacy of the submittal; the ethics exam, NCEES Record, and fingerprint TX DPS/FBI criminal-history check must all clear before licensure (outgoing verification requests can separately take up to 30 business days).) | APELSCIDLA/DPOR publishes no comity turnaround on reachable pages; comity applications are reviewed by board staff once the education, experience, examination, and license verifications are received. |
| Licensing authority | Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) | Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Virginia sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Virginia's current requirements on the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active PE license in another U.S. state or jurisdiction, in good standing.
- Show that your original licensure requirements (education, experience, and examination) were substantially equivalent to Virginia's at the time; otherwise meet Virginia's current entry requirements (18VAC10-20-270).
- Meet Virginia's education standard (18VAC10-20-230) and qualifying engineering experience standard (18VAC10-20-240).
- Provide three professional references.
- Pay the fees ($134.5 ($134.50 is the total application fee DPOR collects for a Virginia PE license by endorsement (comity), transaction code 1021, per the board's current application form A416-0402LIC-v9 (effective 07/01/2026); application by examination is the same $134.50. The underlying "Application for Professional Engineer License by Endorsement" fee set by 18VAC10-20-170 is $120, and DPOR's form footnotes the amount charged to the technology fee it is directed to collect under 2026 House Bill 30 ($7.25 per year). Application fees are nonrefundable and are not prorated, and are paid to the Treasurer of Virginia. Separate from this fee: license renewal ($160 under 18VAC10-20-170), FE/PE exam fees paid to NCEES, and NCEES Record transmittal ($175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES). Reinstatement of a Virginia PE license that expired five or more years ago is $474.50.)) and allow APELSCIDLA/DPOR publishes no comity turnaround on reachable pages; comity applications are reviewed by board staff once the education, experience, examination, and license verifications are received..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Virginia accept a Texas PE license?
A PE license transfers from Texas to Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), verify your Texas license, and meet Virginia's endorsement requirements. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (or NCEES verification) and are not retaken; Virginia requires no state-specific exam — comity relies on the examination you passed for your original license.
Do I retake the FE or PE exam moving from Texas to Virginia?
FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record (or NCEES verification) and are not retaken; Virginia requires no state-specific exam — comity relies on the examination you passed for your original license.
What does the Texas-to-Virginia comity application cost?
$134.5 ($134.50 is the total application fee DPOR collects for a Virginia PE license by endorsement (comity), transaction code 1021, per the board's current application form A416-0402LIC-v9 (effective 07/01/2026); application by examination is the same $134.50. The underlying "Application for Professional Engineer License by Endorsement" fee set by 18VAC10-20-170 is $120, and DPOR's form footnotes the amount charged to the technology fee it is directed to collect under 2026 House Bill 30 ($7.25 per year). Application fees are nonrefundable and are not prorated, and are paid to the Treasurer of Virginia. Separate from this fee: license renewal ($160 under 18VAC10-20-170), FE/PE exam fees paid to NCEES, and NCEES Record transmittal ($175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES). Reinstatement of a Virginia PE license that expired five or more years ago is $474.50.).
Can I keep my Texas PE license after I'm licensed in Virginia?
Yes — PE licenses stack. Keep the Texas license active (its renewal and continuing-education/PDH clock run separately) and you hold both. Engineers working near state lines or nationally routinely carry several PE licenses at once, all sourced from a single NCEES Record.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-01.
- Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-270 — Licensure by comity (Cornell LII reproduction of the official Virginia code) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-170 — Fee schedule, pre-8/1/2025 (Cornell LII reproduction) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-270 (official portal — unreachable at research time, cited as authority) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-170 — Fee schedule (official Virginia Law portal; text current as of 9/1/2026, last amended eff. May 1, 2026) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-01)
- Virginia DPOR — Professional Engineer License Application A416-0402LIC-v9 (eff. 07/01/2026), method of licensure fee table ↗ (accessed 2026-09-01)
- TBPELS — Basic Licensure Requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — Exam Waiver Requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — PE Application Process ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — Agency Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-01
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