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LicenseReciprocity

Transfer Your Engineering License to Texas: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) ↗

Yes — Texas issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Texas's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Council Record and are not retaken; applicants already licensed as a PE in another U.S. state qualify for a waiver of the PE examination, but EVERY applicant must additionally pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination (state-specific). 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.).

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Comity is Texas's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets Texas'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 Texas, 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 Texas requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.

Licensure for an out-of-state PE is a full application, not automatic reciprocity: Texas accepts the NCEES Council Record to verify education, exams, other-state licenses, and experience, and waives the PE exam for applicants already licensed in another U.S. state, but EVERY applicant must pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination and clear a fingerprint-based Texas DPS/FBI criminal-history check. Underlying standard is an ABET-accredited degree plus 4 years of acceptable experience. No interstate compact exists for engineering.

Texas requirements at a glance

Out-of-state PE license transfer requirements for Texas, verified 2026-07-21
ExamFE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Council Record and are not retaken; applicants already licensed as a PE in another U.S. state qualify for a waiver of the PE examination, but EVERY applicant must additionally pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination (state-specific)
Additional requirements
  • Hold qualifications comparable to Texas (ABET-accredited degree plus 4 years of acceptable engineering experience)
  • Submit an NCEES Council Record to verify education, exams, other-state licenses, and experience
  • Pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination
  • Submit fingerprints to the Texas DPS/FBI for a criminal-history background check
Fees$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.)
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).)

Step by step

  1. Confirm Texas's current requirements on the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) website — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) (application linked on this page).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
  4. Hold qualifications comparable to Texas (ABET-accredited degree plus 4 years of acceptable engineering experience).
  5. Submit an NCEES Council Record to verify education, exams, other-state licenses, and experience.
  6. Pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination.
  7. Submit fingerprints to the Texas DPS/FBI for a criminal-history background check.
  8. Pay the fees ($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.)) and allow ~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).).

Official links

Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) ↗Texas application ↗License verification ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Texas:

Alabama → TexasAlaska → TexasArizona → TexasArkansas → TexasCalifornia → TexasColorado → TexasConnecticut → TexasDelaware → TexasDistrict of Columbia → TexasFlorida → TexasGeorgia → TexasHawaii → TexasIdaho → TexasIllinois → TexasIndiana → TexasIowa → TexasKansas → TexasKentucky → TexasLouisiana → TexasMaine → Texas
All 50 origin states
Maryland → TexasMassachusetts → TexasMichigan → TexasMinnesota → TexasMississippi → TexasMissouri → TexasMontana → TexasNebraska → TexasNevada → TexasNew Hampshire → TexasNew Jersey → TexasNew Mexico → TexasNew York → TexasNorth Carolina → TexasNorth Dakota → TexasOhio → TexasOklahoma → TexasOregon → TexasPennsylvania → TexasRhode Island → TexasSouth Carolina → TexasSouth Dakota → TexasTennessee → TexasUtah → TexasVermont → TexasVirginia → TexasWashington → TexasWest Virginia → TexasWisconsin → TexasWyoming → Texas

Frequently asked questions

Does my PE license transfer to Texas?

Yes — Texas issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Texas's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Council Record and are not retaken; applicants already licensed as a PE in another U.S. state qualify for a waiver of the PE examination, but EVERY applicant must additionally pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination (state-specific). 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.).

Do I retake the FE or PE exam to get licensed in Texas?

FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Council Record and are not retaken; applicants already licensed as a PE in another U.S. state qualify for a waiver of the PE examination, but EVERY applicant must additionally pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination (state-specific).

What does PE licensure in Texas cost an out-of-state applicant?

$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.).

How long does the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) take to act on a comity application?

~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).).

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 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]