Transfer Your Engineering License to Virginia: Reciprocity & Endorsement (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) ↗
Yes — Virginia issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You 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), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Virginia's own statute rather than re-testing 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. Application fee: $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.).
Moving to Virginia from a specific state?
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Comity is Virginia's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets Virginia'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 Virginia, 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 Virginia requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.
Virginia grants licensure by endorsement (18VAC10-20-270, titled "Licensure by comity" in earlier versions of the chapter) to a PE licensed elsewhere whose original education, experience, and exam requirements were substantially equivalent to Virginia's; otherwise the applicant must meet the current entry requirements. No Virginia-specific exam. Retried 2026-09-01: the official Virginia Law portal and the DPOR site were both reachable this time, so the fee is no longer null — it is confirmed at $134.50 from DPOR's own current application form, with the $120 base fee confirmed in 18VAC10-20-170. Requirements re-verified against the official Virginia Administrative Code portal rather than the Cornell LII reproduction.
Virginia requirements at a glance
| Exam | 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 |
|---|---|
| Additional requirements |
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| 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.) |
| Processing time | 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. |
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 — 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 on this page).
- 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
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Virginia:
Frequently asked questions
Does my PE license transfer to Virginia?
Yes — Virginia issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You 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), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Virginia's own statute rather than re-testing 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. Application fee: $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.).
Do I retake the FE or PE exam to get licensed in 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 PE licensure in Virginia cost an out-of-state applicant?
$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.).
How long does the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA), Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) take to act on a comity application?
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..
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)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-01
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