NCEES data · Checked October 6, 2026
PE exam pass rates by discipline
In NCEES fiscal year 2025 (October 2024–September 2025) the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exams recorded 21,533 first-time and 8,305 repeat attempts. The largest exam, Civil: Water Resources and Environmental, passed 71% of 4,313 first-time attempts; Civil: Transportation passed 59%, Civil: Structural 61%, and Electrical and Computer: Power 58%.
Every figure below is transcribed from NCEES Squared 2025, pages 16–24 (overall takers). Rates are rounded in the source. They describe candidate groups in one fiscal year, not an individual's chance of passing. Download the table as CSV (CC BY 4.0 for this transcription; the statistics are NCEES's).
PE pass rates for all 23 PE exams
| Exam | First-time attempts | First-time pass rate | Repeat attempts | Repeat pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological | 31 | 81% | 0 | 0% |
| Architectural | 109 | 59% | 20 | 20% |
| Chemical | 451 | 63% | 166 | 35% |
| Civil: Construction | 1,565 | 62% | 716 | 40% |
| Civil: Geotechnical | 782 | 65% | 360 | 42% |
| Civil: Structural | 2,879 | 61% | 1,314 | 42% |
| Civil: Transportation | 3,677 | 59% | 1,783 | 42% |
| Civil: Water Resources and Environmental | 4,313 | 71% | 1,384 | 50% |
| Control Systems | 249 | 61% | 67 | 31% |
| Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering | 21 | 67% | 5 | 0% |
| Electrical and Computer: Electronics, Controls, and Communications | 172 | 69% | 24 | 38% |
| Electrical and Computer: Power | 2,632 | 58% | 1,319 | 41% |
| Environmental | 645 | 67% | 200 | 51% |
| Fire Protection | 281 | 78% | 48 | 44% |
| Industrial and Systems | 95 | 61% | 18 | 39% |
| Mechanical: HVAC and Refrigeration | 1,439 | 74% | 388 | 55% |
| Mechanical: Machine Design and Materials | 876 | 71% | 242 | 48% |
| Mechanical: Thermal and Fluid Systems | 1,125 | 77% | 203 | 53% |
| Metallurgical and Materials | 44 | 68% | 7 | 29% |
| Mining and Mineral Processing | 45 | 80% | 11 | 45% |
| Naval Architecture and Marine | 37 | 54% | 7 | 71% |
| Nuclear | 13 | 54% | 2 | 0% |
| Petroleum | 52 | 42% | 21 | 33% |
Why the repeat rate is lower
In the nine PE exams with more than 750 first-time attempts, the repeat pass rate is 17 to 24 points below the first-time rate: Civil: Transportation 42% versus 59%, Civil: Structural 42% versus 61%, and Power 41% versus 58%. NCEES also reports that examinees with four years of engineering experience after graduation have the highest pass rates, with lower rates the further an examinee is from that point. A repeat attempt is usually taken with preparation that already fell short once, so changing the method matters more than adding hours.
SE exam pass rates by component
The PE Structural (SE) exam is taken in breadth and depth components. Its building depth components have the lowest first-time pass rates in these tables: Vertical Depth Buildings passed 13% of 342 first-time attempts.
| Exam | First-time attempts | First-time pass rate | Repeat attempts | Repeat pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structural Lateral Breadth | 318 | 46% | 105 | 46% |
| Structural Lateral Depth Bridges | 58 | 48% | 29 | 38% |
| Structural Lateral Depth Buildings | 241 | 20% | 155 | 21% |
| Structural Vertical Breadth | 442 | 40% | 100 | 31% |
| Structural Vertical Depth Bridges | 53 | 36% | 15 | 60% |
| Structural Vertical Depth Buildings | 342 | 13% | 160 | 16% |
Looking for the FE exam?
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam usually comes first, and its pass rates are reported separately. See FE exam pass rates by discipline or work the free FE practice problems.
Sources and corrections
NCEES publishes the underlying statistics in Squared 2025. EngineerProof is responsible for this transcription and interpretation. Report a suspected error through the contact details on the EngineerProof about page.