Alabama PE License Requirements: Exams, Application, and Renewal

To earn an Alabama PE license, you need an engineering degree, passing scores on the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles and Practice of Engineering exams, several years of qualifying work experience, and approval from the Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (BELS). The Alabama PE license requirements set a four-year experience minimum for graduates of approved programs and six years for graduates of unapproved programs, and every licensee renews on a two-year cycle with continuing education.

Education and Experience

Your path depends on where you earned your degree. Graduates of an approved engineering program (typically ABET-accredited) of four years or more need four additional years of progressive engineering experience. Graduates of an unapproved program need six years.¹ Both paths require passing the FE and PE exams.

Experience must show increasing responsibility in engineering work of a “grade and character satisfactory to the board.” That standard gives BELS room to reject work that’s too narrow or too routine. Time in construction management, sales, or teaching without a real design or analysis component generally doesn’t count.

Foreign or Non-Accredited Degrees

If your degree comes from a school outside the United States or a non-ABET-accredited program, you’ll need an NCEES Credentials Evaluation. That involves official transcripts mailed directly from each university you attended, an official diploma, and course descriptions for every class. Documents in other languages need certified translations.² Even after clearing the evaluation, graduates of unapproved programs still face the six-year experience requirement.¹

The Two Exams

Alabama requires both NCEES exams.³

The FE is a computer-based test of 110 questions covering mathematics, engineering sciences, and discipline-specific topics. Most people take it during or shortly after finishing their engineering degree. The fee is $225, paid to NCEES.⁴

The PE exam comes later, after you’ve cleared the FE and logged your qualifying experience. Its format varies by discipline. The fee is $400, again paid directly to NCEES.⁵ Registration runs through your NCEES account, not through BELS.

If you need testing accommodations for a disability, request them during NCEES registration with a form and supporting documentation. Available accommodations include extra time, additional breaks, a separate room, a scribe, or a reader.⁶

Applying to BELS

Applications are filed through the BELS online portal. You’ll provide proof of U.S. citizenship or legal work authorization, exam verification, degree information, detailed work history, and disclosure of any legal or disciplinary history. The application fee is $125, paid electronically.⁷

You must account for all time since graduation. Each experience entry needs verification from a licensed supervisor or associate, who receives an email link to confirm your role. Experience can’t be anticipated, and you can’t claim overlapping full-time and part-time positions at the same time.⁸

You’ll also list five references, and at least three must be currently licensed professional engineers who can evaluate your training and experience.⁹ Slow or inconsistent references are a common source of delay. Transcripts come straight from your schools to BELS, or through your NCEES account.

If You’re Already Licensed Elsewhere

Engineers with a valid PE license from another state can apply by comity instead of starting over. BELS reviews whether your education, experience, and exam history meet Alabama’s standards.¹

The quickest route is to set up an NCEES Record first. The Record collects your transcripts, exam results, employment verifications, and references in one place, and NCEES sends the package to BELS electronically.¹⁰ With a clean Record and matching application, licenses typically issue in about two weeks.⁸ Without one, you’ll gather each document yourself: transcripts from every school, exam verification from the state where you tested, license verification from every state where you hold a license, and full supervisor-verified experience entries. That path takes longer.

Firms Need a Separate Certificate

Personal licensure only covers you. If your firm offers engineering services to the public in Alabama under its own name or a fictitious name, it needs its own Certificate of Authorization (COA) from BELS. Companies doing engineering only for themselves, a parent, or a subsidiary are exempt.¹¹

The COA application fee is capped at $250, and the firm must update BELS within 30 days of any change to its application information. The Alabama Secretary of State also won’t issue incorporation papers for a company using “engineer,” “engineering,” or similar terms in its name unless the firm already holds a COA or a BELS letter confirming eligibility.¹¹

Renewal and Continuing Education

Alabama PE licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years. Renewal is online, and the fee is $100.¹²

You must earn 30 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) during each two-year renewal period. Qualifying activities include seminars, college courses, and accredited self-study programs, and the content has to be relevant to engineering practice. Up to 15 excess PDHs carry forward to the next period, but you can’t bank hours from future activities.¹³

Keep certificates and completion records for at least four years. BELS runs random audits, and selected licensees upload their documentation at that point.¹³ You can’t renew until all 30 PDHs are complete.¹²

Miss the December 31 deadline and you’ll owe a $250 late fee on top of the $100 renewal fee.¹² If your license has been expired for up to two years, you can apply for reinstatement, but you’ll need enough PDHs to cover the lapsed period plus the current renewal period, along with a reinstatement fee that varies with the length of the lapse.

Discipline and Unauthorized Practice

BELS investigates complaints from clients, employers, other engineers, and the public. Grounds for discipline include fraud in obtaining a license, working beyond your technical competence, conflicts of interest, and continuing education failures. Penalties range from fines and temporary suspension for minor issues up to permanent revocation for serious ethical breaches. Licensees can appeal through Alabama’s administrative hearing process.

Practicing engineering, offering to practice, or using the title “engineer” or “professional engineer” without a valid Alabama license is a Class A misdemeanor, and each day of continued violation counts as a separate offense. This applies to both individuals and firms.¹⁴ BELS can also impose civil penalties of up to $5,000 per offense, with each day again treated as a separate violation, and can seek an injunction to shut the work down.¹⁵

1
Alabama Board for Engineers & Land Surveyors. Alabama Code 34-11-4 – General Requirements for Licensure or Certification
2
NCEES. NCEES Credentials Evaluation FAQs
3
NCEES. Exams
4
NCEES. FE Exam
5
NCEES. PE Exam
6
NCEES. NCEES Accommodations Request Form
7
Alabama Board for Engineers & Land Surveyors. Fees
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Alabama Board for Engineers & Land Surveyors. Application Process
9
Alabama Administrative Code. Rule 330-X-7-.02 – References
10
NCEES. Records Program
11
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 34-11-9 – Practice by Firms
12
Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Frequently Asked Questions
13
Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Rule 330-X-13-.02 for Continuing Professional Competency for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
14
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 34-11-15 – Violations; Penalties
15
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 34-11-11.1 – Civil Penalties