New Hampshire Professional Engineer License Requirements

To earn a professional engineer license in New Hampshire, you need a bachelor’s degree from an ABET-accredited engineering program, a passing score on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, at least four years of progressive supervised experience, a passing score on the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam in your discipline, and a passing score on a state law and ethics questionnaire. The Board of Professional Engineers, housed within the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC), issues the license, and you renew it every two years by completing 30 professional development hours. Those are the core New Hampshire professional engineer license requirements; the details below fill each one in.

Education and Experience

The baseline is a four-year bachelor’s degree from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The statute also credits partial and related education toward the experience requirement. Each completed year of an approved engineering curriculum you didn’t finish counts as one year of qualifying experience. A degree in a related field from a recognized school counts as two years. No applicant, though, receives more than four years of experience credit for undergraduate education alone. Up to one additional year of credit may be granted for satisfactory graduate-level engineering study.¹

After you pass the FE exam, you need at least four years of progressive engineering experience. The Board looks for work showing increasing responsibility and independent judgment, and it must be verifiable through references from licensed professional engineers. Engineering teaching also counts toward the four years.²

The Exams You Have to Pass

Three separate exams stand between you and a license. The first two come from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES); the third is a New Hampshire questionnaire.

The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam is your first step. It is computer-based, offered year-round at approved testing centers, and costs $225 paid directly to NCEES. Passing lets you work as an Engineer-in-Training while you build up experience.³ The Board may waive the FE requirement in limited circumstances set out in the administrative rules, but the waiver is the exception.

Once you have your four years of experience, you sit for the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam in your discipline. It tests applied engineering judgment on advanced problems. Fail it three consecutive times and you must show evidence of additional study or experience before the Board will let you attempt it again.⁴

Every applicant also has to pass a New Hampshire law and ethics questionnaire covering the state’s engineering statutes and ethical rules.⁵

Getting and Using Your Seal

Once licensed, you must obtain an official seal bearing your name and the legend “Licensed Professional Engineer.” Any engineering document filed for public record, whether a plan, report, or specification, must be dated and carry your signature and seal if you prepared or approved it.⁶

Sealing documents after your license has expired or been revoked is a Class B misdemeanor unless the license has been renewed or reissued. The seal only carries authority while the underlying license is current.⁶

Renewing Your License

New Hampshire PE licenses expire on the last day of your birth month, two years after issuance. The Board sends renewal notices at least one month before expiration, but tracking your own deadline is on you.⁷

The fee is $150 for the full two-year cycle, and it is the same whether you are applying for the first time, renewing, or reinstating.⁸

Miss the deadline and the penalty compounds. The Board adds a 20 percent reinstatement surcharge to the renewal fee for each month or partial month you are late, up to 12 months. After 12 months your name comes off the current roster and you must apply for formal reinstatement instead of simply renewing. Engineers aged 70 or older who have held a license continuously for the previous 10 years may qualify for a renewal fee waiver.⁷

Continuing Professional Development

Every two-year cycle you have to complete 30 professional development hours (PDHs), including at least one PDH in professional ethics. Qualifying activities cover technical, ethical, or managerial content relevant to engineering practice, and they must be well-organized and delivered in a sequential way. Technical courses, seminars, and presentations all count.⁹

Keep your records for at least four years. The Board randomly audits at least three percent of licensees annually, and if you cannot produce documentation supporting a claimed PDH, that alone is grounds for disciplinary action. Attendance verification should be detailed enough to back every hour you report.¹⁰

Substantively, the practice rules under Eng 500 require you to put public welfare ahead of personal or commercial interests, practice only in areas where you are competent, disclose conflicts of interest, and refuse compensation arrangements that could compromise your judgment.

If Your License Lapses or Is Revoked

Reinstatement follows one of three tracks, depending on how long you have been out and why.

If your license expired within the past year, you file the standard renewal application and show that you have met all continuing competence requirements and still hold any required certifications.¹¹ The 20 percent monthly late surcharge is still adding up during this window.⁷

If your license has been lapsed for 12 months or more, you file a full reinstatement application. It must include documentation of continuing education compliance, a statement about any disciplinary or legal actions brought against you, a declaration that you have followed the ethical standards in Eng 500, three licensed professional engineer references, and your business and home contact information.¹²

If your license was suspended or revoked through disciplinary action, the path back is longer. The Board evaluates whether you have addressed the underlying conduct through remedial education, evidence of rehabilitation, or affidavits from licensed engineers speaking to your current competency. Probationary conditions such as periodic reporting or supervised practice are common, and the Board can deny reinstatement outright if you still pose a risk to public safety.

If You Practice Through a Firm

Individual licensure is not the whole picture if you work through a business. Any organization offering engineering services to the public must hold a Certificate of Authorization (COA) from OPLC. At least one licensed PE must be designated as in responsible charge of the firm’s engineering activities, and every employee acting as a professional engineer must hold an individual PE license.¹³

The COA application lists all officers, board members, partners, associates, and the licensed engineers in responsible charge. Changes to any of those people have to be reported to OPLC within 30 days. One limit worth knowing: an engineer who provides only occasional, part-time, or consulting services to a firm cannot be the person in responsible charge of that firm’s engineering work.¹³

1
Justia. New Hampshire Code 310-A:15 – Education Credits
2
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 310-A:14 – Teaching Credits
3
NCEES. Fundamentals of Engineering Exam
4
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 310-A:17 – Examinations
5
Legal Information Institute. New Hampshire Admin Code Eng 304.01 – Examination Requirements
6
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 310-A:18 – Certificates and Seals
7
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 310-A:21 – License Expiration and Renewals
8
Legal Information Institute. New Hampshire Admin Code Plc 1002.41 – Application Processing and Licensing Fees for the Profession Regulated by the Board of Professional Engineers
9
Justia. New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules Eng 403.05 – Professional Development Hour Requirements
10
Legal Information Institute. New Hampshire Admin Code Eng 403.07 – Record Keeping
11
Legal Information Institute. New Hampshire Admin Code Plc 312.02 – Reinstatement of Expired License Not More Than One Year After Expiration
12
Legal Information Institute. New Hampshire Admin Code Eng 401.05 – Reinstatement
13
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 310-A:20 – Engineering Certificates for Business Organizations