FE exam study plan: a schedule built from the NCEES exam specifications
Updated November 2026
An FE exam study plan should follow the NCEES exam specifications for your discipline, which give each knowledge area a range of questions out of the exam's 110. NCEES offers seven FE exams (Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Computer, Environmental, Industrial and Systems, Mechanical, and Other Disciplines), and the specifications it links today took effect with the July 2020 exams. The exam is computer-based and given year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson test centers. The 6-hour appointment covers a 2-minute nondisclosure agreement, an 8-minute tutorial, 5 hours 20 minutes of exam time and a 25-minute scheduled break.
It is closed book: NCEES supplies its reference handbook onscreen as a searchable PDF. Besides standard multiple-choice questions, the exam uses alternative item types such as multiple correct options, point and click, drag and drop, and fill in the blank, and every question is scored right or wrong with no partial credit. Results are pass or fail, and the exam fee is $225, paid to NCEES.
Choose your discipline in the builder below, then enter your exam date, hours a day and days a week. It splits your days by the midpoint of each knowledge area's question range, so in FE Civil, Structural, Geotechnical, and Water Resources and Environmental Engineering (10–15 questions each) get more than twice the days of Dynamics or Ethics and Professional Practice (4–6 each). The last quarter of your days goes to mixed practice and review. It's free and needs no account.
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FE format at a glance
| Questions | 110, in every FE discipline | NCEES |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 6-hour appointment: nondisclosure agreement (2 min), tutorial (8 min), exam (5 h 20 min), scheduled break (25 min) | NCEES |
| Where and when | Computer-based, year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson test centers | NCEES |
| References | Closed book. The NCEES reference handbook is supplied onscreen as a searchable PDF; you can open the current version in your MyNCEES account to practice. | NCEES examinee guide |
| Question types | Multiple choice plus alternative item types (multiple correct options, point and click, drag and drop, fill in the blank). Right or wrong only, no partial credit. Unscored pretest items are mixed in. | NCEES examinee guide |
| Results | Pass or fail. If you fail, you get a diagnostic report by major topic. | NCEES examinee guide |
| Fee | $225, paid to NCEES | NCEES |
| Retakes | One attempt per testing window (each calendar quarter, January to March and so on), at most three in 12 months; some boards are stricter | NCEES examinee guide |
FE Civil
| Specifications | FE Civil CBT Exam Specifications: 14 knowledge areas, effective beginning with the July 2020 exams | NCEES (PDF) |
|---|
FE Mechanical
| Specifications | FE Mechanical CBT Exam Specifications: 14 knowledge areas, effective beginning with the July 2020 exams | NCEES (PDF) |
|---|
FE Electrical and Computer
| Specifications | FE Electrical and Computer CBT Exam Specifications: 17 knowledge areas, effective beginning with the July 2020 exams | NCEES (PDF) |
|---|
FE Chemical
| Specifications | FE Chemical CBT Exam Specifications: 17 knowledge areas, effective beginning with the July 2020 exams | NCEES (PDF) |
|---|
FE Environmental
| Specifications | FE Environmental CBT Exam Specifications: 15 knowledge areas, effective beginning with the July 2020 exams | NCEES (PDF) |
|---|
FE Industrial and Systems
| Specifications | FE Industrial and Systems CBT Exam Specifications: 13 knowledge areas, effective beginning with the July 2020 exams | NCEES (PDF) |
|---|
FE Other Disciplines
| Specifications | FE Other Disciplines CBT Exam Specifications: 14 knowledge areas, effective beginning with the July 2020 exams | NCEES (PDF) |
|---|
Checked against the official sources on November 1, 2026.
What the FE covers, by official weight
FE Civil
- Mathematics and Statistics: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Ethics and Professional Practice: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Engineering Economics: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Statics: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Dynamics: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Mechanics of Materials: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Materials: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Fluid Mechanics: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Surveying: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Water Resources and Environmental Engineering: 10–15 of 110 questions
- Structural Engineering: 10–15 of 110 questions
- Geotechnical Engineering: 10–15 of 110 questions
- Transportation Engineering: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Construction Engineering: 8–12 of 110 questions
FE Mechanical
- Mathematics: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Probability and Statistics: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Ethics and Professional Practice: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Engineering Economics: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Electricity and Magnetism: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Statics: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Dynamics, Kinematics, and Vibrations: 10–15 of 110 questions
- Mechanics of Materials: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Material Properties and Processing: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Fluid Mechanics: 10–15 of 110 questions
- Thermodynamics: 10–15 of 110 questions
- Heat Transfer: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Measurements, Instrumentation, and Controls: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Mechanical Design and Analysis: 10–15 of 110 questions
FE Electrical and Computer
- Mathematics: 11–17 of 110 questions
- Probability and Statistics: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Ethics and Professional Practice: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Engineering Economics: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Properties of Electrical Materials: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Circuit Analysis (DC and AC Steady State): 11–17 of 110 questions
- Linear Systems: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Signal Processing: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Electronics: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Power Systems: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Electromagnetics: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Control Systems: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Communications: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Computer Networks: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Digital Systems: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Computer Systems: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Software Engineering: 4–6 of 110 questions
FE Chemical
- Mathematics: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Probability and Statistics: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Engineering Sciences: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Materials Science: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Chemistry and Biology: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Fluid Mechanics/Dynamics: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Thermodynamics: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Material/Energy Balances: 10–15 of 110 questions
- Heat Transfer: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Mass Transfer and Separation: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Solids Handling: 3–5 of 110 questions
- Chemical Reaction Engineering: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Economics: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Process Design: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Process Control: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Safety, Health, and Environment: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Ethics and Professional Practice: 3–5 of 110 questions
FE Environmental
- Mathematics: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Probability and Statistics: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Ethics and Professional Practice: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Engineering Economics: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Fundamental Principles: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Environmental Chemistry: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Health Hazards and Risk Assessment: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics: 12–18 of 110 questions
- Thermodynamics: 3–5 of 110 questions
- Surface Water Resources and Hydrology: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Groundwater, Soils, and Sediments: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Water and Wastewater: 12–18 of 110 questions
- Air Quality and Control: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Solid and Hazardous Waste: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Energy and Environment: 4–6 of 110 questions
FE Industrial and Systems
- Mathematics: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Engineering Sciences: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Ethics and Professional Practice: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Engineering Economics: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Probability and Statistics: 10–15 of 110 questions
- Modeling and Quantitative Analysis: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Engineering Management: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Manufacturing, Service, and Other Production Systems: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Facilities and Supply Chain: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Human Factors, Ergonomics, and Safety: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Work Design: 7–11 of 110 questions
- Quality: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Systems Engineering, Analysis, and Design: 8–12 of 110 questions
FE Other Disciplines
- Mathematics: 8–12 of 110 questions
- Probability and Statistics: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Chemistry: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Instrumentation and Controls: 4–6 of 110 questions
- Engineering Ethics and Societal Impacts: 5–8 of 110 questions
- Safety, Health, and Environment: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Engineering Economics: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Statics: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Dynamics: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Strength of Materials: 9–14 of 110 questions
- Materials: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Fluid Mechanics: 12–18 of 110 questions
- Basic Electrical Engineering: 6–9 of 110 questions
- Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer: 9–14 of 110 questions
NCEES publishes a range of questions for each knowledge area in each discipline's CBT exam specifications, effective beginning with the July 2020 exams. The midpoints are our arithmetic; because the ranges overlap they add up to more than 110, so the builder uses them only as relative weights. Nothing is merged: every knowledge area in the specifications has its own row.
How the builder splits your time
- It counts your study days between today and the day before the exam, using the days a week you chose.
- It keeps the last quarter of those days (at least one week) for mixed practice questions and reviewing what you missed.
- It splits the rest across the knowledge areas of the discipline you pick in proportion to the official weights above, using the midpoint of each knowledge area's NCEES question range (for example, 10 for 8–12 questions).
- This is our rule of thumb, not advice from NCEES. Move days toward your weak areas once your practice scores show them.
Protect each block from your own browser
A schedule only works if the hours happen. Focus AI is a Chrome extension built for that: when a block starts, type its task (the "Copy focus task" button gives you the line, like "FE: Mathematics and Statistics practice problems") and it blocks pages that don't serve that task. Your practice problems and the NCEES reference handbook stay open; feeds, Shorts and game sites don't. Ending a block early means typing a sentence, not clicking a button.
First 3 sessions free, then $9.99 a month or $49 a year. The schedule builder above is free either way.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the FE exam?
110, in every discipline. The appointment is 6 hours: a 2-minute nondisclosure agreement, an 8-minute tutorial, 5 hours 20 minutes of exam time and a 25-minute scheduled break. NCEES's May 2026 examinee guide adds the same parts up to 5 hours 55 minutes.
What's on the FE exam for my discipline?
Each of the seven FE exams has its own NCEES specifications listing knowledge areas with a range of questions. FE Civil, for example, has 14 areas, from Ethics and Professional Practice (4–6 questions) to Structural, Geotechnical, and Water Resources and Environmental Engineering (10–15 each). Pick your discipline in the builder to see its full list.
Are the FE exam specifications changing?
Not yet announced. The specifications NCEES links now took effect with the July 2020 exams. NCEES ran a survey of licensed engineers and engineering faculty, open until April 27, 2026, to update the FE content, a review it says happens every six to eight years. It has not said when new specifications will start.
Can I bring notes or my own calculator?
No notes: the exam is closed book, and NCEES supplies its reference handbook onscreen. Calculators must be on the NCEES list, which for exams through 2027 is Casio fx-115 and fx-991 models, the HP 33s and HP 35s, and Texas Instruments TI-30X and TI-36X models.
How often can I take the FE exam?
NCEES allows one attempt per testing window (each calendar quarter) and no more than three in any 12-month period. Some licensing boards are stricter, so check yours. The fee is $225 for each attempt.
Sources
- NCEES, FE exam (checked November 1, 2026)
- NCEES, Examinee Guide, May 2026 (PDF) (checked November 1, 2026)
- NCEES, FE Civil CBT exam specifications (PDF) (checked November 1, 2026)
- NCEES, FE Mechanical CBT exam specifications (PDF) (checked November 1, 2026)
- NCEES, FE Electrical and Computer CBT exam specifications (PDF) (checked November 1, 2026)
- NCEES, FE Chemical CBT exam specifications (PDF) (checked November 1, 2026)
- NCEES, FE Environmental CBT exam specifications (PDF) (checked November 1, 2026)
- NCEES, FE Industrial and Systems CBT exam specifications (PDF) (checked November 1, 2026)
- NCEES, FE Other Disciplines CBT exam specifications (PDF) (checked November 1, 2026)
- NCEES, FE content survey (checked November 1, 2026)
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