The Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board is the official state agency that licenses and oversees the practice of professional engineering and land surveying in Georgia. The Board sets the standards for licensure, enforces the rules of professional conduct, and investigates complaints involving unauthorized, negligent, or incompetent practice.
Practicing professional engineering in Georgia requires a state license. Professional engineering covers any consultation, design, evaluation, planning, or supervisory work where engineering principles are applied and public safety, health, or property is at stake. This page covers how to apply for a Professional Engineer license, what to expect after you are licensed, and where to find additional resources.
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PE Licensure by Examination
If you are applying for your first Professional Engineer license, you will apply by examination. In general, you must satisfy three requirements: education, experience, and examinations.
Before applying to the Board, you must establish an NCEES Record. Transcripts, exam results, employment verifications, and references are submitted through your NCEES Record as a part of the application process. Learn more at ncees.org/ncees-services/records-program/.
Education
Your education determines how much experience you need before you can apply for a PE license. Georgia recognizes two education pathways:
- A degree from an ABET-accredited engineering program of four or more years
- A degree of four or more years in engineering technology or a related science from a Board-approved school
If your degree is from a school outside the United States, have your credentials evaluated through the NCEES Credentials Evaluations program before applying. College transcripts are part of your NCEES Record, so if you are submitting through that process, you do not need to provide them separately. Learn more about credentials evaluations at https://ncees.org/ncees-services/credentials-evaluations/
Experience
The experience you need before applying for your PE license depends on your education background:
- ABET-accredited engineering degree: At least 4 years of engineering experience.
- Non-ABET or related science degree: At least 7 years of engineering experience.
- Experience-only pathway: At least 15 years of engineering experience.
- Exception pathway (FE waiver): The FE exam may be waived for an applicant who has a 4-year ABET-accredited engineering degree—or a foreign engineering degree with an acceptable NCEES Credentials Evaluation plus a master’s degree in the same discipline from a program accredited by ABET at the bachelor’s level—and who has at least 16 years of engineering experience, including at least 8 years in responsible charge of important engineering work.
Experience must be gained under the direct supervisory control of a licensed Professional Engineer in the United States. Experience must also be progressive, meaning it shows increasing responsibility and competence over time. The Board may also consider responsible charge of engineering teaching as qualifying experience.
Examinations
The Board no longer approves exam registrations. Both the FE and PE exams are administered by NCEES — register directly at ncees.org. Do not apply to the Board until you have passed the exams and met the experience requirements for your pathway.
Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam Passing the FE satisfies the examination requirement for the education pathway.
Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam Passing the PE in your chosen engineering discipline fulfills the examination requirement for licensure, provided all other requirements are met.
PE Structural Exam Applicants seeking licensure as a Structural Engineer must pass the PE Structural exam in addition to meeting the experience requirements under O.C.G.A. §43-15-9.1.
References
Your PE application must include five professional references. References are confidential and are not disclosed to the public or the applicant. References submitted through your NCEES Record satisfy this requirement.
- At least three references must be licensed professional engineers.
- Each reference should have direct, personal knowledge of your engineering work during a specific period of employment.
- You may not use relatives as references.
- Current Board members may not serve as references.
PE Licensure by Comity
If you are already licensed as a PE in another state, you must apply for a Georgia PE license by comity.
To qualify, you must:
- Hold a current PE license in another U.S. state or territory
- Have been licensed under requirements equal to or higher than Georgia’s
- Submit a verification of licensure sent directly from the issuing board
- Complete the Board’s comity application and pay the required fee
Before applying to the Board, you must establish an NCEES Record. Transcripts, exam results, employment verifications, references, and out-of-state license verifications are submitted through your NCEES Record as a part of the application process. Learn more at ncees.org/ncees-services/records-program/.
Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA)
NCEES has a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with the Engineering Council (UK) to facilitate licensure for engineers moving between the United States and the United Kingdom. UK Chartered Engineers (CEng) who hold the International Professional Engineer (IntPE) designation may be eligible to apply for a Georgia PE license through this pathway.
Business Entity – Certificate of Authorization (COA)
Any firm, corporation, partnership, LLC, or other business entity that offers or performs professional engineering services in Georgia must hold a Certificate of Authorization (COA) from the Board.
PE License Renewal
Georgia PE licenses renew every year. You will receive a renewal notice before your license expires on December 31st each year. Renewal requires you to complete the required Professional Development Hours (PDH) for the annual period. See the Continuing Education section below. f you were licensed by examination or by comity, you are exempt from continuing education for your first renewal
Continuing Education
To keep an active PE license, you must earn 15 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) during each one-year annual renewal period.
The Board conducts random audits. You must keep records for four (4) years, including:
- A log showing activity type, sponsoring organization, location, duration, instructor or speaker name, and PDHs earned.
- Attendance verification such as completion certificates or other supporting documents.
We encourage you to use NCEES’s free CPC Tracking service to log and manage your PDHs. It keeps everything in one place, lets you track progress against Georgia’s requirements, and makes it easy to provide documentation if you are audited. Learn more at ncees.org/ncees-services/cpc-tracking/
Complaints
The Board takes complaints seriously. If a licensed professional engineer or engineering firm has acted negligently, unethically, or outside the scope of their license, you can file a complaint, and the Board will investigate. Anyone can submit a complaint, not just other licensees.
If you filed a complaint with the board prior to 2023, you should re-file the complaint via the Evoke system if you believe the complaint still needs to be investigated.
Exemptions from Licensure
The following individuals and entities are not required to hold a license under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. §43-15-29):
- Employees of licensed practitioners — working under the supervision of a licensed PE or land surveyor, provided they do not make final design decisions
- Federal government personnel — practicing engineering or land surveying on behalf of the U.S. government within Georgia
- Elected officials of political subdivisions — practicing in the performance of their official duties
- Georgia DOT personnel — practicing on behalf of the Department, except as required by Title 46
- Defense, aviation, space, and aerospace companies — and their employees, contractors, and subcontractors when working on related products or services
- State and local government geospatial staff — gathering or processing geospatial and photogrammetric data for their agency
- Public utilities — and their full-time employees, when working on the utility’s own facilities (exclusions apply, see O.C.G.A. §43-15-29(b)(7)(d))
- Contractors performing layouts — for highway or construction projects, but only for that purpose; property line and boundary work still requires licensure
- Work on privately owned property — unless public safety or health is involved
- Registered architects — for engineering work incidental to architecture, and vice versa
For the full statutory text, see O.C.G.A. §43-15-29. If you are unsure whether an exemption applies to your situation, consult legal counsel before assuming you are exempt.