Professional Licensing Boards for
Engineer Technology
It is not required to obtain a license to become an engineer; however, some positions may require a Professional Engineer, PE, designation.
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, NCEES, develops and scores the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam and the Professional Engineering (PE) exam.
The FE exam is the first step in the process of becoming a licensed professional engineer. It is designed for recent graduates and students who are close to finishing an undergraduate engineering degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited program.
The PE exam is designed to test for a minimum level of competency in an engineering discipline. It is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years of work experience in their chosen engineering discipline.
Please visit National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveyors for more information.
- Currently, Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering Technology at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) offers Engineering Technology Program with four concentrations in “ Mechanical Engineering Technology”, Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology”, “Computer Networking Engineering Technology”, and “ Robotics and Autonomous Systems Engineering Technology.” The Engineering Technology program is accredited by Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC) of ABET accreditation agency.
- The following requirements shall be considered as the minimum satisfactory evidence that an applicant is qualified for licensure as a professional engineer:
- Graduation with a baccalaureate degree from an engineering educational program accredited by the EAC of ABET, Inc. or by a foreign educational program accreditation agency adjudged by ABET to use substantially equivalent accreditation procedures; and
- Professional experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the Council in the amount of 4 years or more, such experience indicating that the applicant is competent to practice as a professional engineer; and
- Successful passing of an examination approved by Council; and
- Meeting the additional requirements of paragraph (7) of this section.
- Graduation with a baccalaureate degree from a Council approved 4-year educational program in engineering that is not EAC of ABET accredited, in engineering technology or in science related to engineering; and
- Professional experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the Council in the amount of 8 years or more, such experience indicating that the applicant is competent to practice as a professional engineer; and
- Successful passing of an examination approved by Council; and
- Meeting the additional requirements of paragraph (7) of this section.
a. Graduation with a baccalaureate degree from a Council approved 4-year educational
program in engineering that is not EAC of ABET accredited, in engineering technology
or in science related to engineering; and
b. Professional experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the
Council in the amount of 5 years or more, such experience indicating that the applicant
is competent to practice as a professional engineer; and
c. Successful passing of an examination approved by Council; and
d. Meeting the additional requirements of paragraph (7) of this section.
a. Graduation with a baccalaureate degree from a Council approved 4-year educational program in engineering that is not EAC of ABET accredited, in engineering technology or in science related to engineering; and
- The Council may, upon application and payment of the required fee and without further examination, issue a license as a professional engineer to any person holding a valid certificate of registration or a license as a professional engineer issued to that person by a proper authority of a state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or a province of territory of Canada, provided the applicant’s qualifications meet at least one of the following:
- The professional engineering qualifications of the applicant on the effective date of such certificate of registration or a license would have satisfied the requirements for licensure in this State on that date.
- The professional engineering qualifications of the applicant at any time subsequent to the effective date of such certificate of registration or a license would have satisfied the requirements for licensure in this State in effect at that time. A personal interview may be required by Council to ascertain the facts in the case.
- The professional engineering qualifications of the applicant include successful passing of an examination approved by Council, meeting the additional requirements of paragraph (7) of this section, and having a minimum of 10 years of professional experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the Council, such experience indicating that the applicant is competent to practice as an engineer. Such experience shall have been obtained in states, territories or possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, or provinces or territories of Canada, and at least 8 years of it shall have been obtained after the applicant has received the said valid certificate of registration or a license.
- The professional engineering qualifications of the applicant include a minimum of 10 years of continuous and verifiable experience as a professional engineer. Such experience shall have been obtained in a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or a province or territory of Canada. The applicant must meet the additional requirements of paragraphs (7) a. and (9) of this section and must not have been subject to disciplinary action in the current or previous licensing jurisdictions.
b. A person holding a valid NCEES Council Record issued by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, whose qualifications meet the requirements of this chapter, may be registered by Council as a professional engineer upon receipt from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying of a certified copy of such registration Record together with the usual application form and fee from the applicant.
c. If the person who has been licensed in Delaware pursuant to paragraph (6) a. or b. of this section has that person’s license to practice revoked in the state in which the person was registered or licensed at the time licensure in Delaware through comity was sought, then the authorization issued in Delaware shall be automatically revoked followed 30 days’ written notice from the Council unless the person makes application to the Council for consideration for retaining the Delaware authorization and the Council acts favorably on such application.
- Every applicant shall give not less than 5 references, people who state that in their opinion and by their personal knowledge the applicant is qualified to practice as a professional engineer. At least 3 such references shall be registered or licensed professional engineers in this or any other state or territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the province or territory of Canada.
b. An applicant, otherwise qualified, shall not be required to be actively practicing the applicant’s profession at the time of application.
c. Every applicant must demonstrate knowledge of the Delaware Professional Engineer’s Act and the Code of Ethics to the satisfaction of the Council.
d. The required examination shall consist of a Fundamentals of Engineering examination and a Principles and Practice of Engineering examination furnished by, and scored by, the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, or other nationally normed examinations which are approved by the Council.
e. The examination in the Fundamentals of Engineering shall be taken after graduation, except it may be taken by a college or university senior in good academic standing in an educational program leading to a baccalaureate degree in engineering, related science or engineering technology. The Council may permit other students in such programs to take the Fundamentals of Engineering examination prior to graduation.
f. The examination in Principles and Practice of Engineering shall not be taken until after the completion of the professional experience requirement. The Council may waive this requirement in the case of an applicant who has previously passed the examination in any other state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or province or territory of Canada.
Applicants with four failures of the Principles and Practice of Engineering examination may only apply to retake the examination after completing the following:
- An individual holding an earned doctoral degree in engineering from a university, which has an ABET accredited undergraduate program in that discipline at the time that individual earned the doctoral degree, providing that doctoral degree required the passing of a Ph.D. qualifying examination from that university; or,
- An individual holding a baccalaureate degree from a Council-approved 4 year engineering educational program, who has at least fifteen (15) years of professional experience in the lawful practice of engineering of a character satisfactory to the Council, and which indicates that the applicant is competent to practice as a professional engineer.
- Been convicted of a crime that is substantially related to the practice of engineering; or
- Misstated or misrepresented a fact in connection with the applicant’s application; or
- Been found guilty of a violation of this chapter or of the Delaware Association of Professional Engineers’ Code of Ethics; or
- Engaged in the practice of engineering in this State without being licensed as a professional engineer. Notwithstanding such a finding, the Council may allow licensure of such applicant if the applicant presents to the Council suitable evidence of reform; or
- Used improper means to gain information usable by the applicant on or in connection with an examination taken by the applicant to obtain licensure as a professional engineer or certification as an Engineer Intern.