NCEES Record

I think it is meant to save time, not money. It supposedly allows you to bypass sections of an individual state's application form (for education, experience, and references) and submit your NCEES record instead.

I looked at getting a NCEES record. If I remember correctly, at the time I would have had to pay $300.00 just to look at the application. So I said no thanks.

Are you saying that you have a record and that NCEES charges you every time you apply to another state?

I believe it is only suppose to speed up the application process. Some states have you fill out a ridiculous amount of paperwork. They want to know everything and it can be a PITA to get all of the references. With the NCEES record you just fill out the top page and then send the board you record. So I believe it is suppose to be a speed thing not a money saving thing.

Steel-
Yes, I have a record. Then when I told NCEES, via their website, to send my record to another state, they wanted $60.
Not sure if this was for NCEES, or the other state.
It was originally $100 to set up the Record.

Well, at least you don't have to fill out all the paperwork and get a bunch of references. In my state, you have to pay the board $15.00 to prove that you passed the PE exam. Then you have to pay my university $5.00 to prove that I went to school. So in my instance I am out $25.00 (undergrad and grad school).

From what I have seen, you will still need to fill out some paperwork from the state that you are applying to. You may want to look into that. Just sending them your NCEES record will not cut it.... and you will still have to pay their application fee as well.

I have my NCEES record and use it regularly. It is a pain to get because you have to document all of your work history, get references, transcripts, etc. After you have it, you have to update and renew it yearly ($25).

When you want to apply for another state, you fill out the information sheet for that states application and pay $60 to NCEES to have your record transmitted. It saves you having to get references, transcripts, and document work history. It is a huge time saver and expedites the review process.

Details are posted at

I am registered in 42 or 43 states and it was WELL worth it!! Unfortunately - some states are archaic and will not use all or some of your NCEES record. I will probably keep it for another couple years and then drop it.

Some states like Mass and Rhode Island now require NCEES for appilcation by comity.

I set mine up like 7 years ago. It's a huge time saver and can be a money saver also for some. You have the initial application fee, $25 annual renewal fee, plus $60 for every transmittal of records to any State.

Initial set up of the records is very tedious as they pretty much want every minute details of your professional career. Once you have an approved record with them, it is a big help though with comity licensing. 2 big time savers are the transcript and references requirement of every State.

Without the NCEES records, you'll have to request your transcript from your school every time you apply in another State. Then if your degree is not ABET accredited, you'll have to get and pay for a transcript evaluation. Some States will accept a previously done evaluation but some will ask for a new one if you don't have the NCEES records. That can easily become expensive.

With references, you'll almost always have to get a fresh set of references if you don't have the records as most States would not accept old references with letterhead / form from another State.

NCEES also started negotiating with foreign jurisdictions for acceptance of their records program for comity licensing. So if you're planning to practice overseas, it's a big plus.

It's a sweet revenue generator for NCEES but I think it is money well spent for someone thinking about practicing in multiple states.

I've had one for close to 20 years. As the others said, it's saves time & aggrevation (of course filling out the council record is a pain in the @$$) not money.

I have one and I concur with what others have said. It's money well spent as it will cut down time dramatically and save you a whole lot of hassle. Depending on your timing(when eng board meets), you can obtain a license by comity in under two weeks for some states.

How often do you have to update your picture with NCEES?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

I am registered in 42 or 43 states and it was WELL worth it!!

Click to expand...

Man, you sure have been around the block.

i'm sure there must have been other posts discussing this but... i truly hate the unnecessary bureaucracy of the US licensure system. We should just have a federal license and renewal that lets you practice anywhere your business is registered. i would have no problem if the government made some sort of 2nd tier engineering license that would be needed for areas with seismic issues.

i just can't see the benefit to society having all these redundant organizations. it's not like they're talking to each other. if i get in big trouble in Nevada, it is my duty to tell South Carolina that i'm a crappy engineer. Imagine someone going to prison for armed bank robbery and being able to buy an assault rifle in another state as long as he swears he never was a felon.... Sure i can see an argument that we should practice in regions that we are familiar with, BUT the current system that we have does not test our ability to work there except for the seismic that i already addressed.

The NCEES Records program is the closest thing we've got to getting through all this crap. it is actually a little more expensive because there is a transfer fee. but you save a lot of your time and others by keeping you from having to constantly bug people for references. I hope everybody uses or continue to use the records program to the point that one day we just open the Federal Department of Engineers office out of Clemson University (NCEES Records HQ) and we Engineers can focus more energy on doing better REAL work.

On the picture - apparently never.

The best state I ran into was Maryland. All done over the Internet, payments, NCEES record transfer, application, etc. Basically, I was instantly registered and got mail confirmation 3 days later.

However - next door in Washington DC - everything had to be done by hand and mailed in. Took about 3 months. Hopefully , that has changed by now.

I have an NCEES record. I highly recommend it for anyone planning on applying to at least 3 states. Big, big time and headache saver.

It saves you time and it saves your old bosses and referrals time as well. Every time you apply without an NCEES record others are filling out forms for you. So why they are happy to fill out forms, filling out one is better than filling out 5.

Besides, if you ever need to get licensed in a hurry in some state, the NCEES record will help.

Amen Darth (nihilist?), too bad we didn't understand you through your mask. Great points and I second your motion for a national registry.

But states rights vs federal is as old as, well, the country, and not likely to change. NCEES may be the closest thing we can get to get all 50 states and Guam and Puerto Rico and ... all on board one ship. Doctors and lawyers and others have the same complaints. I have seen some egregious examples of medical licenses where some bad docs just move state to state with no national record following them.

Similar discussions have been had on this board also about having discipline specific PEs (mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, geotech, etc.). My dad is a medical tech at a hospital and their license is now federal. They also used to have to take 5 different licensing exams for each area they wanted to be responsible for, so I am not sure why they can do it and engineers could not. Sure there is cost in coming up with all of the different tests and licenses but those are passed on to us anyway.