Exam-day policies
Admission to the exam
To be admitted to the exam, you must bring two items:
- Your exam authorization notice. In most cases, this will be available for download via your My NCEES account 2–3 weeks prior to the exam date. A few states will mail authorization notices to your physical address. Check your state’s registration page for details.
- A current, signed, government-issued photo identification. This is typically a driver’s license or passport. The first and last name on the photo ID must match the name on the exam authorization notice. Please note that a student ID card is not acceptable for admittance.
Exam-day schedule
Be sure to arrive at the exam site on time. Late-arriving examinees will not be allowed into the exam room once the proctor has begun to read the exam script. The report time for the exam will be printed on your exam authorization notice. Normally, you will be given a 1-hour break between morning and afternoon sessions.
Exam sites administered by NCEES Exam Administration Services (listed here) follow this schedule (PDF).
Materials allowed in the exam room
Calculators: To help protect exam content, NCEES only allows candidates to use certain calculator models. Candidates who are found using unapproved calculators after the exam has begun will be dismissed from the exam site.
View the NCEES list of approved calculators.
Reference materials: The PE and PS exams are open book, meaning that candidates may bring printed reference materials as long as they are bound and remain bound during the exam. Loose paper may be bound with ring binders, brads, plastic snap binders, spiral-bound notebooks, and screw posts, but not with staples. Sticky notes and flags are permitted only when they remain attached to book pages. The FE and FS exams are closed book exams. Reference materials for the FE and FS exams are provided to candidates on exam day.
Candidate Agreement: The NCEES Candidate Agreement (PDF) describes references and other personal materials allowed in the exam room. It also describes other exam policies designed to protect exam content. This document will be printed in your exam book. If you register to take an NCEES exam, you are strongly encouraged to review this document prior to exam day, as you will be asked to affirm that you abide by the polices and procedures it describes.
Comments and tips
Examinee comments: Comment forms are provided at the conclusion of the exam and online. NCEES welcomes your feedback on specific exam content and exam site conditions. Comments regarding exam items are reviewed by the subject matter experts who develop the exams, while comments on site conditions are used to help select future sites for exam administrations.
Security tip line: Candidates can report exam irregularities, including breaches of exam content, using the NCEES security tip line. By reporting this information to NCEES, examinees help protect the licensure process.