Engineering License from Arizona to Texas: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Texas accept an Arizona PE license?
A PE license transfers from Arizona to Texas by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS), verify your Arizona license, and meet Texas's endorsement requirements. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Council Record and are not retaken; applicants already licensed as a PE in another U.S. state qualify for a waiver of the PE examination, but EVERY applicant must additionally pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination (state-specific).
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Texas grants PE licensure by comity, so a Professional Engineer licensed in Arizona does not start over — but does file a full Texas application. Your Arizona license, ABET degree, qualifying experience, and FE and PE results reach the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) through your NCEES Record; the board's task is to confirm they meet Texas's practice act, not to re-test you. Two things govern your timeline: keeping your Arizona license active and unencumbered while the Texas application is pending, and clearing any Texas-specific exam or statutes review before the license issues.
What's different between Arizona and Texas
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Texas. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Arizona to Texas (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Texas to Arizona (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Arizona matter?
Coming from Arizona does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Texas.
- Application fee
Texas lists $75 for an out-of-state applicant and Arizona lists $325 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Texas lists about 8 weeks; Arizona has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Texas and Arizona carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Texas (this move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Council Record and are not retaken; applicants already licensed as a PE in another U.S. state qualify for a waiver of the PE examination, but EVERY applicant must additionally pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination (state-specific)
- Arizona (the reverse move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Arizona has no state-specific engineering exam and no jurisprudence exam
What changes, Arizona → Texas
| Arizona (current) | Texas (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $325 ($325 combined application and initial registration fee ($100 application + $225 registration, the same structure AZBTR uses for other individual registrations), payable by check/money order/credit card to AZBTR; the same amount applies to the Reciprocity/Endorsement, Universal Licensure, and Traditional pathways. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES. See verification note re: a $445 figure recorded in a prior draft) | $75 (TBPELS PE license application fee (covers the Texas Ethics of Engineering exam); a fingerprint-based criminal-history check is also required (fee paid to the state's fingerprint vendor). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES. Renewal is $100 for two years.) |
| Processing time | No published turnaround; board staff (and/or volunteer registrant reviewers) verify the application and forward it to the full Board only in rare instances. An application is not reviewed until administratively complete (all verifications received) | ~8 weeks (TBPELS states an average application processing time of about two months (eight weeks) on its PE Application Process page, depending on the adequacy of the submittal; the ethics exam, NCEES Record, and fingerprint TX DPS/FBI criminal-history check must all clear before licensure (outgoing verification requests can separately take up to 30 business days).) |
| Licensing authority | Arizona State Board of Technical Registration (AZBTR) | Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Texas sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Texas's current requirements on the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold qualifications comparable to Texas (ABET-accredited degree plus 4 years of acceptable engineering experience).
- Submit an NCEES Council Record to verify education, exams, other-state licenses, and experience.
- Pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination.
- Submit fingerprints to the Texas DPS/FBI for a criminal-history background check.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my Arizona PE license after I'm licensed in Texas?
Yes — PE licenses stack. Keep the Arizona license active (its renewal and continuing-education/PDH clock run separately) and you hold both. Engineers working near state lines or nationally routinely carry several PE licenses at once, all sourced from a single NCEES Record.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- TBPELS — Basic Licensure Requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — Exam Waiver Requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — PE Application Process ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — Agency Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Arizona BTR — Engineer Applicants (reciprocity/endorsement & universal-licensure pathways) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Arizona BTR — Engineer Registration Instructions (application + initial registration fee $325) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Arizona BTR — Fee Schedule (R4-30-106 service fees; licensing fees authorized by A.R.S. 32-124) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES — Records Program (comity transmittal fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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