Engineering License from Florida to South Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does South Carolina accept a Florida PE license?
A PE license transfers from Florida to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors (SC Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation), verify your Florida license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Council Record and are not retaken; a Model Law Engineer may be licensed directly on the Record without further written examination, and South Carolina requires no separate state jurisprudence or law exam.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
South Carolina grants PE licensure by comity, so a Professional Engineer licensed in Florida does not start over — but does file a full South Carolina application. Your Florida license, ABET degree, qualifying experience, and FE and PE results reach the South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors (SC Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation) through your NCEES Record; the board's task is to confirm they meet South Carolina's practice act, not to re-test you. Two things govern your timeline: keeping your Florida license active and unencumbered while the South Carolina application is pending, and clearing any South Carolina-specific exam or statutes review before the license issues.
What's different between Florida and South Carolina
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into South Carolina. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Florida to South Carolina (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
South Carolina to Florida (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Florida matter?
Coming from Florida does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into South Carolina.
- Application fee
South Carolina lists $60 for an out-of-state applicant and Florida lists $230 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
South Carolina and Florida carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- South Carolina (this move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Council Record and are not retaken; a Model Law Engineer may be licensed directly on the Record without further written examination, and South Carolina requires no separate state jurisprudence or law exam
- Florida (the reverse move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Florida licenses by endorsement (it explicitly does not license by reciprocity or comity) and, instead of a proctored state exam, requires completing the FBPE Laws and Rules Study Guide with a score of 90 percent or greater
What changes, Florida → South Carolina
| Florida (current) | South Carolina (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $230 (Endorsement fee collected by DBPR, comprising the application fee, the initial licensure fee ($100, the only refundable portion), and an unlicensed-activity fee. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES) | $60 (SC Board PE-by-comity application fee per the LLR fee schedule; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES. Biennial renewal is separate.) |
| Processing time | FBPE publishes no endorsement turnaround; the board states that using an NCEES Record significantly speeds up the licensure process | LLR publishes no comity processing time; comity applications are reviewed once the NCEES Record and references are received (NCEES Record completion itself averages 2-3 weeks) |
| Licensing authority | Florida Board of Professional Engineers (FBPE) | South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors (SC Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — South Carolina sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm South Carolina's current requirements on the South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors (SC Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors (SC Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active, unencumbered PE license in another U.S. jurisdiction based on comparable requirements.
- Submit an NCEES Council Record (Model Law Engineers are licensed on the Record; others are subject to board review).
- File the board's PE Individual Licensure by Comity application; applicant must not have previously held an SC license.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my Florida PE license after I'm licensed in South Carolina?
Yes — PE licenses stack. Keep the Florida 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.
- S.C. Code Regs. 49-203 — Licensure by Comity (verbatim SC Code of Regulations via Cornell LII) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SC LLR Board of Registration for PEs & Surveyors — PE Individual Licensure by Comity ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES — Records Program (comity licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- FBPE - Licensure Process: Professional Engineers (endorsement, fee, Laws and Rules Study Guide) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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