Engineering License from Illinois to South Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors (SC Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation) ↗
A PE license transfers from Illinois 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 Illinois 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 Illinois does not start over — but does file a full South Carolina application. Your Illinois 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. 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. Two things govern your timeline: keeping your Illinois 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 changes, Illinois → South Carolina
| Illinois (current) | South Carolina (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $100 ($100 Professional Engineer license application fee (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1380.275; the same single application fee applies to endorsement); renewal is $30 per year. Request that NCEES transmit your Record to Illinois — NCEES charges $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately) | $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 | IDFPR does not publish a guaranteed endorsement turnaround; the board's PE FAQ states that using an NCEES Record may shorten processing time | 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 | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation — Board of Professional Engineers | 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 ($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.)) and allow 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)..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does South Carolina accept a Illinois PE license?
A PE license transfers from Illinois 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 Illinois 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.
Do I retake the FE or PE exam moving from Illinois to South Carolina?
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.
What does the Illinois-to-South Carolina comity application cost?
$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.).
Can I keep my Illinois PE license after I'm licensed in South Carolina?
Yes — PE licenses stack. Keep the Illinois 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)
- IDFPR — Professional Engineering Frequently Asked Questions (endorsement pathway, FE/PE requirement, NCEES Record, PE vs SE) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Ill. Admin. Code tit. 68, § 1380.275 — Fees (Professional Engineer license $100) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- IDFPR — Professional Engineering (Practice Act, rules, application forms) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]