Engineering License from New York to Pennsylvania: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Pennsylvania accept a New York PE license?
A PE license transfers from New York to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists, verify your New York license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Pennsylvania requires no state-specific engineering exam for endorsement (state-specific exams apply only to land surveyors).
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Pennsylvania grants PE licensure by comity, so a Professional Engineer licensed in New York does not start over — but does file a full Pennsylvania application. Your New York license, ABET degree, qualifying experience, and FE and PE results reach the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists through your NCEES Record; the board's task is to confirm they meet Pennsylvania's practice act, not to re-test you. Two things govern your timeline: keeping your New York license active and unencumbered while the Pennsylvania application is pending, and clearing any Pennsylvania-specific exam or statutes review before the license issues.
What's different between New York and Pennsylvania
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Pennsylvania. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
New York to Pennsylvania (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Pennsylvania to New York (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from New York matter?
Coming from New York does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Pennsylvania.
- Application fee
Pennsylvania lists $50 for an out-of-state applicant and New York lists $377 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Pennsylvania lists 4–6 weeks; New York has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Pennsylvania and New York carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Pennsylvania (this move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Pennsylvania requires no state-specific engineering exam for endorsement (state-specific exams apply only to land surveyors)
- New York (the reverse move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; endorsement requires that your original license was issued upon a written examination equivalent to New York's, and there is no state jurisprudence exam; note that New York will not accept professional experience self-endorsed by the applicant, so the NCEES Record must be verified before transmission
What changes, New York → Pennsylvania
| New York (current) | Pennsylvania (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $377 (NY fee for licensure and first registration is $377 (the same fee applies to the endorsement pathway); transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES) | $50 (Certification, licensure or registration application fee (49 Pa. Code 37.17(b)); a provisional endorsement license may be issued while remaining requirements are completed. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES.) |
| Processing time | The NYSED Office of the Professions does not publish a comity/endorsement processing time on its engineering pages | 4–6 weeks (Pennsylvania advises allowing approximately 4 to 6 weeks for initial review of an application submitted through pals.pa.gov.) |
| Licensing authority | New York State Board for Engineering, Land Surveying and Geology (NYSED Office of the Professions) | State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Pennsylvania sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current PE license in good standing in another jurisdiction whose standards are substantially equivalent to or exceed Pennsylvania's (49 Pa. Code 37.20; 63 Pa.C.S. 3111).
- Submit a copy of the current law/regulation governing licensure and scope of practice in the jurisdiction that issued the license.
- Demonstrate competency by active practice for at least 2 of the last 5 years OR completion of 24 professional development hours in the prior 24 months.
- Have no disqualifying disciplinary or criminal history; the board may require a personal interview (video permitted for good cause).
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my New York PE license after I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
Yes — PE licenses stack. Keep the New York 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.
- 49 Pa. Code Chapter 37 (fees 37.17; licensure by endorsement 37.20) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- PA Dept. of State - Engineers, Land Surveyors, Geologists board ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES - Records Program (comity licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NYSED Office of the Professions — Engineering License Requirements (endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NYSED Office of the Professions — Engineering License Application Forms ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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