Engineering License from Ohio to Indiana: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Indiana accept an Ohio PE license?
A PE license transfers from Ohio to Indiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA), verify your Ohio license, and meet Indiana's endorsement requirements. FE (Part I) and PE (Part II, the NCEES PE exam) results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken (the FE is waived if already passed elsewhere); HOWEVER Indiana requires every comity applicant to complete Part III of the Indiana PE examination — a take-home (open-book) exam on professional conduct and Indiana registration law, submitted with the application.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Indiana grants PE licensure by comity, so a Professional Engineer licensed in Ohio does not start over — but does file a full Indiana application. Your Ohio license, ABET degree, qualifying experience, and FE and PE results reach the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA) through your NCEES Record; the board's task is to confirm they meet Indiana's practice act, not to re-test you. Two things govern your timeline: keeping your Ohio license active and unencumbered while the Indiana application is pending, and clearing any Indiana-specific exam or statutes review before the license issues.
What's different between Ohio and Indiana
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Indiana. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Ohio to Indiana (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Indiana to Ohio (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Ohio matter?
Coming from Ohio does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Indiana.
- Application fee
Indiana lists $300 for an out-of-state applicant and Ohio lists $415 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Indiana and Ohio carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Indiana (this move): FE (Part I) and PE (Part II, the NCEES PE exam) results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken (the FE is waived if already passed elsewhere); HOWEVER Indiana requires every comity applicant to complete Part III of the Indiana PE examination — a take-home (open-book) exam on professional conduct and Indiana registration law, submitted with the application
- Ohio (the reverse move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Ohio requires no state-specific engineering exam for comity applicants (only professional surveyors must pass Ohio's two-hour state-specific surveying examination)
What changes, Ohio → Indiana
| Ohio (current) | Indiana (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $415 (Engineering reciprocity (comity) application fee from the board's published fee schedule; a $50 PE final registration fee is due on issuance and renewal is $40 per biennium. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES.) | $300 ($300 comity/reciprocity registration fee (864 IAC 1.1-12-1, non-refundable and non-transferable). A separate original certificate (issuance) fee applies: $50 if the registration is issued in an odd-numbered year or $100 if issued in an even-numbered year. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES) |
| Processing time | The board publishes no comity turnaround on a directly accessible page; comity applications are reviewed administratively once the out-of-state verification/NCEES Record is received (NCEES Record completion itself averages 2-3 weeks) | The board does not publish a comity turnaround; comity applications are reviewed by the board for substantial equivalence to Indiana's requirements, including Part III and the reference reports |
| Licensing authority | Ohio State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors | Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Indiana sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Indiana's current requirements on the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, PLA) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a PE registration in another U.S. state/territory issued under requirements that do not conflict with Indiana's (education, experience, and the FE + PE exams).
- Complete Part III of the Indiana PE examination (take-home, open-book exam on professional conduct and Indiana registration law).
- Provide reference reports on the applicant's competence — at least three from registered professional engineers (Indiana's application requests five references, three of them from PEs).
- Have the NCEES Record made available to Indiana, or submit certification of FE/PE passage plus official college transcripts.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my Ohio PE license after I'm licensed in Indiana?
Yes — PE licenses stack. Keep the Ohio 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.
- Indiana Code 25-31-1-21 — License by reciprocity (IGA official, Title 25 Art. 31 Ch. 1) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- 864 IAC 1.1-12-1 — Fees charged by board (comity registration $300; original certificate $50/$100) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Indiana PLA — Engineering Licensing Information (comity: Part III exam, PE references, NCEES file) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES — Records Program (comity licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Ohio State Board of Registration for PE&S - Board Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Ohio Admin. Code 4733-13-01 - Comity and temporary registration ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Ohio Rev. Code 4733.19 - Reciprocity ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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