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LicenseReciprocity

Transfer Your Engineering License to South Dakota: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: South Dakota Board of Technical Professions ↗

Yes — South Dakota issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the South Dakota Board of Technical Professions, which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against South Dakota's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; South Dakota accepts a verified NCEES record as evidence of meeting comity requirements and requires no additional state engineering exam. Application fee: $100 (SD Board of Technical Professions comity/reciprocity individual application fee; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES. Individual biennial renewal is $80.).

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Comity is South Dakota's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the South Dakota Board of Technical Professions actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets South Dakota's practice act, rather than re-examining you. The lever that makes this smooth is your NCEES Record — NCEES compiles your transcripts, experience, references, and FE/PE results and transmits them straight to South Dakota, and a Model Law Engineer designation speeds many boards further. One prerequisite is absolute: your current license must be active and unencumbered, so clear any open disciplinary matter before you file.

Read the exam line on this page closely before you assume the move is exam-free. Most boards add nothing to the FE and PE, but a few require a state-specific examination — seismic, surveying, or a statutes-and-rules review — that comity does not waive, and where South Dakota requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.

Comity licensure: South Dakota issues a new PE license after verifying an active out-of-state (or foreign) license; the applicant must be fully licensed before practicing. A verified NCEES record is expressly accepted as evidence of meeting comity requirements (ARSD 20:38:34; application items in 20:38:29). Underlying standard is an EAC/ABET degree plus qualifying experience under SDCL 36-18A. No interstate compact exists for engineering.

South Dakota requirements at a glance

Out-of-state PE license transfer requirements for South Dakota, verified 2026-07-21
ExamFE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; South Dakota accepts a verified NCEES record as evidence of meeting comity requirements and requires no additional state engineering exam
Additional requirements
  • Hold and verify an active PE license in another U.S. state (or foreign country)
  • Submit a verified NCEES record (accepted as evidence of meeting comity requirements) or complete the ARSD 20:38:29 application items
  • Be fully licensed by the board before offering or practicing engineering in South Dakota
  • Meet the underlying degree-and-experience standard (EAC/ABET degree plus qualifying experience under SDCL 36-18A)
Fees$100 (SD Board of Technical Professions comity/reciprocity individual application fee; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES. Individual biennial renewal is $80.)
Processing timeThe Board of Technical Professions publishes no comity turnaround; comity applications are processed once license verification (or the NCEES record) is received.

Step by step

  1. Confirm South Dakota's current requirements on the South Dakota Board of Technical Professions website — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the South Dakota Board of Technical Professions (application linked on this page).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
  4. Hold and verify an active PE license in another U.S. state (or foreign country).
  5. Submit a verified NCEES record (accepted as evidence of meeting comity requirements) or complete the ARSD 20:38:29 application items.
  6. Be fully licensed by the board before offering or practicing engineering in South Dakota.
  7. Meet the underlying degree-and-experience standard (EAC/ABET degree plus qualifying experience under SDCL 36-18A).
  8. Pay the fees ($100 (SD Board of Technical Professions comity/reciprocity individual application fee; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES. Individual biennial renewal is $80.)) and allow The Board of Technical Professions publishes no comity turnaround; comity applications are processed once license verification (or the NCEES record) is received..

Official links

South Dakota Board of Technical Professions ↗South Dakota application ↗License verification ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into South Dakota:

California → South DakotaFlorida → South DakotaGeorgia → South DakotaIllinois → South DakotaMichigan → South DakotaNew York → South DakotaNorth Carolina → South DakotaOhio → South DakotaPennsylvania → South DakotaTexas → South Dakota

Frequently asked questions

Does my PE license transfer to South Dakota?

Yes — South Dakota issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the South Dakota Board of Technical Professions, which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against South Dakota's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; South Dakota accepts a verified NCEES record as evidence of meeting comity requirements and requires no additional state engineering exam. Application fee: $100 (SD Board of Technical Professions comity/reciprocity individual application fee; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES. Individual biennial renewal is $80.).

Do I retake the FE or PE exam to get licensed in South Dakota?

FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; South Dakota accepts a verified NCEES record as evidence of meeting comity requirements and requires no additional state engineering exam.

What does PE licensure in South Dakota cost an out-of-state applicant?

$100 (SD Board of Technical Professions comity/reciprocity individual application fee; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES. Individual biennial renewal is $80.).

How long does the South Dakota Board of Technical Professions take to act on a comity application?

The Board of Technical Professions publishes no comity turnaround; comity applications are processed once license verification (or the NCEES record) is received..

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 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]