Engineering License from Tennessee to Georgia: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Georgia accept a Tennessee PE license?
A PE license transfers from Tennessee to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Georgia PELS Board), verify your Tennessee license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Georgia has no separate state jurisprudence or law exam for comity.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Georgia grants PE licensure by comity, so a Professional Engineer licensed in Tennessee does not start over — but does file a full Georgia application. Your Tennessee license, ABET degree, qualifying experience, and FE and PE results reach the Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Georgia PELS Board) through your NCEES Record; the board's task is to confirm they meet Georgia's practice act, not to re-test you. Two things govern your timeline: keeping your Tennessee license active and unencumbered while the Georgia application is pending, and clearing any Georgia-specific exam or statutes review before the license issues.
What's different between Tennessee and Georgia
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Georgia. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Tennessee to Georgia (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Georgia to Tennessee (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Tennessee matter?
Coming from Tennessee does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Georgia.
- Application fee
Georgia lists $100 for an out-of-state applicant and Tennessee lists $55 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Georgia lists up to 4 weeks; Tennessee has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Georgia and Tennessee carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Georgia (this move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Georgia has no separate state jurisprudence or law exam for comity
- Tennessee (the reverse move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken (references under two years old, transcripts, and verifications in the Record are accepted); Tennessee requires no separate state jurisprudence exam
What changes, Tennessee → Georgia
| Tennessee (current) | Georgia (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $55 (Tennessee 'application by comity' fee; a separate $140 biennial registration fee is collected upon licensure. Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES.) | $100 ($100 Professional or Structural Engineer Application by Comity fee (non-refundable) per the board's official fee schedule, plus a $5 processing fee for each online submission; transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES) |
| Processing time | No comity turnaround published; complete applications are reviewed by the board (NCEES Record completion itself averages 2-3 weeks) | up to 4 weeks (The Georgia SOS How-To Guide states comity applications are generally processed within about 20 business days (~4 weeks) of a complete application, evaluated in order received; a deficiency notice restarts the 20-day count) |
| Licensing authority | Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners (TN Dept. of Commerce and Insurance) | Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Georgia PELS Board) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Georgia sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Georgia's current requirements on the Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Georgia PELS Board) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (Georgia PELS Board) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active PE license in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction based on comparable qualifications (NCEES Model Law Engineer status expedites review).
- Have NCEES transmit a completed NCEES Record to the Georgia PELS Board (Georgia requires the NCEES Record for comity licensure).
- Provide a secure and verifiable document establishing lawful presence (Georgia SAVE requirement).
- Show no record of disciplinary action against any license held.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my Tennessee PE license after I'm licensed in Georgia?
Yes — PE licenses stack. Keep the Tennessee 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.
- Georgia PELS Board — Fee Schedule (Rev. 3-4-2024): PE/SE Application by Comity $100 + $5 online processing ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Georgia SOS — How-To Guide: Professional Engineer Licensure ($100 comity fee; ~20 business days) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES — Georgia now requires NCEES Record for comity licensure ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES — Records Program (comity licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TN Board of Architectural & Engineering Examiners — Engineers (how to get licensed / comity) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TN Board of Architectural & Engineering Examiners — Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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