Engineering License from Texas to Idaho: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Idaho accept a Texas PE license?
A PE license transfers from Texas to Idaho by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL), verify your Texas license, and meet Idaho's endorsement requirements. FE and PE (NCEES) exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken — having passed the NCEES exams satisfies Idaho's examination requirement; Idaho has no separate state law exam for PE comity (a state surveying exam applies only to land surveyors, not to the PE credential).
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Idaho grants PE licensure by comity, so a Professional Engineer licensed in Texas does not start over — but does file a full Idaho application. Your Texas license, ABET degree, qualifying experience, and FE and PE results reach the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) through your NCEES Record; the board's task is to confirm they meet Idaho's practice act, not to re-test you. Two things govern your timeline: keeping your Texas license active and unencumbered while the Idaho application is pending, and clearing any Idaho-specific exam or statutes review before the license issues.
What's different between Texas and Idaho
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Idaho. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Texas to Idaho (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Idaho to Texas (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Texas matter?
Coming from Texas does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Idaho.
- Application fee
Texas lists $75 for the reverse move; Idaho has no verified fee figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Processing time
Texas lists about 8 weeks for the reverse move; Idaho has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Idaho and Texas carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Idaho (this move): FE and PE (NCEES) exam results transfer via your NCEES Record and are not retaken — having passed the NCEES exams satisfies Idaho's examination requirement; Idaho has no separate state law exam for PE comity (a state surveying exam applies only to land surveyors, not to the PE credential)
- Texas (the reverse move): FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Council Record and are not retaken; applicants already licensed as a PE in another U.S. state qualify for a waiver of the PE examination, but EVERY applicant must additionally pass the open-book Texas Ethics of Engineering examination (state-specific)
What changes, Texas → Idaho
| Texas (current) | Idaho (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $75 (TBPELS PE license application fee (covers the Texas Ethics of Engineering exam); a fingerprint-based criminal-history check is also required (fee paid to the state's fingerprint vendor). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid separately to NCEES. Renewal is $100 for two years.) | Idaho Code 54-1219 caps the comity application fee at a maximum of $150 (examination applicants are capped at $100 under 54-1213); the specific fee is set by DOPL within that cap. DOPL reduced all board fees by ~60% effective July 1, 2025 (Idaho Code 67-2608(3)), and the current DOPL fee schedule could not be loaded from a reachable official page at verification, so the exact current comity fee is left null rather than guessed. NCEES Record transmittal is $175 first board / $100 each additional, paid to NCEES |
| Processing time | ~8 weeks (TBPELS states an average application processing time of about two months (eight weeks) on its PE Application Process page, depending on the adequacy of the submittal; the ethics exam, NCEES Record, and fingerprint TX DPS/FBI criminal-history check must all clear before licensure (outgoing verification requests can separately take up to 30 business days).) | DOPL does not publish a comity processing time; each comity application is considered by the board for substantial compliance with Idaho's licensure requirements |
| Licensing authority | Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) | Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Idaho sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Idaho's current requirements on the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Idaho Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (IPELS), Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a PE license in good standing from another jurisdiction whose licensing system maintains substantially equivalent professional standards.
- Meet the underlying standard: an EAC/ABET-accredited (or equivalent, via NCEES credentials evaluation) engineering degree plus a minimum of 4 years of progressive post-graduation experience, and the FE and PE exams.
- Board may waive the prescriptive education/exam credentials for an applicant licensed and in practice at least 8 years with no outstanding discipline and in good standing.
- Submit an NCEES Record (or equivalent verification of licensure and exam results).
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my Texas PE license after I'm licensed in Idaho?
Yes — PE licenses stack. Keep the Texas 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.
- Idaho Code 54-1219 — Comity Licensure; Fee (comity fee not to exceed $150) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho Admin. Code IDAPA 24.32.01.019 — Licensees or Certificate Holders of Other States, Boards, and Countries (comity requirements + 8-year waiver) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho DOPL — Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (IPELS home) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho DOPL — press release: statewide ~60% board fee reduction effective July 1, 2025 ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — Basic Licensure Requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — Exam Waiver Requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — PE Application Process ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TBPELS — Agency Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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