Transfer Your Engineering License to West Virginia: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Comity is West Virginia's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the West Virginia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (WVPEBD) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets West Virginia'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 West Virginia, 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 West Virginia requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.

West Virginia grants comity to a PE who holds an active license in the state where they currently reside/work and who has passed the FE and PE exams. NCEES Record holders are exempt from separately supplying references, transcripts, employer verifications, and exam scores. No state-specific exam. Fees verified on the official board fee page and the application instructions PDF (rev. 2-2023).