If you’re hoping to get your professional engineering license, you should be well on your way to studying and making reference materials for exam day. Being prepared is the best way to ensure you can concentrate on the PE exam and get the results you’re looking for. But what happens if something stops you from taking your exam, such as an injury or death in the family? Unfortunately, these things do happen, and it’s good to know how to proceed if it does.
For those seeking a professional engineering license in chemical or nuclear engineering, don’t think you can just reschedule last minute since the exam is computer-based. Instead, familiarize yourself with the protocol of what’s allowed and what’s not and how to proceed if you can’t make your scheduled exam day.
When you cancel your exam, you may not receive a refund if you cancel too close to the exam date. If you cancel more than 48 hours before the exam, you will receive a refund of the NCEES registration fee minus a $50 administrative fee. Cancellations less than 48 hours before the exam will not be accepted.
The rules are different for testers wishing to reschedule their exams. If you reschedule, you must pay a rescheduling fee. However, those who reschedule 24 to 48 hours prior to the exam time must pay a higher rescheduling fee than the others. No rescheduling will be accepted 24 hours or less before the exam.
There are a few exceptions to the cancellation and refund rules. You may reschedule without a fee or cancel and receive a full refund for the following reasons: illness to yourself or immediate family member, death in the immediate family, disabling traffic accident, court appearance or jury duty, or military duty. To be eligible for these exceptions, you must provide written documentation within 14 days following the exam. Please note: if there’s inclement weather but the test site is still open, everyone is still required to attend – no exceptions.
If you wish to cancel or reschedule your computer-based exam, log in to your MyNCEES account and follow the instructions. The funds will be issued to your credit card within seven to 10 business days if you qualify to receive them.
We hope you don’t have to reschedule or cancel your computer-based PE exam. But if you do, hopefully this information can point in you in the direction of what to do and what to expect. Are you a professional engineering license hopeful looking for more great information about the exam? Check out this page.
If you’re like most people, making sure you have everything you need to check-in and sit for the exam can be as stressful as worrying about acing the exam itself. While the check-in instructions can slightly vary based on your test location, here are the main things you need to have prepared on the day of your professional engineering exam:
The information on your exam authorization and your provided ID must match. That means if you got married and recently changed your last name, both documents must have either your new last name or old last name. No exceptions.
Once your authorization and ID are checked, the proctor will show you your assigned seat and ask you to turn over any prohibited items, and then you’re all set to take the exam. Have any questions? Drop us a line at info@njspe.org.
The PE exam is designed to test how professional, ethical, and knowledgeable an engineer is before they receive the distinction of professional engineer. Because of how important this distinction is, it should come as no surprise that the exam is taken very seriously. If you are unfamiliar with the important things to steer clear of when it comes to the PE exam, the following actions will result in either rejection from entering the test area, ejection from the test area, and/or invalidation of exam results with no refund:
Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in dismissal from the exam or rejection from entering the exam area with no refunds given. If you are found with any restricted items during the exam, the item will be sent to the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying for investigation. Depending on how serious the infraction is, further action may be taken.
At the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers, we want to ensure you succeed! Please pay close attention to these exam no-nos, and remember: if you are unsure about whether an item is allowed into the test area, always ask for permission beforehand. If you’re looking for some more helpful information about the PE exam, check out this blog.
