Mechanical Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam FAQs

Author: Wisden Writers

You may have been pushed by your college, company or peers to sign up for the Mechanical FE exam. There is a lot of information and discussion out there and a lot to decipher. You may still have some confusion on conflicting information you have read. Below we condense the most important FAQs asked about the Mechanical FE Exam.

Always fall back on information provided by NCEES

Your first and most trusted source to review is the NCEES website. Here there is all the information you need for the exam application, specifications, and rules. Refer to the NCEES Examinee Guide for all the major exam day items. Refer to the NCEES Exam Specifications for a complete list of all the topics to be tested. Your application process will also be through your MyNCEES website. Finally, the only outside source you should really need to refer to is your state licensing board. They will determine your Engineering in Training (EIT) certification requirements. Each state has specific application requirements beyond taking the exam. NCEES only produces and administers the test.

When can I take the FE Exam?

The FE exam is administered year round and proctored by your nearest testing center. You should first check with your state on any extraneous requirements they may have. You should also check with your testing center on their scheduling availability. In general you are allowed to take the test up to three times a year and only once within the following time frames as discussed in the Examinee Guide.

  1. January-March
  2. April-June
  3. July-September
  4. October-December.

Your NCEES application will be valid for 12 months. You may begin to take the exam during your senior year of college. Again, this can vary by state. Since the material is freshest at this point, this is the best time to take the exam.

How long is the application process?

The longest part of the NCEES application is the payment process which can take up to 2 days. After that you can schedule to take the exam after 24 hours of scheduling. Your state application process may vary as well, so you should check this before applying with NCEES. Most times you will apply with your state after by submitting your pass certificate from NCEES. State processing can average about 3 months, depending how busy your state is.

What can I take into the Exam?

The Examinee Guide provides a list of approved items that are allowed into the test room. In general, it is pretty strict and most items will be left outside the test room or in a locker, such as your food, drinks, wallet, phone, bags, hats, etc. The main thing you will need to bring with you is your NCEES approved calculator, your ID, glasses if you need them, and a light jacket. Only one calculator is allowed in the room at a time, but you are allowed to store a backup in your locker. Test centers will provide you with writing tools and the NCEES FE Reference Handbook as a pdf format. This will be your only resource during the exam.

What is the FE Reference Handbook like on the CBT?

The reference handbook is given to you as a searchable pdf on the computer based test. It is sorted by chapter. The search results are listed in a side bar and you are able to click on each line where the word appears. The handbook will be laid out side by side with your test. The NCEES YouTube page has a demo video of how this handbook will be displayed during the exam. There is a free pdf version of the latest handbook downloadable from your MyNCEES page. I would recommend practicing with this pdf as you do your practice problems to become familiar with the searching option.

What are the questions like?

Based on the Examinee Guide, most questions will be multiple choice type, with options A thru D. There are some questions that will be in the following formats.

Alternative answer types:

  1. Multiple answers can be selected
  2. Click on an image or a point on a graph to select the answer.
  3. Drag and drop answers to match, sort, or label
  4. Fill in the blank with an answer.

What kinds of Units are used?

Most problems on the sample Mechanical FE exam use metric units, which is great news for the mechanical engineer. This simplifies conversions quite a bit. However, there are some questions that will be in English units.

The Mechanical Fundamentals of Engineering exam is a compressed, 6 hour exam of all the basic mechanical courses you took in college. This is why it is necessary to invest maximum of your preparation for the test in an efficient manner.