Failed the PE exam? Plan the retake from your report.
NCEES sends everyone who doesn't pass a diagnostic report, and it is the most useful study document you will get: knowledge area by knowledge area, it shows where you fell short of the people who passed. Here are the retake rules, how repeat takers do on the PE exams we cover, and a free planner that turns your report into hours.
· by the FE → PE Prep team
The retake rules, plainly
- One attempt per testing window and no more than three attempts in a 12-month period.
- You pay the exam fee again for each attempt.
- Repeat takers are graded to the same standard as first-time takers, results are pass or fail, and NCEES does not publish the passing score.
- A result that is not a pass comes with your licensing board's instructions on how to proceed. Read them before you book.
Repeat pass rates, exam by exam
| Exam | Repeat pass rate | First-time | Repeat takers |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE Civil: Water Resources and Environmental | 50% | 71% | 1,384 |
| PE Civil: Transportation | 42% | 59% | 1,783 |
| PE Civil: Structural | 42% | 61% | 1,314 |
| PE Electrical and Computer: Power | 41% | 58% | 1,319 |
| PE Mechanical: HVAC and Refrigeration | 55% | 74% | 388 |
Source: NCEES Squared 2025 ("Overall takers" table, NCEES fiscal year October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025).
What your diagnostic report shows
For each knowledge area in your exam's specification, the report gives the number of questions and your performance as a scaled score from 0 to 15. The scale lets NCEES compare different exam forms, and your own attempts with each other. Beside it, a chart compares your performance (a solid line) with the average performance of the examinees who passed (a dashed line).
Two things it does not give you. NCEES says the chart is not to scale and the report cannot be used to work out the passing score. And the 0–15 number cannot be turned back into how many questions you got right. So read it for direction: which areas sit well left of the dashed line, and how many questions they carry. That is exactly what the planner below asks for.
What to do, in order
1. Read the report, area by area
Find where your line sits furthest left of the dashed line for the passing examinees, and how many questions those areas carry. NCEES's own reading: an area significantly below the passing examinees contributed to the result, and needs substantial study; one near or just above can still improve. The planner below does that arithmetic for you.
2. Change the method, not just the hours
Repeat takers pass at a lower rate than first-time takers on every PE exam we cover. Everyone retaking has already studied once, so studying the same way for longer is the plan with the weakest case. If you re-read notes last time, work problems this time; if you worked untimed, work timed.
3. Book the window you can be ready for
One attempt per testing window, three in any 12 months. The next window is not automatically the right one. Count the weeks your weakest areas need, then pick the window that gives you them.
4. Rehearse the whole appointment
The PE is a long computer-based appointment with only the references NCEES allows. At least one full-length timed mock before the retake, ideally two, so pacing is practiced rather than discovered on the day.
Common questions
- How many times can you take the PE exam?
- NCEES allows one attempt per testing window and no more than three attempts in a 12-month period. You pay the exam fee again for each attempt. When NCEES sends a result that is not a pass, it includes your licensing board's instructions on how to proceed, so read those before you book.
- What is the PE exam repeat pass rate?
- For the five PE exams this site covers, repeat takers passed at 41–55% in NCEES's most recent published year (fiscal 2024-25), against 58–74% for first-time takers. NCEES does not say why repeat takers do worse. Part of it is selection, since every repeat taker fell short once.
- What does the PE diagnostic report show?
- Everyone who does not pass gets one; nobody who passes does. For each knowledge area it lists the number of questions, your performance as a scaled score from 0 to 15, and a chart comparing that with the average performance of the examinees who passed. NCEES says the chart is not to scale and that the report cannot be used to work out the passing score.
- Is a retake graded differently?
- No. NCEES grades first-time and repeat takers to the same standard, results are reported only as pass or fail, and NCEES does not publish the passing score.
- Can I find out how many questions I got right?
- Not from NCEES. The diagnostic report converts each knowledge area to a 0-15 scaled score so that different exam forms and attempts can be compared, and NCEES says the number of questions you answered correctly cannot be worked out from it.
Build your retake plan
Open your NCEES diagnostic report. For each knowledge area, its chart shows your performance as a solid line and the average of the examinees who passed as a dashed one. Tell us where your line sits, and we'll budget your hours by the official question weights, bent toward the areas where you lost the exam.
Retaking the FE instead? Failed the FE exam? has the same planner for the FE.
Practice where you lost the exam
FE → PE Prep has exam-style problems and figures for every knowledge area, timed full-length mock exams, and an AI tutor, so the hours your plan gives an area go into problems from that area.
Pass rates and retake policy are published by NCEES and change over time. Confirm current specifics at ncees.org and with your state board. Independent study resource; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCEES.