What is the FE Mechanical exam pass rate?

In NCEES's most recent published data (fiscal year 2024-25), 69% of first-time takers passed FE Mechanical, from 11,552 first-time examinees. Repeat takers passed at 37%. That 69% is the highest first-time rate of the seven FE disciplines - and it still means roughly one candidate in three does not pass.

Is FE Mechanical the easiest FE exam?

It has the highest first-time pass rate, but the spread across all seven disciplines is only eight points, from 61% to 69%. That is a narrow band, and pass rates reflect who sits each exam as much as the paper itself. Choosing a discipline you did not study in order to chase a higher rate is a poor trade: you would be giving up familiarity with two thirds of the specification to gain a few points that may not transfer to you at all.

Which FE Mechanical topics do people underestimate?

Electricity and magnetism, at five to eight questions, and measurements, instrumentation and controls, at another five to eight. Up to sixteen questions between them - more than the minimum allocation for statics - in material that many mechanical candidates have not touched since a sophomore survey course. They are also both areas where the handbook helps least, because knowing which relationship applies matters more than having the formula in front of you.

What reference do you get in the FE Mechanical exam?

The NCEES FE Reference Handbook, supplied on screen as a searchable PDF, and nothing else - no personal copies and, unlike the PE exams, no codes or standards. Every formula you need is in it, which moves the difficulty from recall to selection and lookup speed.

How hard is the FE Mechanical exam?

It has the highest first-time pass rate of the seven FE disciplines, which is how it got its reputation as the manageable one. Two things are worth knowing before you lean on that. Roughly one candidate in three still does not pass — and the whole range across all seven disciplines is eight points wide.

Updated August 26, 2026 · by the FE to PE Prep team

69%

First-time pass

~2.9 min

Per question

Knowledge areas

FE Handbook

Only reference

The highest rate — in a very narrow band

NCEES publishes pass rates by discipline each year. These are first-time takers in fiscal year 2024-25, with repeat rates and first-time volumes alongside.

FE exam pass rates and first-time examinee volumes by discipline, NCEES fiscal year 2024-25
Discipline	First time	Repeat	Volume
FE Mechanical	69%	37%	11,552
FE Chemical	68%	35%	1,873
FE Environmental	67%	37%	2,543
FE Electrical and Computer	64%	33%	5,882
FE Industrial and Systems	62%	25%	547
FE Civil	61%	32%	16,639
FE Other Disciplines	61%	29%	2,386

Top of the table — and eight points separate the top from the bottom. That is a narrower spread than the reputations of these exams suggest, and it makes discipline choice a poor lever for difficulty. If you are a mechanical graduate thinking about sitting a different paper to chase a better number, you would be trading away familiarity with two thirds of a specification for a few points that may not transfer to you at all.

The repeat column is the one to take seriously. 37% — the same collapse that shows up in every FE discipline. Whatever the first-time number is, the second attempt is materially harder than the first, which makes an underprepared first sitting the most expensive way to find out where you stand.

Where the questions actually come from

110 questions in 5 hours 20 minutes of testing, inside a 6-hour appointment that also holds the nondisclosure agreement, an 8-minute tutorial and a 25-minute scheduled break. About 2.9 minutes per question. Your only reference is the NCEES FE Reference Handbook, on screen as a searchable PDF — no personal copies, and no codes or standards at all.

FE Mechanical knowledge areas and question counts, per the NCEES specification effective July 2020
Knowledge area	Questions
Dynamics, Kinematics, and VibrationsTied for the largest block. Kinematics, kinetics, work-energy, natural frequency and forced response.	10–15
Fluid MechanicsStatics, continuity and energy, pipe flow and losses, drag, turbomachinery.	10–15
ThermodynamicsProperties, first and second law, power and refrigeration cycles, mixtures.	10–15
Mechanical Design and AnalysisFailure theories, fatigue, shafts, bearings, gears, springs, joints.	10–15
StaticsEquilibrium, trusses and frames, centroids, friction.	9–14
Mechanics of MaterialsStress and strain, torsion, bending, buckling, combined loading.	9–14
Material Properties and ProcessingProperty definitions, phase diagrams, treatments, testing, manufacturing.	7–11
Heat TransferConduction, convection, radiation, exchangers, transient response.	7–11
MathematicsShared with every FE discipline.	6–9
Electricity and Magnetismoften skippedCircuits, power, motors and generators, fields.	5–8
Measurements, Instrumentation, and Controlsoften skippedSensors, signal processing, block diagrams, system response.	5–8
Probability and StatisticsDistributions, intervals, regression, reliability.	4–6
Ethics and Professional PracticeMostly qualitative — codes of ethics, licensure, liability.	4–6
Engineering EconomicsTime value of money, alternatives, depreciation.	4–6

Four blocks run to fifteen questions each — dynamics, fluids, thermodynamics and mechanical design — and no mechanical graduate is surprised by any of them. Look instead at the two marked rows. Electricity and magnetism, and measurements, instrumentation and controls, are five to eight questions apiece. Up to sixteen questions between them, which is more than the minimum allocation for statics, in material a lot of candidates have not opened since a second-year survey course.

That is where a comfortable-looking pass rate goes wrong. The exam is not difficult in its core subjects. It is broad, and the marks are quietly sitting in the corners you would not choose to revise.

Three problems from the real bank

Difficulty is easier to judge from a question than from a percentage. These come from our free FE Mechanical set — two from the core, and one from a corner. Try each before opening the solution, then read the note on the wrong answers.

1. Von Mises stress on a machine element

Mechanical design and analysis is one of four blocks running to fifteen questions. The distortion-energy criterion is in the handbook in full, which is exactly why the wrong answers are built from mis-transcribing it.

1
medium
A. Machine-element stress, failure theories, springs & deflection
At the critical point of a loaded machine element the plane-stress components are $\sigma_x=80\,\text{MPa}$ , $\sigma_y=30\,\text{MPa}$ , and $\tau_{xy}=25\,\text{MPa}$ (see the stress element). The distortion-energy (von Mises) effective stress is most nearly:
1. 82.3 MPa
2. 95.8 MPa
3. 74.3 MPa
4. 70.5 MPa
Show the answer & worked solution
Answer: A.82.3 MPa
$\sigma'=\sqrt{\sigma_x^2-\sigma_x\sigma_y+\sigma_y^2+3\tau_{xy}^2}=\sqrt{80^2-(80)(30)+30^2+3(25)^2}=82.3$ MPa. Distractors: dropped the cross term $-\sigma_x\sigma_y$ (used $\sigma_x^2+\sigma_y^2+3\tau^2$ ); used $3\tau_{xy}$ instead of $3\tau_{xy}^2$ (shear left un-squared); and dropped the factor $3$ on the shear term ( $+\tau_{xy}^2$ ).

What the distractors teach: Every distractor is one term of the formula handled wrongly. Drop the −σxσy cross term and you get 95.8 MPa. Forget to square the shear and you get 70.5. Drop the factor of 3 on the shear term and you get 74.3. All four options are in the same range, so none of them can be dismissed on magnitude — you have to have copied the expression correctly.

2. Conduction through a plane wall

Heat transfer is seven to eleven questions, and Fourier's law is the first thing in it. This problem is a single substitution, which makes it a good test of whether you are reading carefully at question ninety.

2
medium
A. Conduction, convection, radiation, transient & heat exchangers
A plane wall of thermal conductivity $k=0.8$ W/m·K has a face area $A=10$ m² and thickness $L=0.2$ m, with its two faces held at a temperature difference $\Delta T=20$ K. By Fourier's law, the steady rate of heat conduction through the wall is most nearly:
1. 1600 W
2. 80 W
3. 800 W
4. 160 W
Show the answer & worked solution
Answer: C.800 W
Fourier's law: $q=\dfrac{kA\,\Delta T}{L}=\dfrac{0.8\cdot10\cdot20}{0.2}=800$ W. Distractors: used half the thickness — the distance to the mid-plane — in the denominator ( $kA\Delta T/(L/2)$ , which doubles the rate); dropped the area $A$ (reported the heat flux $k\Delta T/L$ as a rate); and omitted the thickness entirely ( $kA\Delta T$ , as if $L=1$ m).

What the distractors teach: Halve the thickness — using the distance to the mid-plane instead of the wall thickness — and the rate doubles to 1600 W. Drop the area and you have computed a heat flux, 80 W/m², and reported it as a rate. Omit the thickness altogether and you get 160. Three answers, three different failures to read the question rather than the formula.

3. A loaded voltage divider — on a mechanical exam

This is the point of the article. Electricity and magnetism is five to eight questions, and measurements, instrumentation and controls is another five to eight. Between them that is up to sixteen questions of material most mechanical engineers last studied in their second year.

3
medium
A. Electrical fundamentals & DC circuit analysis
A voltage divider across a 24 V DC source uses $R_1=200\,\Omega$ (series) and $R_2=300\,\Omega$ (shunt). A load $R_L=600\,\Omega$ is then connected across the output terminals (across $R_2$ ). The output voltage across the load is most nearly:
1. 9.6 V
2. 19.6 V
3. 14.4 V
4. 12 V
Show the answer & worked solution
Answer: D.12 V
Loaded bottom leg: $R_2\|R_L=\dfrac{300\cdot600}{900}=200\,\Omega$ . $V_{out}=V\dfrac{R_2\|R_L}{R_1+R_2\|R_L}=24\cdot\dfrac{200}{400}=12$ V. Distractors: the unloaded divider value (loading ignored), the inverted divider ratio $R_1/(R_1+R_2)$ , and the load wrongly placed in series with $R_2$ instead of in parallel.

What the distractors teach: The trap is the load. Ignore it and you get 14.4 V, the unloaded divider value — the answer to the problem you would rather be solving. Put the load in series with R2 instead of in parallel and you get 19.6 V. Invert the ratio and you get 9.6 V. Nothing here is difficult if you have looked at a divider recently, and nothing here is obvious if you have not.

How to prepare for it

Audit the corners first. Spend an early evening on electricity and magnetism and on measurements and controls, and find out how much you have actually lost. Up to sixteen questions ride on it, and the answer is usually more than people expect.
Do not treat the pass rate as a margin. 69% is the best of the seven and it is eight points off the worst. It is not a reason to prepare differently.
Practise with the handbook open from day one. Every formula is supplied, so the scoreable skills are selection and lookup speed, not recall. The von Mises problem above is a pure transcription test.
Read the question, not just the formula. Two of the three problems here are missed by substituting carefully into the right equation after misreading what was asked.
Work under time. 2.9 minutes covers reading, deciding, looking up and computing — breadth exams are lost on the clock.

For every discipline's rates side by side, see how hard is the FE exam?; for a plan with weeks in it, how long to study for the FE; and if you have already sat it once, what actually works the second time.

Common questions

What is the FE Mechanical exam pass rate?: In NCEES's most recent published data (fiscal year 2024-25), 69% of first-time takers passed FE Mechanical, from 11,552 first-time examinees. Repeat takers passed at 37%. That 69% is the highest first-time rate of the seven FE disciplines - and it still means roughly one candidate in three does not pass.
Is FE Mechanical the easiest FE exam?: It has the highest first-time pass rate, but the spread across all seven disciplines is only eight points, from 61% to 69%. That is a narrow band, and pass rates reflect who sits each exam as much as the paper itself. Choosing a discipline you did not study in order to chase a higher rate is a poor trade: you would be giving up familiarity with two thirds of the specification to gain a few points that may not transfer to you at all.
Which FE Mechanical topics do people underestimate?: Electricity and magnetism, at five to eight questions, and measurements, instrumentation and controls, at another five to eight. Up to sixteen questions between them - more than the minimum allocation for statics - in material that many mechanical candidates have not touched since a sophomore survey course. They are also both areas where the handbook helps least, because knowing which relationship applies matters more than having the formula in front of you.
How long is the FE Mechanical exam?: 110 questions in 5 hours 20 minutes of actual testing time, inside a 6-hour appointment that also covers the nondisclosure agreement, an 8-minute tutorial and a 25-minute scheduled break. Roughly 2.9 minutes per question, covering reading, locating the relationship in the handbook, and computing.
What reference do you get in the FE Mechanical exam?: The NCEES FE Reference Handbook, supplied on screen as a searchable PDF, and nothing else - no personal copies and, unlike the PE exams, no codes or standards. Every formula you need is in it, which moves the difficulty from recall to selection and lookup speed.

Build your study plan

Tell us how long you have. We'll budget your hours across every knowledge area using the official NCEES question weights — the heaviest areas get the most time, which is the opposite of how most people study.

Work through seven more

Ten free FE Mechanical problems in total — statics, mechanics of materials, fluids, materials, statistics, economics — each with a figure and the full worked solution, including what each wrong answer is the right answer to. No signup.

Try the free FE Mech set Explore FE Mechanical

Pass rates are from the NCEES Squared 2025 annual report (fiscal year 2024-25); format and knowledge areas from the NCEES FE Mechanical CBT specification effective July 2020. Specifications, fees and rates change over time — confirm current specifics at ncees.org. Independent study resource; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCEES.