FE Electrical and Computer Exam: Complete Guide [2026]

Every other FE discipline exam belongs to one field; the FE Electrical and Computer exam covers two. Its official specification runs from Maxwell's equations to penetration testing, which means an electrical engineer must answer software questions and a computer engineer must answer power-systems questions, all in the same sitting. That breadth is the exam's defining feature, and preparing for it well means knowing exactly how those 17 knowledge areas are weighted. This guide covers the FE Electrical exam completely: what it is, the format, every knowledge area with its question count, the real pass rates, and how to prepare.

What is the FE Electrical and Computer exam?

The FE Electrical and Computer exam is one of seven discipline versions of the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, the first of the two exams on the path to the Professional Engineer (PE) license. It is intended for candidates from electrical and computer engineering programs, and passing it earns the Engineer in Training designation in most states.

The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam works the same way across all seven disciplines: it is a computer-based test offered year-round at Pearson VUE centers, administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), and designed for students who are close to finishing an EAC/ABET-accredited engineering degree or have recently graduated. What changes by discipline is the specification, the official outline of knowledge areas and question counts, and the Electrical and Computer specification is the broadest of the versions we cover, spanning both of its namesake fields. Choosing this version over FE Civil, FE Mechanical, or another discipline is not binding in any way: any FE exam satisfies the fundamentals requirement, and NCEES simply recommends taking the one closest to your coursework. For electrical and computer engineering majors, that is this exam.

Passing leads to EIT (Engineer in Training) certification through your state board, and from there to the PE exam after gaining the experience your state requires. Our guide to EIT certification covers that step, and our FE vs PE comparison shows how the two exams differ.

FE Electrical exam format: questions, timing, and rules

The FE Electrical exam contains 110 questions in a 6-hour appointment: 5 hours 20 minutes of exam time, an 8-minute tutorial, a 2-minute nondisclosure agreement, and an optional 25-minute break. It is closed book, with the searchable NCEES FE Reference Handbook supplied onscreen, and it uses both SI and US customary units.

The format details match every other FE discipline, so the full breakdown in our FE exam format guide applies here: a mix of traditional multiple choice and alternative item types (fill-in-the-blank, drag-and-drop, point-and-click, multiple-select), delivered on a 24-inch monitor with the FE Reference Handbook as the only reference allowed. Your own calculator is permitted from the NCEES-approved calculator list. Timing strategy for the 5-hour-20-minute session matters more on this exam than most: 110 questions across 17 knowledge areas leaves just under three minutes per question, and the breadth means momentum swings between areas you know cold and areas you last saw in your second year.

Scoring follows the standard NCEES model: your score is the number of correct answers, with no penalty for wrong answers, converted to a scaled score against a fixed standard. NCEES does not publish the passing score, and there is no fixed percentage to clear; our FE passing score guide explains how the scaled system works. Results arrive in 7 to 10 days.

FE Electrical exam topics: all 17 knowledge areas

The FE Electrical and Computer specification, effective since July 2020, lists 17 knowledge areas with a question range for each — more than FE Civil's 14 or FE Environmental's 15. Mathematics and Circuit Analysis carry the most questions at 11–17 each, and the electrical core outweighs the computer side roughly two to one.

The table below is the complete official outline, from the NCEES FE Electrical and Computer specification. The ranges are questions out of 110:

Two planning observations follow directly from the ranges. First, the foundation block shared with every FE exam — mathematics, probability and statistics, ethics, engineering economics — adds up to 24 to 37 questions, roughly a quarter to a third of the exam, and none of it is discipline knowledge; these are the most reliable points on the exam. Second, the electrical core (circuits, power, electronics, linear systems, signal processing, electromagnetics, materials, controls, communications) spans 52 to 81 questions, while the computer side (digital systems, computer systems, networks, software engineering) spans 21 to 32. An electrical engineering major who neglects the computer areas is exposing up to a third of the exam; a computer engineering major who neglects power and electromagnetics is exposing half of it.

How hard is the FE Electrical exam?

Per NCEES Squared 2025, 64% of first-time FE Electrical and Computer takers pass, slightly below FE Mechanical's 69% and above FE Civil's 61% — while repeat takers pass at just 31%, one of the sharpest first-attempt-versus-retake gaps among the disciplines.

The full discipline-by-discipline picture is in our FE pass rates guide, but two numbers deserve attention here. The first is that 31% repeat rate: fewer than one in three retakers pass, which is the strongest argument for preparing thoroughly enough to pass the first time rather than treating attempt one as reconnaissance. The second is the timing effect, which NCEES quantified across all disciplines in Squared 2025: candidates who take the FE before graduating pass 71.3% of the time, and the rate falls as the fundamentals fade after graduation. For this exam the effect is amplified by the specification's breadth. The 17 areas reach into corners of the curriculum (electromagnetics, discrete mathematics, semiconductor physics) that working engineers rarely touch, so the distance from coursework costs more here than on narrower exams.

What makes the exam feel hard is rarely the depth of any single question; it is coverage. Very few candidates finish a degree equally strong in power systems and software engineering, so everyone faces a block of questions from their weaker half. The candidates who pass treat that asymmetry as the study plan: they find their weak areas early and weight their preparation toward them, exactly the diagnostic-first approach that the pass-rate data rewards.

How to study for the FE Electrical exam

Effective FE Electrical preparation is specification-driven: plan 8 to 12 weeks, weight your study hours by each area's question count and your distance from it, work every practice problem with the Reference Handbook open, and close with timed full-length simulations.

The method is the four-step plan from our guide on how to study for the FE exam, applied to this specification:

1. Start from the 17 areas. Print the table above, rate your confidence in each area honestly, and multiply weakness by question count. A shaky Circuit Analysis (11–17 questions) outranks a shaky Computer Networks (4–6) by any arithmetic.
2. Diagnose before you study. Take a baseline practice exam before committing your schedule, then give the most hours to the weak areas that carry the most questions. For most candidates this surfaces the cross-field gap immediately: the electrical major discovers Digital Systems and Software Engineering need real work, the computer major discovers Electromagnetics and Power Systems do.
3. Build handbook fluency. The FE Reference Handbook is onscreen throughout the exam, and the fastest candidates navigate it by search rather than memory. Every practice problem you solve should be solved with the handbook open, so that finding the right formula becomes reflex rather than a mid-exam scavenger hunt.
4. Simulate the real exam. Finish with at least two full 110-question, 5-hour-20-minute timed sessions under exam conditions. Realistic practice volume across all 17 areas is exactly what our upcoming FE Electrical and Computer practice exams are designed to provide, mapped to the specification's question counts.

NCEES sells official practice exams through MyNCEES, worth knowing about as final simulations. Beyond practice questions, a structured review course or textbook helps most when your coursework is years behind you and the fundamentals need reteaching rather than refreshing.

When to take the FE Electrical exam

The best time to take the FE Electrical exam is your final year of the degree or as soon after graduation as possible: the before-graduation pass rate of 71.3% (NCEES Squared 2025) falls steadily as coursework fades. The exam is offered year-round, so the constraint is your readiness, not a test date.

The practical schedule follows from that data. Most candidates register when they are two to three months from ready, which aligns the 12-month registration window with a realistic study calendar rather than an aspirational one. Final-year students have a structural advantage on this exam specifically: the computer-side areas and the mathematics block sit freshest during the degree, and both fade quickly in specialized jobs. If you are already several years out, nothing about the exam changes; your study plan simply weights the faded areas more heavily and the timeline stretches toward the longer end.

Cost, registration, and what comes after

The FE Electrical exam costs $225, paid to NCEES at registration, and your authorization to schedule lasts 12 months. Some states add a board application fee, and our FE exam cost guide itemizes the full budget including reschedule rules.

Registration runs through your MyNCEES account: create the account, select FE Electrical and Computer and your state, pay, and schedule a Pearson VUE appointment. After a passing result, the path continues through your state board: apply for EIT certification, accumulate the experience your board requires (four years in most states), and then sit for the PE exam. The official NCEES FE page carries the current registration details and state-specific notes.

Frequently Asked Questions