Lessons · Engineering · the board that issues, and moving between states
The board issues, the national body does not, and moving runs on a record
A state board grants the licence. The national body administers the examinations and keeps a record of your qualifications, and moving to another state generally runs through that record by comity rather than by starting again.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a licensed engineer. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
The division confuses people in both directions. Some assume that passing a national examination licenses them, which it does not; others assume a move means repeating everything, which it usually does not either. Comity is the middle case: the receiving board makes its own decision against its own requirements, using a record it can verify. Keeping that record complete and current is therefore the thing that makes a future move cheap, and it is easiest to do while the people who can verify your experience are still findable.
How to think about it
Keep your national record complete as you go, rather than assembling one when a move is already decided. When you do move, expect the receiving board to make its own decision against its own requirements rather than simply honouring the old licence. Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different state or a different year.
Worked example
The board grants, the national body administersOne examines and records; the other licenses.
Passing licenses nobodyThere is a separate decision, on a separate application.
Moving usually runs on comityAgainst a record rather than by starting from the beginning.
The receiving board still decidesAgainst its own requirements, which can differ.
So the record is worth keeping currentVerifiers are easiest to find while you still work near them.
Your turn
Name who grants the licence.
The licence is granted by a state , not by the examining body
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Assuming either that a national examination licenses you or that a move means starting over. Neither is right: a state board decides, and a move generally runs on comity against a record you should already have been keeping. Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different state or a different year.