The National Professional Practice Examination (NPPE) is a 2.5-hour, closed-book, online exam on ethics, professional practice, engineering law, and professional liability. It follows all relevant standards outlined by the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing to ensure that the exam program is valid, reliable and fair.
Applicants must pass the NPPE within the timeframe set by PEO.
Applicants must take the NPPE by the date PEO specifies. This deadline ensures an application can be processed within 180 days, including exam-processing time.
Applicants can take the NPPE after PEO confirms their application is complete. After an applicant receives notification from PEO confirming their application is complete, including instructions for writing the exam and the date they must take it, the NPPE registration tab will appear on the application homepage. Applicants can then use the registration tab to register for an upcoming exam within the current registration window.
The NPPE is conducted via remote proctoring five times a year, in January/February, April, June, August/September, and November. Special accommodations can be made for those with a demonstrated need. Contact the PEO Exam Centre for more information about accommodations.
For more information, please see the Candidate Guide in the NPPE Document section below.
Note for those who submitted applications before May 15, 2023
Eligible applicants may write the NPPE at any time within the period advised by PEO while they acquire the required 48 months of engineering work experience. Applicants are encouraged to write the NPPE early within this period to reduce the time to licensure. Applicants who submitted their application before May 15, 2023, must pass the NPPE within two years of being notified that their academic requirements have been satisfied.
Writing the National Professional Practice Exam
The exam includes 110 multiple-choice questions covering six subject areas based on textbook information and other resources. You will have 2.5 hours to complete the exam. Although it contains specialized vocabulary and terms, the exam is not a test of English language proficiency and is regularly verified to ensure it functions at a grade-10 readability level. Click the link to find out more.
We recommend three textbooks and several free resources as study materials to prepare for the NPPE. Click the link below to learn more.
Read about recommended study materials
Several practice tests are available to help you prepare for the NPPE. Practice test questions are sampled from previous NPPE exams. The practice test provides detailed feedback indicating areas of strength and weakness in your knowledge. To best use the practice tests, we recommend taking one early when studying to determine which areas to focus on and another later to reassess your understanding.
The practice test site also sells an NPPE preparation package, which includes two textbooks and discounted access to a 100-question practice test. Click the links below for more details.
Examination sittings and locations
The NPPE is offered five times per year. Each session for that month offers multiple timeslots per day.
The exam is conducted via remote proctoring. Please see the section below for more information.
National Professional Practice Examination (NPPE) Documents
National Professional Practice Examination (NPPE) and results schedule
Candidates who register to write the NPPE should receive a booking confirmation email with their exam date and time from Meazure Learning approximately three to four weeks from the scheduled NPPE date. Contact Meazure Learning at [email protected] if you have not received this confirmation within three weeks from the scheduled NPPE date.
Even if you've registered and paid for the NPPE with PEO, you're not scheduled to write the exam until you confirm the date and time with Meazure Learning. Without this confirmation, you'll be marked as "Withdrawal” This won't count as a failure, but your payment will be forfeited and will need to pay for future sittings, as long as you're still eligible to write again.
If Meazure deems the technical difficulty encountered is due to personal equipment issues, you will be coded as "Withdrawal" and will need to pay again at your next sitting, as long as you're still eligible to write again. Please note that the equipment used must be your own personal device, not a work or school issued laptop, as such devices often have restrictions that can interfere with the exam software. It is your responsibility to ensure your equipment is fully updated and properly configured to avoid any issues. If you face any issues at the time of the exam, you must inform us immediately and during the exam week, as it is important that we are made aware of the situation right away.
| NPPE Dates | Registration open from | Results issued by email approximately by |
|---|---|---|
| June 2 - 4, 2025 | March 25 - April 28, 2025 | July 8, 2025 |
| September 8 - 10, 2025 | June 9 - July 14, 2025 | October 3, 2025 |
| November 17 - 19, 2025 | August 23 - October 6, 2025 | December 10, 2025 |
| January 19 - 21, 2026 | October 27 - December 8, 2025 | February 13, 2026 |
| March 30 - April 1, 2026 | January 5 - February 16, 2026 | April 24, 2026 |
| June 8 - 10, 2026 | March 23 - April 27, 2026 | July 3, 2026 |
| August 17 - 19, 2026 | June 1 - July 6, 2026 | September 18, 2026 |
| November 2 - 4, 2026 | August 24 - September 21, 2026 | November 27, 2026 |
Suggested Textbooks
Please download the study materials and review the suggested textbooks listed below. You must be familiar with this information to pass the NPPE. Textbooks cannot be purchased from PEO. Please get in touch with the publisher or your local university.
*Please note that textbooks cannot be purchased at PEO. Please contact the publisher or your local university.
Professional Practice and Ethics
Gordon C. Andrews, Patricia Shaw, John McPhee "Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience: Practice and Ethics”, 6th Edition, 2019, published by Nelson Education Ltd.
ISBN: 0-17-676467-4
Tel: (416) 752-9448 or 1-800-268-2222
Fax: (416) 752-8101 or 1-800-430-4445
www.nelson.com
Engineering Law and Professional Liability
Title: "Law for Professional Engineers, Canadian and Global Insights", Fifth Edition, 2019 Published by: McGraw-Hill Education
Author: D.L. Marston
ISBN: 978-1-260-13590-9
Tel: 1-800-565-5758
Fax: 1-800-463-5855
www.mheducation.ca/professional
Title: “Practical Law of Architecture, Engineering, and Geoscience”, Third Canadian Edition, 2015 Published by Pearson Canada
Author: Brian M. Samuels and Doug R. Sanders
ISBN: 978-0133575231
Tel: 1-800-567-3800
www.pearson.com/ca/en.html