PE-NA&M Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

The Headline Numbers: 63% and 38%

If you are searching for the PE Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering pass rate, the most authoritative public figures come from the table NCEES maintains on its exam page, last updated January 2026. That table reports two numbers for this exam:

Two caveats matter before you draw any conclusions. First, these results describe a prior October administration, not the upcoming sitting scheduled for October 27, 2026. Second, the sample is tiny. Fifty-four total examinees is a very different statistical universe from the exams with thousands of candidates per year. That is normal for a specialty licensure exam in a compact profession, but it changes how you should interpret the data.

For a broader view of how this fits with other difficulty indicators, see our guide on how hard the PE-NA&M exam is, and for the companion overview of this topic, our PE-NA&M pass rate data page.

How to Read a Small-Sample Pass Rate

With 46 first-time examinees, each person is worth roughly two percentage points. If three or four more candidates had failed in that administration, the headline number would have dropped noticeably. If three or four more had passed, it would have climbed. The practical consequence: do not treat 63% as a precise, stable constant. It is a snapshot of one cohort.

The repeat-taker figure is even more fragile. Eight examinees means one person equals 12.5 percentage points. The 38% is useful as a directional signal, but you should not build a precise argument on it.

What the data does not tell you

• It does not tell you the pass rate for the October 27, 2026 administration.
• It does not break results down by domain, so you cannot tell which of the 13 objectives caused the most failures.
• It does not distinguish between candidates who used the official NCEES practice exam and those who did not.
• It does not reveal a numerical cut score, because NCEES does not publish one.

Why First-Time Takers Outperform Repeat Takers

A gap between first-time and repeat pass rates appears across many NCEES exams, and the naval architecture data follows the pattern. There are several plausible explanations, none of which the data can confirm on its own:

• Selection effect. Repeat takers are, by definition, people who did not meet the minimum-competence standard last time. Some of them have genuine knowledge gaps in high-count domains that a few extra weeks of review do not close.
• Fresh coursework. Many first-time candidates are a few years past their degree and recently passed the FE exam, so core hydrostatics, structures, and thermodynamics are still active knowledge.
• Strategy carryover. Retakers sometimes repeat the same preparation approach that did not work, just with more hours.

If you are weighing whether to retake, the sensible reading is not "repeat takers are doomed." It is that a retake needs a different plan, targeted at the specific domains where your first attempt fell short. Our PE-NA&M study guide covers how to structure that plan.

What the Scoring Model Means for Your Strategy

Understanding how the exam is scored matters more than staring at the pass rate. The facts from NCEES:

• Results are reported as pass/fail, determined by a scaled score meeting the NCEES minimum-competence standard.
• NCEES does not publish a numerical passing score, so there is no "you need 70%" target to chase.
• There is no deduction for wrong answers, so you should never leave an item blank.
• Scored items receive correct/incorrect credit with no partial credit, even on multi-step or multiple-correct items.
• The 85 questions include unidentified unscored pretest items, so you cannot tell which questions count.

The absence of partial credit deserves special attention for this exam. Several item types are all-or-nothing: multiple-correct questions require every right selection, and numerical fill-in items require a correct value. A stability calculation with a single arithmetic slip earns nothing. That raises the premium on unit discipline (the exam supports both SI and USCS units) and on checking your work on calculation-heavy items.

Exam Format, Clock, and Logistics

Pass-rate data lands differently once you appreciate the endurance element. This is a long, single-day, computer-based exam administered through Pearson VUE at approved Pearson test centers.

Details that affect performance

• The two sections share the testing clock. Time you save in one section is available for the other, but a slow start on the first section can squeeze the second.
• Submitted sections cannot be reopened. Do your flagging and review before you submit, not after.
• All examinees in the administration receive the same question set. Because there is only one annual sitting, there is no second form to fall back on within the year.
• Fees: the NCEES exam fee is US$400 per attempt, and your licensing board may charge separate application fees.

Because this exam is offered once a year, a failed attempt means a long gap before the next opportunity. That timing, as much as the 63% figure, is why disciplined preparation pays off. Our exam dates and scheduling guide walks through deadlines and registration mechanics.

Where the Questions Come From: The 13 Domains

The NCEES specification, effective beginning October 2025, lists 13 numbered exam objectives. The specification gives question-count ranges rather than fixed percentage weights, so the figures below are counts out of 85, not percentages.

One important point: the 13 numbered headings are official exam objectives, not a preparation curriculum, and the illustrative subtopics beneath them are not exhaustive. Society study guides, including the SNAME preparation guide, are secondary resources; their category lists and any percentage statements are not official NCEES domain weights. For a deeper walkthrough, see our complete guide to all 13 content areas.

Turning Pass-Rate Data Into a Preparation Plan

The most useful thing you can do with a 63% first-time rate is to treat it as a reason to prepare against the actual blueprint rather than by general experience. Many candidates work in one slice of the field, such as hull structures at a shipyard or machinery systems at a design firm, and the exam deliberately spans both naval architecture and marine engineering. The domains outside your day-to-day work are where preparation gaps hide.

Adjust the order to your own background; the point is that the schedule follows the blueprint's question ranges rather than your comfort zone. For a complete roadmap, see the first-attempt study guide, and when you want to test yourself against realistic questions, try the PE-NA&M practice tests.

Cost, Career Context, and What a Failed Attempt Really Costs

The pass rate matters partly because each attempt is expensive. The NCEES fee is US$400 per attempt, board application fees may be on top of that, and because the exam is offered once a year, a failure also costs you twelve months of delayed licensure. Add the cost of study materials and any time off work for the nine-and-a-half-hour appointment, and the real price of a retake is well above the exam fee alone. Our certification cost breakdown itemizes these figures.

On the career side, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $112,230 for marine engineers and naval architects as of May 2025. That figure is occupation-wide; it is not a salary specific to PE holders and it does not measure a licensure premium. Licensure can nonetheless matter for roles that involve signing and sealing design documents or advancing into senior technical or consulting positions. Our ROI analysis and salary guide cover that tradeoff in more depth.

Eligibility sits with your board

Who may sit for the exam is determined by the licensing board you select, not by NCEES alone. A common pathway is an EAC/ABET-accredited engineering bachelor's degree, the FE exam, four years of acceptable engineering experience, and then the PE exam, but this is not a universal prerequisite. Check your board's requirements early; see our requirements guide for the general picture. Also note that this is a licensure examination, not a separately renewable NCEES credential; your state or territorial board sets renewal periods and continuing professional competency requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

For more background on the credential itself, see what the PE-NA&M exam is, and when you are ready to measure your readiness, work through a full set of questions on our practice test platform.