APEGA technical exams, explained

APEGA's Board of Examiners (BOE) reviews each application. Where it finds gaps in your academic background, it can ask you to write technical exams, take equivalent university courses, or both. APEGA mails you an assessment letter that names each exam or course and says what to do once they are done.

Once the letter arrives, APEGA describes three choices:

• Write the exams or take the courses it lists.
• Ask the BOE to look at its decision again, through a reconsideration or a reassessment.
• Withdraw your application.

Keep an eye on the clock. APEGA says the BOE gives applicants two years to attempt the exams or courses it prescribes, and an application with no attempt in that time is withdrawn for inactivity. You must also complete the assigned exams within the time frame the BOE sets for you, which appears in your own file rather than on APEGA's public pages.

APEGA sorts its technical exams into three kinds: Preliminary and Basic Studies, Complementary Studies, and discipline exams in Group A and Group B. The worked example on APEGA's page combines three Basic Studies exams, two Group A and one Group B chemical exams, and one Complementary Studies exam.

The codes are the same family that Professional Engineers Ontario and Engineers and Geoscientists BC use. APEGA's list of exams being set for Spring/Summer 2027 (dated July 22, 2026) includes, for example:

• Basic Studies: 04-BS-1 Mathematics to 04-BS-16 Discrete Mathematics, such as 04-BS-6 Mechanics of Materials
• Complementary Studies: Engineering Economics, shown as 98-CS-1 with 11-CS-1 beside it
• Civil: 16-Civ-A1 Elementary Structural Analysis and 16-Civ-A2 Elementary Structural Design, among others
• Chemical, electrical, computer, environmental and other disciplines, most with both Group A and Group B codes

Check that list before you register. If an exam on your letter is not on it, APEGA asks you to email it so the exam can be set for the next session.

These match what our dates and fees guide already lists for APEGA; nothing had changed when we checked on November 3, 2026. APEGA emails a notice about a month before each session when the schedule is out. Requests to reschedule are looked at case by case, and APEGA says not all are granted.

Since 2021, APEGA's technical exams have been computer based and remotely proctored. Engineers and Geoscientists BC delivers the online exams in partnership with APEGA and Professional Engineers Ontario, using AssessBank as the exam platform and eProctor Canada for proctoring. APEGA notes that both are hosted in Canada.

The exam schedule and the list of permitted aids come from EGBC, so its schedule is the page to read for your exam's rules. In EGBC's Fall 2026 schedule, each exam is marked open or closed book, some closed-book exams allow one hand-written aid sheet, open-book exams allow printed books and notes only, and most exams permit any non-communicating, non-programmable calculator.

If a medical condition calls for accommodations, such as extra time, extra breaks or a larger font, email APEGA for the forms and send them in before the registration deadline.

APEGA's minimum mark is 50%. Results appear in myAPEGA once processed, and APEGA also mails an official letter. It does not give results by phone or in person, does not return exam papers and does not release answers.

• An exam below 50% is reviewed automatically to confirm the score.
• You can also ask for a formal re-read for $330, GST included.
• There is no penalty for a result under the minimum mark; you write the exam again in a later session.
• You can write your exams in any order, and you do not need to clear one exam before attempting others.

APEGA lets you take equivalent university courses in place of the exams, and the BOE may also require courses to cover gaps. Its course lists cover the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. After the course, you send an official transcript; APEGA updates your assessment and sends a confirmation letter within about three weeks. If you do not complete the course successfully, you either take it again or write the technical exam.

A course that is not on APEGA's list can still be considered: email APEGA the course code, name, description and university.

Only when the BOE assigns it. APEGA says the BOE may assign the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam on its own or together with technical exams, and asks applicants not to write the FE before the BOE has decided. Its pages do not describe choosing the FE yourself in place of technical exams the BOE has already assigned.

Other regulators treat the FE differently. Our guide on the FE exam and technical exams compares them.

• The FE exam and technical exams

If you disagree with the BOE's decision, you have 90 days from its letter to act. A reconsideration asks the BOE to look again because of an error or an unfair process, without new information. A reassessment adds material that was missing from your application, such as transcripts, course descriptions or a WES course-by-course report. Each costs $225 plus GST and is non-refundable. APEGA notes that a WES report will not change a decision to assign the FE exam.

For study, APEGA points engineering candidates to the suggested material PEO publishes for each exam, and says questions follow the syllabus and exam descriptions rather than any one textbook. APEGA does not provide past exams; EGBC lists past academic exams from before 2020 for most subjects. CertNova's technical exam prep opens in January 2027, and waitlist members get access for $1.

• Technical exam past papers