CertNova

Technical exams vs the NPPE

The NPPE is one multiple-choice exam on law, ethics and professional practice that nearly every P.Eng applicant writes, and it is usually what people mean by "the P.Eng exam". Technical exams are written problem-solving exams on engineering subjects, assigned only when your academics need to be confirmed or completed.

By the CertNova team. Updated .

Engraved plate of the wooden bridge at Schaffhausen: a section and two plans of its truss.
Bridge, plate XC: the wooden bridge at Schaffhausen. Picture: Civil engineering: three views of the bridge at Schaffhausen by J. Moffat after W. A. Provis, Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0.

Side by side

NPPETechnical exams
Who writes itAlmost every P.Eng applicantApplicants whose degree needs confirming or completing
What it testsProfessionalism, ethics, professional practice, law and regulationEngineering subjects from the Engineers Canada syllabus
FormatMultiple choiceWritten problems, marked on your working
How manyOneUsually several; PEO describes four

Where each fits

The two are independent. At PEO, the NPPE now comes before you apply, while technical exams come out of the academic assessment after you apply. Many internationally educated applicants study for both in the same year.

NPPE Pro, from the same team as this site, covers the NPPE. This site is for the technical exams.

Sources

Every fact above comes from these documents, read on November 3, 2026.

The finished Quebec Bridge seen from the north shore, around 1917.

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Picture: The bridge at Quebec by Bain News Service, Library of Congress, public domain.