About Our Practice Exams
Our practice exams simulate the real PE Civil Geotechnical CBT exam experience. Each exam includes a built-in scientific calculator, access to the same NCEES-approved reference materials you'll have on exam day, timed sessions, and detailed step-by-step solutions for every question.
Start with the 59-question focused exam to build confidence, then challenge yourself with the full 80-question simulation that closely mirrors the actual test format and difficulty.
Practice Exam 1: Focused Review
59
Multiple Choice
6 Hours
Timed exam
NCEES Question Formats:
A focused 59-question practice exam covering key PE Civil Geotechnical topics. Great for targeted review and building familiarity with the CBT exam format.
Topic Coverage (click to expand)
- • Soil Mechanics & Lab Testing — 10 questions
- • Earth Retaining Structures — 8 questions
- • Shallow Foundations — 8 questions
- • Field Materials Testing — 8 questions
- • Site Characterization — 6 questions
- • Earth Structures — 5 questions
- • Deep Foundations — 4 questions
- • Groundwater & Seepage — 4 questions
- • Earthquake Engineering — 3 questions
- • Problematic Soils — 3 questions
Practice Exam 2: Full Simulation
80
5 Question Types
8 Hours
Timed exam
All 5 NCEES Question Formats:
A comprehensive 80-question full-length exam that closely mirrors the actual PE Civil Geotechnical CBT experience. Covers all 10 exam topics with a realistic mix of difficulty levels.
Topic Coverage (click to expand)
- • Site Characterization — 10 questions
- • Soil Mechanics & Lab Testing — 9 questions
- • Construction, Monitoring & QA/QC — 7 questions
- • Earthquake Engineering — 6 questions
- • Earth Structures & Ground Improvement — 10 questions
- • Groundwater & Seepage — 5 questions
- • Problematic Soils — 5 questions
- • Retaining Structures — 11 questions
- • Shallow Foundations — 7 questions
- • Deep Foundations — 10 questions
Reference Materials
The PEwise exam simulator includes all NCEES-approved reference documents within the exam interface — except for the PE Civil Reference Handbook itself. Due to licensing restrictions, we cannot distribute the NCEES handbook directly.
You can upload your own copy of the PE Civil Reference Handbook into the exam interface to use during the practice exam. To obtain your copy, register or log in to MyNCEES where you can access and download the handbook for free.
Calculator Policy
For calculations, you have two options:
- Use your own approved calculator - The NCEES-approved calculators for 2026 include:
- Casio: All fx-115 and fx-991 models (must have "fx-115" or "fx-991" in the model name)
- Hewlett Packard: HP 33s and HP 35s models only
- Texas Instruments: All TI-30X and TI-36X models (must have "TI-30X" or "TI-36X" in the model name)
- Use the built-in calculator available in the exam interface