Mechanical Engineering Board Exam Coverage 2026: Subjects, Passing Grade and Requirements

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The Mechanical Engineering Licensure Examination evaluates an applicant’s knowledge of power and industrial plants, thermodynamics, mathematics, engineering economics, basic engineering sciences, machine design, materials and manufacturing practices.

This guide explains the three major examination subjects, their percentage weights, important topics to review, the passing grade, applicant qualifications and general PRC application requirements.

Official basis: The Professional Regulatory Board of Mechanical Engineering adopted a table of specifications for the Registered Mechanical Engineers Licensure Examination. Republic Act No. 8495 provides the legal basis for the licensure examination, qualifications and passing requirement.

Mechanical Engineering Board Exam Coverage and Weights

Examination Subject Weight Main Focus
Industrial and Power Plant Engineering 35% Power generation, industrial equipment, refrigeration, air-conditioning, fluid machinery, combustion, heat transfer and plant design
Mathematics, Engineering Economics and Basic Engineering Sciences 35% Mathematics, economics, ME law and ethics, physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and strength of materials
Machine Design, Materials and Shop Practice 30% Kinematics, machine elements, stress analysis, material selection, manufacturing and workshop practices
Important: Detailed topic weights and examination procedures may be revised by the Board. Review the latest PRC syllabus, table of specifications and examination program before taking the test.

View the official PRC Mechanical Engineering syllabus and table of specifications

1. Industrial and Power Plant Engineering — 35%

Power plant elements

  • Fuels and combustion
  • Combustion calculations
  • Variable-load problems
  • Applied thermodynamics
  • Internal-combustion engines
  • Steam generators and boilers
  • Heat-transfer principles
  • Energy balances and plant efficiency

Power plant design

  • Diesel-engine power plants
  • Gas-turbine power plants
  • Combined-cycle plants
  • Steam power plants
  • Hydroelectric power plants
  • Geothermal power plants
  • Nuclear power plants
  • Renewable and non-conventional energy systems
  • Piping systems and insulation
  • Instrumentation and process control

Industrial plant engineering and design

  • Project feasibility studies
  • Industrial safety and accident prevention
  • Environmental engineering and pollution control
  • Industrial lubrication
  • Pumps, fans, blowers and compressors
  • Cooling towers and water-cooling equipment
  • Heat exchangers, dryers and kilns
  • Conveyors and material-handling equipment
  • Chimneys, smokestacks and draft systems
  • Machinery foundations
  • AC and DC machinery characteristics
  • Industrial processes and controls

Refrigeration and air-conditioning

  • Refrigeration cycles and systems
  • Refrigerants and system components
  • Cooling-load calculations
  • Cold-storage and ice-plant design
  • Psychrometric properties of air
  • Air-conditioning processes
  • Human comfort conditions
  • Air distribution and basic duct design
  • Ventilation, heating and drying
  • Equipment selection and specification
  • Instrumentation and controls

This subject combines theory with equipment selection and plant analysis. Practice complete solutions involving mass and energy balances, efficiency, heat transfer, combustion, fluid flow and equipment capacity.

2. Mathematics, Economics and Basic Engineering Sciences — 35%

Engineering mathematics

  • Algebra
  • Plane and spherical trigonometry
  • Analytic geometry
  • Differential calculus
  • Integral calculus
  • Differential equations
  • Probability and statistics
  • Numerical and graphical problem-solving

Engineering economics, law and ethics

  • Time value of money
  • Simple and compound interest
  • Present worth and future worth
  • Annual worth and rate of return
  • Depreciation
  • Replacement analysis
  • Break-even and cost analysis
  • Republic Act No. 8495
  • Mechanical Engineering Code
  • Code of Ethics for Mechanical Engineers
  • Obligations and contracts

Basic engineering sciences

  • Engineering chemistry
  • Physics and modern physics
  • Strength of materials
  • Engineering thermodynamics
  • Fluid mechanics
  • Basic electrical and energy concepts
  • Properties and selection of engineering materials

Because this subject has the same 35% weight as Industrial and Power Plant Engineering, weak performance in mathematics or basic sciences can significantly affect the overall score.

Use the site’s Math Notes for additional practice in algebra, trigonometry, calculus and related problem-solving skills.

3. Machine Design, Materials and Shop Practice — 30%

Kinematics and mechanisms

  • Displacement, velocity and acceleration analysis
  • Analysis of mechanisms
  • Linkages and motion transmission
  • Cam mechanisms
  • Gear trains
  • Balancing and dynamic effects

Machine design

  • Simple, combined and variable stresses
  • Stress concentration and fatigue
  • Materials and their mechanical properties
  • Tolerances and allowances
  • Columns and centrally loaded members
  • Ball and roller bearings
  • Journal and plane-surface bearings
  • Flat belts, V-belts and chains
  • Screws, bolts, rivets and welded joints
  • Springs
  • Shafts, keys and couplings
  • Spur, helical, bevel and worm gears
  • Brakes and clutches
  • Pressure vessels and cylinders
  • Flywheels
  • Pipes and fittings
  • Engineering drawing practices

Materials, shop machinery and practices

  • Material identification and selection
  • Heat treatment and material properties
  • Casting and foundry processes
  • Welding and joining processes
  • Machining operations
  • Lathes, milling machines, drills and grinders
  • Cutting tools, speeds and feeds
  • Metrology and dimensional inspection
  • Fits, tolerances and surface finish
  • Workshop safety
  • Production planning and quality control

Machine Design questions often require several steps: identifying the load, determining the stress, choosing an allowable value, applying a design factor and selecting a suitable standard component or dimension.

Strengthen Your ME Board Exam Review

Continue with practice questions, mathematics notes and related board-exam coverage guides on ReviewersPH.

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Mechanical Engineering Board Exam Passing Grade

Under Republic Act No. 8495, a candidate must obtain:

  • An average rating of at least 70 percent in all examination subjects; and
  • No rating below 50 percent in any subject.
The 70% requirement is an overall average, but the examinee must also satisfy the minimum 50% rating in every subject.
PRC’s current requirements page also states that an examinee must rest for one year after three failures. Verify how this rule applies to your examination history before filing a new application.

Qualifications for the Mechanical Engineering Licensure Examination

Under Republic Act No. 8495, an applicant for the Mechanical Engineer licensure examination must generally:

  • Be a citizen of the Philippines;
  • Hold a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from a school, college, academy, university or institution recognized by the government; and
  • Have no conviction by a court for a crime involving moral turpitude.
Professional Mechanical Engineer and Certified Plant Mechanic are separate categories under the Mechanical Engineering Act and have different qualification and evaluation requirements. This page primarily discusses the written licensure examination for Mechanical Engineers.

General PRC Application Requirements

The current PRC requirements page lists the following common documents for Mechanical Engineering applicants:

  • PSA-issued birth certificate;
  • PSA marriage certificate or contract for married female applicants, when applicable;
  • Transcript of Records with scanned picture and the remark “For Board Examination Purposes”;
  • Valid NBI Clearance for first-time applicants and repeaters;
  • Proof of completion of the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering program; and
  • Payment of the applicable PRC examination fee.
Verify before filing: Documentary requirements, fees and repeater procedures may change. Check the current PRC requirements page and your LERIS appointment instructions before submitting documents.

How to Review for the Mechanical Engineering Board Exam

1. Use the percentage weights when planning

Allocate review time according to the 35%-35%-30% distribution. Do not spend most of your preparation on Machine Design while neglecting the two heavier subjects.

2. Build a formula sheet from memory

Regularly rewrite important equations for thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, machine design, strength of materials and engineering economics. Focus on meaning, units and conditions of use.

3. Practice complete solutions

Do not stop after identifying the formula. Solve through substitution, unit conversion, checking and final answer selection.

4. Track errors by topic

Keep an error log with categories such as concept error, wrong formula, unit mistake, calculator mistake and misreading. Rework the same problem after several days.

5. Review engineering laws and ethics

These topics are easier to neglect than computation-heavy subjects. Review RA 8495, professional responsibilities, ethical duties and the limits of practice.

6. Take timed mixed-subject tests

Mixed tests improve recall and simulate the need to shift quickly between thermodynamics, design, mathematics and engineering economics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the three ME Board Exam subjects?

The subjects are Industrial and Power Plant Engineering; Mathematics, Engineering Economics and Basic Engineering Sciences; and Machine Design, Materials and Shop Practice.

Which subject carries the highest weight?

Industrial and Power Plant Engineering and Mathematics, Engineering Economics and Basic Engineering Sciences each carry 35%. Machine Design, Materials and Shop Practice carries 30%.

What is the passing grade?

An examinee must obtain an average rating of at least 70% in all subjects, with no rating below 50% in any subject.

Is thermodynamics included?

Yes. Thermodynamics appears in power-plant topics and basic engineering sciences and is one of the central areas of the examination.

Is engineering economics included?

Yes. Engineering economics is included under the 35% subject covering Mathematics, Engineering Economics and Basic Engineering Sciences.

What happens after three failures?

The current PRC requirements page states that an examinee must rest for one year after three failures. Confirm the applicable filing procedure directly with PRC before applying again.

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Final Reminder

Use this Mechanical Engineering Board Exam coverage as a framework for your study plan. Verify examination dates, room assignments, permitted calculators, documentary requirements and special instructions through the latest PRC announcement.

A balanced review across power and industrial systems, mathematics and engineering sciences, and machine design is more effective than concentrating on only one subject.