Exam Facts
The two sections – morning and afternoon – of the Fundamentals of Surveying exam are not created equal!
The Fundamentals of Surveying exam is the shortest of the NCEES surveying exams.
The FS is listed on the NCEES website as 6 hours, but that number is deceiving.
The FS Exam consists of 110 questions. The entire examination time takes 6 hours, with 40 minutes dedicated to breaks and completing other testing requirements.
Factoring in the 40 minutes of breaks and tutorials, the student only has 5 hours and 20 minutes (320 minutes) to answer both the morning and afternoon section of the exam.
320 minutes divided by 110 questions yields 2.90 minutes per person. That may seem like a long time, but try computing a traverse is under three minutes!
The morning section contains many math questions, and the afternoon section typically is weighted more towards definitions and legal, you may choose to spend more time on the morning section and less time on the afternoon section.
