NEC License Exam — Civil Engineering Syllabus Overview

About this page: Syllabus content below is transcribed from publicly available copies of the official NEC syllabus and cross-checked across multiple sources. Anything not verifiable is marked (verify).

Exam pattern (verified across multiple sources)

Item	Detail
Exam	Nepal Engineering Council (NEC) Registration / License Examination — Civil
Format	100 objective MCQs, 1 mark each
Duration	2 hours (120 minutes → ~72 seconds per question)
Full marks	100
Pass marks	50 (50%) — the exam is qualifying, not rank-based
Negative marking	None — attempt every question
Syllabus structure	10 chapters, 6 sub-topics per chapter

Sources: necprep.com exam-pattern guide (100 MCQs, 2 hrs, FM 100, PM 50, no negative marking); model question sets on Scribd — Model Set 1 and Model Set 2 (both header: “FM: 100, Time: 2 hours, PM: 50”).

(verify): Some model sets are labelled “Group A (60×1 = 60 marks)”, which suggests the paper may be split into groups (e.g. Group A / Group B) — the composition of the groups could not be verified from an official source. Prep portals describe the exam as computer-based, but this was not confirmed from NEC itself. Always check the latest notice on the official NEC website before your exam date.

The 10 chapters

Chapters 1–4 cover fundamentals and principles; chapters 5–9 cover application of engineering principles in practice; chapter 10 covers project planning, design and implementation. Source: edusanjal.com — Civil Engineering: NEC Registration Examination (corroborated by copies on Scribd and studynovo.com).

1. Basic Civil Engineering (ACiE01)

1.1 Engineering materials — properties (physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal); types, characteristics, composition, selection and use of stones, bricks, tiles, cement, lime, timber, metals/alloys, paints/varnishes, asphalt/bitumen/tar
1.2 Standards (NS & IS) and tests — brick (water absorption, compressive), cement (consistency, setting time, soundness, compressive strength), aggregate (bulking of sand), rebar (tensile test)
1.3 Building technology — brick/stone masonry, carpentry, painting, plastering, concrete roofing, flooring, DPC; building by-laws
1.4 Geometric properties of sections — axes of symmetry, centre of gravity, moment of inertia, radius of gyration
1.5 Surveying and levelling — fundamentals, linear/angular measurement, levelling, topographic survey, simple circular curves, GPS/GIS principles
1.6 Estimating, costing and valuation — types of estimate, methods of estimating, rate analysis, specifications, valuation

2. Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ACiE02)

2.1 Soil properties and lab tests — strength, permeability, compressibility, phase relationships; index properties; soil classification (descriptive, textural, ISI, MIT, USCS); boring logs; sieve analysis; Atterberg limits
2.2 Stresses and seepage — effective stress, capillary rise, quicksand; seepage pressure, flow nets; compressibility indices; compaction
2.3 Shear strength and slope stability — Mohr–Coulomb theory, principal stresses, shear tests, stability of slopes
2.4 Soil exploration, earth pressure, retaining structures — exploration methods, sampling, field tests; earth pressure theories; retaining wall stability
2.5 Fundamentals of foundation — types (shallow/deep), functions, spread and mat foundations
2.6 Bearing capacity and settlement — Terzaghi’s theory, modes of failure, consolidation, settlement types and calculations

3. Basic Water Resources Engineering (ACiE03)

3.1 Fluids and their properties — density, specific weight/gravity, viscosity, capillarity, surface tension, cavitation, vapour pressure
3.2 Hydrostatics — Pascal’s law, manometers, pressure force and centre of pressure, buoyancy, floating-body stability
3.3 Hydro-kinematics and hydro-dynamics — flow classification, continuity, momentum, Bernoulli’s equation, flow measurement
3.4 Pipe flow — major/minor losses, HGL/TEL, pipe networks, water hammer
3.5 Open channel flow — specific energy/force, GVF profiles, hydraulic jump, mobile-boundary channels, Shields diagram
3.6 Hydrology — hydrologic cycle, hydrographs, unit hydrographs, rainfall–runoff, flood frequency, groundwater

4. Structural Mechanics (ACiE04)

4.1 Shear force and bending moment — AF/SF/BM diagrams and interpretation
4.2 Stress and strain analysis — principal stresses/planes, stress–strain curves, torsion
4.3 Theory of flexure and columns — bending theory, deflection, bending stress, Euler’s column formula
4.4 Determinate structures I — determinacy, energy/virtual work methods, beam and portal-frame deflection
4.5 Determinate structures II — influence lines, two-hinged arches
4.6 Indeterminate structures — flexibility method, slope deflection, moment distribution, stiffness method, influence lines for continuous beams, elementary plastic analysis

5. Design of Structures (ACiE05)

5.1 Loads and load combinations — dead, imposed, wind, snow, earthquake loads
5.2 Concrete technology — materials, properties, mix design, testing, QC, IS/NS codes
5.3 RCC structures I — working stress and limit state methods; beams and slabs (bending, shear, deflection, bond, anchorage)
5.4 RCC structures II — columns, isolated/combined footings, prestressed concrete
5.5 Steel structures — sections, bolted/welded connections, ties, struts, columns, column bases
5.6 Timber and masonry — timber beam/column principles; masonry design, NBC mandatory rules of thumb, failure modes, mortars

6. Water Supply, Sanitation and Environment (ACiE06)

6.1 Water sources, quality and demand — impurities, hardness, alkalinity, water-borne diseases, drinking-water standards, demand estimation
6.2 Intake and distribution — intake types, pipe materials/joints/valves, break pressure tanks, service reservoirs, branch/looped networks
6.3 Water treatment — screening, sedimentation, coagulation/flocculation, filtration, disinfection, softening, aeration, iron/manganese removal
6.4 Sewer design and construction — wastewater estimation, sewer types, design criteria, shapes, materials, appurtenances
6.5 Wastewater treatment and disposal — BOD/COD, grit chamber, activated sludge, oxidation ponds, oxygen sag (Streeter–Phelps), septic tanks, sludge/solid-waste disposal
6.6 Environmental assessment — BES, IEE, EIA; government acts/rules; disaster types and mitigation

7. Irrigation and Drainage (ACiE07)

7.1 Water demand estimation — crop/irrigation requirements, duty–delta relationship, efficiencies, effective rainfall
7.2 Canal design — types, alignment; tractive force; Kennedy’s and Lacey’s theories; lined canals
7.3 Diversion headworks — Bligh’s, Lane’s, Khosla’s seepage theories; silt excluder/ejector; weir/barrage design; energy dissipaters
7.4 River training works — guide bunds, launching aprons, levees, spurs; watershed management
7.5 Regulators and cross-drainage — regulators, escapes, pipe outlets, vertical drops, cross-drainage structures
7.6 Waterlogging and drainage — causes, effects, prevention; surface/subsurface drainage design

8. Hydropower (ACiE08)

8.1 Project planning — power potential of Nepal/world; development stages; Nepal’s hydropower history, policy, acts
8.2 Power and energy studies — installed-capacity fixing; plant types; components; reservoirs
8.3 Storage-plant headworks — dam types/selection/design/failure; gravity-dam stability; seepage control; spillways; gates
8.4 Run-of-river headworks — intakes; sediment handling; settling-basin design (practice and concentration approaches); flushing
8.5 Water conveyance — tunnels, forebay, surge tanks, penstocks, water hammer
8.6 Machines and powerhouse — turbine types and selection, specific speed, Francis/Pelton preliminary design, draft tubes, generators, governors, powerhouse layout

9. Transportation (ACiE09)

9.1 Highway planning and survey — transport modes, Nepal road-development history, road classification, alignment, Road Standards of Nepal
9.2 Geometric design — cross-section elements, curves, super-elevation, gradients, stopping sight distance, hill-road considerations, road drainage
9.3 Highway materials — aggregate tests, binding materials, asphalt mix design, subgrade evaluation
9.4 Traffic engineering and safety — traffic studies (volume, speed, O&D, capacity, accidents), intersections, signals, night visibility, safety measures
9.5 Pavement — flexible vs rigid; design methods (DOR guidelines); load and temperature stresses
9.6 Road construction and maintenance — equipment, subgrade preparation, compaction control, soil stabilization, asphalt layers, macadam, PCC pavements, maintenance/rehabilitation

10. Project Planning, Design and Implementation (AALL10)

10.1 Engineering drawings — standard sheets, dimensions, scale, orthographic/isometric/sectional drawing
10.2 Engineering economics — cash flow, time value of money, NPV, IRR, MARR, discounted payback; depreciation and taxation in Nepal
10.3 Project planning and scheduling — life cycle, bar charts, CPM, PERT, resource levelling/smoothing, monitoring and control
10.4 Project management — MIS, risk analysis, project financing, tendering process, contract management
10.5 Professional practice — ethics, regulatory environment, occupational health and safety, role of Nepal Engineers Association (NEA)
10.6 Engineering regulatory body — Nepal Engineering Council Acts & Regulations

Weightage guidance

(verify): NEC does not publish official per-chapter mark distribution in the sources found. As a rough planning guide, 100 questions across 10 chapters averages ~10 questions per chapter, but model papers and prep experience suggest the calculation-heavy chapters (Soil Mechanics, Structural Mechanics, Design of Structures, Hydraulics) tend to carry slightly more weight than the descriptive ones. Treat this as a rule of thumb, not a fact — do not skip any chapter, since passing needs breadth across all 10.

Prepared for eve-construction.com. Always verify against the latest official NEC notice before your exam date.

NEC Exam Syllabus — Civil Engineering