Can You Pass the Chemical Engineering (ChE) Board Exam With Self-Review?

Yes. You can take the Chemical Engineering (ChE) Board Exam, the Chemical Engineers Licensure Examination, without a review center, and no law requires one for your first attempt. Whether self-review works for you depends on your discipline and on a few things specific to the ChE exam. This post covers the law, the passing rate, what review centers cost, and what you'd need to do it alone, as of November 2026.

After reading this, you can decide whether to self-review for the ChE exam, and what you need if you do.

Where this comes from

The rules come from RA 9297 and PRC's documents. The passing rates come from PRC's results, which I collected in board exam passing rates. Review center prices are from the centers' own sites. I checked all of them on November 9, 2026.

What the law says

To pass, you need a 70% general average, with no subject below 50% (RA 9297).

RA 9297 has no rule for retaking only some subjects, and no refresher or waiting rule. Plan to retake the full exam if you fail.

The full retake rules for 10 boards are in what happens if you fail the board exam.

What makes the ChE exam harder to self-review

• One subject is long and heavy. Chemical Engineering Principles is 40% of your rating, with 75 multi-step problems in 9 hours.
• You're allowed Perry's Handbook. PRC allows Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook and an updated periodic table for all three subjects. Practice with the same edition you'll bring, so you can find things fast.
• Three days in a row. One subject per day, 7 to 9 hours each.

The passing rate, for context

The ChE passing rate was 77.6% in May 2026.

That's everyone who took the exam, with or without a review center. PRC doesn't publish separate rates for self-reviewers, so this number can't tell you which method works better. It only tells you how hard the exam is overall.

What a review center would cost

Two ChE review centers publish prices: Manila Review Institute (₱10,920 regular, ₱6,720 refresher) and Auxesis (₱18,000 regular). Details are in ChE review center fees.

What you need to self-review the ChE exam

1. The official coverage. Start from PRC's own documents, not a random reviewer PDF. I laid out every subject and topic in ChE board exam coverage.
2. Practice questions with explanations, organized by subject. Answering questions builds memory faster than rereading notes.
3. A schedule with an end date. Nobody will notice if you fall behind, so write the plan down. I built one in how long to review for the ChE board exam.
4. At least two full timed mock exams. Board exam days are long, and focus needs practice too.
5. An allowed calculator, checked against PRC's calculator list.
6. A fallback. If one subject won't improve after a few weeks, pay for help on just that subject instead of a full review.

Where prepPH fits

I built prepPH, so I'm biased. It has ChE practice questions with explanations, organized by subject, with spaced repetition built in. That covers the practice part of a self-review. It doesn't replace live teaching, and it won't count as a refresher course if your law ever requires one.

My verdict

Self-review is realistic for the ChE exam if you're comfortable solving long problems on your own. Most of the risk is in Chemical Engineering Principles, so give it the most hours and practice with your Perry's Handbook.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I pass the ChE board exam without a review center?

Yes, it's allowed. No law requires a review center for your first attempt. Whether it works depends on your discipline and your practice.

Is a review center required for ChE retakers?

No. RA 9297 has no refresher course requirement for repeaters.

What's the ChE board exam passing rate?

It was 77.6% in May 2026, based on PRC's results.

Ready to test yourself? Try the free ChE board exam reviewer. For the general comparison, see review center vs self-review.

Sources

• Republic Act No. 9297, Chemical Engineering Law of 2004 (PDF), checked November 9, 2026
• Board of Chemical Engineering Resolution No. 03 (s. 2023) with Annex TOS (PDF), checked November 9, 2026
• Program of the November 2026 Chemical Engineers Licensure Examination (PDF), checked November 9, 2026
• PRC List of Requirements, checked November 9, 2026