The official NPPE is a 2.5-hours multiple-choice-question examination. It comprises 110 questions with four alternative answers per question, where just one of them is the correct answer. Only 100 questions are operational and considered on the score of a candidate, as the extra 10 are included to test them for future use. However, there is no way of identifying the latter and candidates need to answer the 110 questions during the exam. (As an aside, some questions may show two or more correct answers; nevertheless, the candidate needs to pick only the best one which is the correct answer.)

NOTE: In the past, the NPPE exam for EGBC and PEO included some essay and/or province-specific questions, and therefore diverged in format from that of all the other associations. However, starting in the year 2023, the official NPPE exam for all 13 associations (EGBC, APEGA, APEGS, EGM, PEO, PGO, APEGNB, EPEI, ENS, GNS, PEGNL, EY, and NAPEG) has been unified and conforms to the format described in the previous paragraph. (No essay or province-specific questions for any of these associations, at all!)