The transition to a circular economy (CE) has become a crucial global objective, with the aim of promoting sustainable development while minimizing resource depletion and environmental degradation. Nevertheless, there are a lot of challenges that need to be overcome before CE principles are feasible to apply in the construction industry, particularly in areas like East Java, Indonesia. Thus, in order to integrate CE concepts into East Java’s construction industry, this paper investigates the critical success factors (CSFs). This study’s research approach consists of a thorough literature review, a questionnaire survey for data collection, and a thorough analysis of the data using mean score ranking and fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE). The analyses revealed 40 significant success factors for CE adoption in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector of East Java’s construction industries. Furthermore, this study discovered six CSF categories that have a substantial impact on the success of CE adoption through FSE analysis. However, the three most significant categories are policy, technology, and commitment and competency. The results of this study provide crucial recommendations to the East Java government and stakeholders in the AEC sector.