The NCARB "Certificate"
The NCARB "Certificate" can be obtained after you have been licensed in Illinois if you have a professional degree in architecture. The NCARB Certificate will enable you to be licensed in any other state quickly, simply by transferring your Council Record to the state in which you want to be registered, and by paying the applicable state and NCARB fees. Many states require that you have an NCARB Certificate in order to be registered in that state through reciprocity.
If you have established a Council Record through the IDP program, there is no fee for filing for NCARB Certification after you have been licensed in Illinois, but there is a $150.00 annual filing from NCARB fee to maintain a Certificate. If you have not established a Council Record yet (because you met your Training requirements through methods b, c, or d below), there is a $500.00 fee for starting one.
Note that 25 states require that you have an NCARB Certificate for reciprocal registration. Having a Certificate allows for easy procurement of a license in any other state.The following are the requirements for NCARB Certification:
1. Education Requirement:
A candidate for an NCARB Certificate must either have a professional degree in architecture (either a B. Arch. or an M. Arch.) from an NAAB-accredited program, or he or she must satisfy NCARB's "Broadly Experienced Architect" standard as described below.2. Training Requirement:
One of the following 4 possibilities:
a. A candidate for an NCARB Certificate has completed IDP training, or
b. A candidate for an NCARB Certificate has received registration in any state prior to July 1, 1996 and has met NCARB's "non-IDP training standard" (three years of acceptable experience) at any date, or
c. A candidate for an NCARB Certificate has received registration in any state after July 1, 1996 and has met NCARB's "non-IDP training standard" (three years of acceptable experience) all prior to July 1, 1996, or
d. A candidate for an NCARB Certificate has received registration in any state at any date, and has practiced as a registered architect for at least five years with a demonstrated record of diversified training, i.e., training in each of the IDP Training Areas. To show this, one would need to complete an IDP training report.
The “Broadly Experienced Architect:”
If an architect wishes to be registered in a state that requires NCARB Certification but does not have a professional degree in architecture, it is possible to become registered in that state through NCARB’s “Broadly Experienced Architect” process. In order to qualify for the BEA, the architect must be registered in one of the states of the United States and must also have the following number of years experience working under the supervision of an architect who is registered in the same state:1. With a high school diploma and no college degree: 10
2. With a B.A. or B.S. degree in any subject: 8
3. With a B.A. or B.S. pre-professional degree in architecture: 6In addition, the candidate must complete the following:
1. Apply for an NCARB Council Record. There is a $500.00 fee for this.
2. If the candidate has 64 credit hours of college credit or more, he or she must obtain an EESA-NCARB evaluation of their education. EESA (“Education Evaluation Services for Architects”)evaluations are administered by the NAAB (“National Architectural Accreditation Board”) which also accredits programs in architecture. The evaluation compares a candidate’s education with NCARB’s education requirements and identifies deficiencies. Cost for this service is $1,500.00, payable to NAAB.
3. If the candidate has less than 64 credit hours of college credit, an EESA evaluation is not required; however, the candidate must prepare a dossier that demonstrates learning in all subject areas identified in the NCARB education requirements.4. Three members of NCARB’s Broadly Experienced Architect committee will review the candidate’s dossier and will draft written reports for the full committee. The committee will then come to a consensus at their next meeting whether or not a candidate has demonstrated the required learning. Cost for the BEA dossier review is $1,000.00.
5 . If the committee agrees that the candidate has demonstrated the required learning, he or she is invited to an interview at the Committee’s next meeting. Three Committee members conduct an interview to verify the material and content presented in the candidate’s dossier. Cost for the interview is $750.00.
6 . If the candidate successfully completes the interview, he or she is given an NCARB Certificate. Cost for the initial Certificate is $155.00, with an annual renewal of $150.00 per year after the first year.
7 . If a candidate fails the interview, he or she may acquire further experience and reapply. If the reapplication is received within six months after the Committee’s decision, the dossier submittal fee is reduced to $500.It usually takes between nine months to a year to complete the BEA process – three months for NAAB to perform an EESA evaluation, and the BEA Committee meets only three times per year.
The "Broadly Experienced Foreign Architect:"If an architect wishes to be registered in Illinois (or any other state in the United States), and holds a license to practice in a foreign country, he or she must do the following:
1. The architect must hold a professional degree in architecture from an accredited/validated/officially recognized architecture program in a foreign country.
2. The architect must describe in writing the process by which he or she obtained their license to practice in the foreign country.
3 . The foreign country in which the architect is licensed must have a formal record-keeping mechanism for disciplinary actions in the practice of architecture.
4 . The architect must have completed a minimum of seven years of comprehensive practice over which he or she exercised responsible control in the foreign country in which he or she is licensed.
5 . Apply for an NCARB Council Record. There is a $500.00 fee for this.
6 . The candidate compiles a dossier with evidence that he or she has practiced architecture in the foreign country in which they are licensed for seven years, as well as demonstrate his or her competency to independently practice architecture in the United States.
7 . Three members of NCARB’s Broadly Experienced Foreign Architect committee will review the candidate’s dossier and will draft written reports for the full Committee. The Committee will then come to a consensus at their next meeting whether or not a candidate has demonstrated the required qualifications. Cost for the BEFA dossier review is $2,200.00.
8 . If the committee agrees that the candidate has demonstrated the required qualifications, he or she is invited to an interview at the Committee’s next meeting. Three Committee members conduct an interview in English to verify the candidate’s responsibility over the development, management and implementation of each submitted project, to verify the candidate’s understanding of United States licensing and professional conduct requirements, and knowledge of United States building codes and laws. Cost for the interview is $750.00.
9. If the candidate successfully completes the interview, he or she is given an NCARB Certificate. Cost for the initial Certificate is $155.00, with an annual renewal of $150.00 per year after the first year.It usually takes between nine months to a year to complete the BEFA process.