In Illinois, in order to be eligible to take the Architect Registration Examination (the "ARE") you must have completed the following two tasks:

1. You must have received an NAAB-accredited B.Arch. degree,  or an NAAB-accredited M.Arch.  degree, or, until January 1, 2010, a pre-professional degree (B.S. or B.A.) in Architectural Studies which will allow you to potentially enter a 2-year NAAB-accredited Master of Architecture degree program.

2. You must have established a Council Record with NCARB and have completed the requisite number of IDP Training Units (the number of Training Units required depends on the type of degree received).
 

NCARB has some excellent information on its web site that will be helpful to the ARE candidate.
Click here to access this information.

Click here for ARE Guidelines

There are nine separate divisions of the Architect Registration Examination which may be taken at any test center, in any order, and at the time that you schedule them.  The divisions, along with the type of test and the maximum time allowed are as follows:

1. Pre-Design, multiple choice, 2.5 hours
2. General Structures, multiple choice, 2.5 hours
3. Lateral Forces, multiple choice, 2 hours
4. Mechanical and Electrical Systems, multiple choice, 2 hours
5. Building Design/Materials and Methods, multiple choice, 2 hours
6. Construction Documents and Services, multiple choice, 3 hours
7. Site Planning, graphic, 3 hours

Site Design vignette, 1 hour
Site Zoning vignette, ½ hour
Parking vignette, ½ hour
Site analysis vignette, ½ hour
Site Grading vignette, ½ hour

8. Building Planning, graphic, 5 hours

Interior layout vignette, 1 hour
Schematic design vignette, 4 hours

9. Building Technology, graphic, 5.75 hours

Building section vignette, 1 hour
Structural layout vignette, ¾ hour
Accessibility / Ramp vignette, ¾ hour
Mechanical and electrical vignette, 1 hour
Stair design vignette, 1 hour
Roof plan vignette, ¾ hour

NCARB has contracted with an outside firm, The Chauncey Group, to administer the test.  Upon completion of the IDP, you automatically become eligible to take the Architectural Registration Examination (the "ARE"). NCARB then reviews all material in your Council Record for compliance with the Illinois testing eligibility requirements. NCARB will then enter your information into their exam eligibility system, called the Chauncey Client Management System, the "CCMS." NCARB then notifies you and the Illinois Architect Licensing Board that you are eligible to take the exam. (Note that you must have completed all required Training Units and received your degree prior to admission to the exam.

You may sign up to take any division of the exam any time you feel ready.  To sign up for a test, click here. You have to pay for the division  you want to take first, and then you will be given a special number which you can use to sign up.  ARE Test centers are located at over 200 Thompson Prometric Test Centers throughout the country, Monday through Saturday. To find Illinois test centers, click here.

Each division may be taken individually, in any order, and spaced out at intervals based on your preference. After you have passed a division, you will never have to take it again. However, on January 1, 2006, NCARB began a five year "rolling clock," which means from that date on, you must pass all nine divisions within any five year time period. If you have already passed all divisions prior to that date, no matter how long it took you to do so, you will be considered by NCARB to have passed the ARE.

Let's look at two other different scenarios:

1. All divisions of the ARE are taken after January 1, 2006:

• You take Division 1 on February 2, 2006 and pass it. Your five year rolling clock window now will close on February 2, 2011. That means that you have until that date to pass all other divisions.
  
• You take Division 2 on March 2, 2006 and pass it. Your rolling clock window closing date to pass all other divisions remains the same, February 2, 2011.
  
• You take Division 3 on April 1, 2006 but fail it. Your rolling clock window closing date to pass all divisions, including re-taking and passing Division 3, remains the same, February 2, 2011.
  
• You take Divisions 4 through 9 before February 2, 2011, but were not able to re-take and pass failed Division 3 before that date. The rolling clock window will now begin from the date you took and passed Division 2, on March 2, 2006. That means your rolling clock window closing date to pass all divisions, including re-taking and passing Division 3, as well as any divisions passed before March 2, 2006 moves to March 2, 2011. Now you must not only take and pass the failed Division 3 prior to March 2, 2011, but you also must re-take and pass again Division 1. If you do not pass those two Divisions by March 2, 2011, your rolling clock window closing date will move to five years from the date you took and passed the next Division in sequence.
  

2. Some divisions of the ARE were taken before January 1, 2006 and some are taken after that date:

• You have taken and passed Division 1 before January 1, 2006. This Division will never have to be re-taken.
  
• You take Division 2 on February 2, 2006 but fail it. Your five year rolling clock window will not have begun yet. It begins on the day you take your first passed exam.
  
• You take Divisions 3 on March 2, 2006 and pass it. Your five year rolling clock window will close on March 2, 2011. That means that you have until March 2, 2011 to pass all other divisions, including re-taking and passing Division 2.
  
• In other words, the entire length of time spent to complete all nine divisions (except for those Divisions passed prior to January 1, 2006, which are exempt) must never exceed five years.

Each  test division will be custom prepared individually for a candidate.  You will not get exactly the same test that someone else would get, although they have been judged equivalent in difficulty.  Six divisions of this customized test will contain a random selection of multiple-choice questions from a large master pool of questions, so that every candidate will take different, but equal tests.  All divisions will be taken by the candidate sitting at a computer located at the Prometric Test Center.  The computerized testing program will sequentially display each question one at a time and present  the candidate four possible answers from which he or she will select an answer.  The candidate may go back and review any question already presented or change any answer already given, prior to completing each portion of the exam.  The testing program will contain a certain number of questions for each division which must be answered by the candidate within a designated time limit.  It is  anticipated that a candidate's test score will be available within four to five weeks after taking each division.  If a division is not passed by a candidate, he or she will have to wait six months before re-taking that division.  There is no limit to the number of times that a candidate may re-take each division.

The graphic questions are also computer-administered and computer-graded. Each graphic division of the exam will consist of several short vignettes.  Solutions to these will be presented as drawings made by the candidate on the computer at the Thompson Prometric Test Center.  The program is Microsoft Windows-based and is similar to the old Windows Generic CAD software.  It draws rectangles representing rooms of any size with three corner picks, with double lines around them representing walls.  These rectangles can be readily moved around either individually or in groups, rotated at any angle, and stretched vertically or horizontally.  The program will quickly insert doors and windows, move them, or delete them as desired.  The program will allow you to draw in 2D only on two floors.  You designate whether you want to draw on the first or second floor and whether you want the other floor to be dimmed out or turned off completely.  The program is relatively easy to use for a candidate already skilled in CADD, but it could slow a beginner down and perhaps make the exam process tedious.  Every candidate will receive free tutorial software to practice with before they take the test.  The software is available on NCARB's web site for downloading (www.ncarb.org).

In Illinois, if you have not passed all divisions within three years, you must re-enroll. However, unless NCARB has changed the design of the exam, you will be given credit for all divisions you have already passed in the first three years. Once all divisions of the ARE are passed, the Illinois Architecture Licensing Board will be notified by NCARB, and the candidate is then eligible for licensure in Illinois.  You must apply for an Illinois architecture license within one year after passing the ARE.
 

Exam Costs:

Pre-Design                                                    $   102.00
General Structures                                        $   102.00
Lateral Forces                                               $   102.00
Mechanical and Electrical Systems                $   102.00
Materials and Methods                                   $   102.00
Construction Documents and Services          $   102.00
Site Planning                                                 $ 153.00
Building Planning                                           $ 153.00
Building Technology                                      $ 153.00

Total exam cost                                           $ 1,071.00

Test fees for the ARE 4.0 (given after July, 2008) are $170 per division with 7 divisions, for a total cost of $1,190.00.

If you do not pass a division and have to take it again, the same cost will be charged.

Upon completion of the IDP, you automatically become eligible to take the Architectural Registration Examination (the "ARE"). NCARB then reviews all material in your Council Record for compliance with the Illinois testing eligibility requirements. NCARB will then enter your information into their exam eligibility system, called the Chauncey Client Management System, the "CCMS." NCARB then notifies you and the Illinois Architect Licensing Board that you are eligible to take the exam. (Note that you must have completed all required Training Units and received your degree prior to admission to the exam.) When you are ready to begin taking one or more divisions of the exam, payment for those divisions can be made by telephone when you reserve a testing date to the Thompson Prometric Test Center using Visa, MasterCard, or American Express.  Payment may also be made in person at the Prometric Test Center by personal check, certified check, or money order.  In addition, a candidate may prepay for one or more divisions with the Chauncey Group, and receive a voucher which then may be presented to the Prometric Test Center in person or the voucher number given to Prometric over the telephone.  There are no other hidden charges, although you may, if you choose, pay for practice sessions at the Thompson Prometric Test Center of your choice on an hourly basis.
 

NCARB has redesigned the Architectural Registration Examination (the “ARE”) as ARE 4.0 which will be given starting in July of 2008. The current exam is ARE 3.1 which will continue to be given up until the end of June, 2009, so there is a year of overlap. The new exam will be the following seven divisions instead of the current nine:

Building Design and Construction Systems (replacing "Building Design - Materials and Methods" and "Building Technology”): 85 multiple choice questions and 3 graphic vignettes "Accessibility Ramp," "Roof Plan," and "Stair Design"

Building Systems (replacing "Mechanical and Electrical Systems"): 95 multiple choice questions and 1 graphic vignette "Mechanical and Electrical Plan"

Construction Documents and Services (same as existing): 100 multiple choice questions and 1 graphic vignette "Building Section"

Programming, Planning & Practice (replacing "Pre-Design"): 85 multiple choice questions and 1 vignette "Site Zoning"

Schematic Design (replacing "Building Planning"): 2 vignettes "Building Layout" and "Interior Layout"

Site Planning and Design (replacing "Site Planning"): 65 multiple choice questions and 2 vignettes "Site Design" and "Site Grading"

Structural Systems (replacing "General Structures" and "Lateral Forces"): 125 multiple choice questions and 1 vignette "Structural Layout"

 

If you have not passed the following ARE 3.1 division by June 30, 2009 then you must take the following ARE 4.0 divisions:

• 
  Building Design / Materials and Methods: Building Design and Construction Systems
• 
  Building Planning: Schematic Design
  
• Building Technology: Building Design and Construction Systems; Building Systems; Construction Documents and Services; Structural Systems
  
• Construction Documents and Services: Construction Documents and Services
  
• General Structures: Structural Systems
  
• Lateral Forces: Structural Systems
  
• Mechanical and Electrical Systems: Building Systems
  
• Pre-Design: Programming, Planning & Practice
  
• Site Planning Site Planning and Design; Programming, Planning & Practice

Review your class notes from school and do some studying of the references listed above, particularly the AIA Handbook of Professional Practice.  For the graphics divisions, you should become very familiar with the special CADD software which you can download from the NCARB web site.
 

Pass rates for test takers during the year 2004 (the last year that statistics were reported) were as follows:

Division                                                      Pass Rate
Pre-Design                                                  75 percent
General Structures                                       73 percent
Lateral Forces                                             77 percent
Mechanical and Electrical Systems                67 percent
Materials and Methods                                 76 percent
Construction Documents and Services           79 percent
Site Planning                                               71 percent
Building Planning                                         64 percent
Building Technology                                    63 percent