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United States · Licensing exam

Architect license in the US: from NCARB Record to licensure

There’s no national license. To call yourself an architect in the US, you need a license from the board of the state or territory where you’ll practice, and some boards call it registration rather than licensure. Each of the 55 boards sets its own rules for architect registration. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) says those rules typically combine education, experience through the Architectural Experience Program (AXP), and a pass in all six divisions of the Architect Registration Examination (ARE).

  • 55US jurisdictions that license architects
  • 5 yearsGap in testing that can end eligibility
  • 3,740 hoursExperience documented through the AXP
Check your board’s requirements

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

How do you get an architect license, step by step?

  1. Open an NCARB Record. It holds your education, experience and exam history, and you need it for the AXP, the ARE and your license application.
  2. Meet your board’s education rule. Most jurisdictions want a degree from a program accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB); some offer paths for people with another degree or none.
  3. Gain and report experience through the AXP. All 55 jurisdictions accept it, and some want more on top.
  4. Pass all six ARE divisions.
  5. Meet any extra requirement, such as more experience or a state supplemental exam.
  6. Have NCARB send your Record to the board. For a licensure candidate, that first transmittal is free.
NCARB: How to Earn Your Architecture License ↗What the NCARB Record costs →

Getting eligible to take the ARE

Before you can book a division, a board has to make you eligible. You ask from the Exams tab of your NCARB Record by clicking “Request Eligibility” and picking a jurisdiction. It doesn’t have to be where you live: any board whose requirements you meet will do, and it becomes your testing jurisdiction. You also accept the ARE Candidate Agreement, which binds you to keep exam content confidential.

Each board decides when you can start. NCARB says that in most cases it’s after you finish the board’s education requirement, so you can test while you’re earning experience. In 2025, 59% of candidates took at least one division before finishing the AXP.

Your eligibility can expire. Most jurisdictions have a test activity rule: if you make no attempt, pass or fail, for five years, you may have to apply to your board again. You can switch testing jurisdiction in your Record, but not while you have appointments booked, and the new board may charge fees.

NCARB: Requesting Exam Eligibility ↗How the ARE exam works →

The AXP: the experience part

The AXP asks you to earn and document 3,740 hours of experience in six areas that match the six ARE divisions. At least half of the work has to be supervised by an architect licensed in the US.

From November 18, 2025, experience reported within a year of earning it gets full credit, and older experience gets 75% credit, with no limit on its age. NCARB applied that rule to experience reported before the change too.

NCARB: Gain AXP Experience ↗NCARB: Recent AXP and ARE Updates ↗

Architectural registration boards and their rules

NCARB doesn’t issue licenses. Its members are the architecture boards of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and each board issues licenses and regulates practice within its borders. NCARB’s Licensing Requirements Tool lets you compare what each one asks for, and its board directory lists how to reach every board.

Once you’re licensed in one jurisdiction, getting a license in another is simpler with the NCARB Certificate, which every jurisdiction accepts.

NCARB: Contact Your Licensing Board ↗The NCARB Certificate →
Sources: NCARB and 6 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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