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United States · Licensing exam

The six ARE divisions: questions, time and case studies

Each of the six ARE divisions is a separate exam, with its own booking, fee and pass or fail result. The Architect Registration Examination (ARE) runs from 65 items in 2 hours 40 minutes for Practice Management to 100 items in 4 hours 5 minutes for the two design and documentation divisions. Every division mixes standalone questions with case studies, and you can take the divisions in any order. The figures here come from the ARE 5.0 Guidelines of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), effective October 1, 2026.

  • 6 to 9Unscored pretest items per division
  • Any orderOrder you take the divisions in
  • 19 hours 50 minutesTesting time for all six divisions
Where to study

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

How many questions are in each ARE division?

NCARB shortens the divisions to Practice Management (PcM), Project Management (PjM), Programming & Analysis (PA), Project Planning & Design (PPD), Project Development & Documentation (PDD) and Construction & Evaluation (CE). Items and testing time for each:

DivisionItemsTime
Practice Management652 hr 40 min
Project Management753 hr
Programming & Analysis753 hr
Project Planning & Design1004 hr 5 min
Project Development & Documentation1004 hr 5 min
Construction & Evaluation753 hr

Some of those items are pretest questions that don’t count: 6 in PcM, 7 in PjM, PA and CE, and 9 in PPD and PDD. They’re scattered through the exam, so answer every question as if it counts.

Break time comes on top: 30 minutes for the 65- and 75-item divisions, 45 minutes for PPD and PDD. With 10 minutes of intro and exit screens, appointments last 3 hours 20 minutes for PcM, 3 hours 40 minutes for PjM, PA and CE, and 5 hours for PPD and PDD. Breaks can be one long one or several short ones, but once you return, every question you’ve already seen is locked.

NCARB: Scheduling an Appointment, appointment times ↗

Question types and case studies

ARE 5.0 uses three item types, in both standalone questions and case studies. Each is worth one point, there’s no partial credit, and a wrong answer costs you nothing beyond that point.

DivisionCase studiesItems
Practice ManagementUp to 6Up to 14
Project ManagementUp to 7Up to 16
Programming & AnalysisUp to 7Up to 16
Project Planning & DesignUp to 9Up to 20
Project Development & DocumentationUp to 9Up to 20
Construction & EvaluationUp to 7Up to 16
  • Multiple choice: three or four options, one correct answer.
  • Check-all-that-apply: six options, and the question tells you how many to pick, from two to four. You need every correct one.
  • Hotspot: you click an area of a drawing, photo, diagram or map.

Case studies come at the end of each division, though you can jump to them at any time. Each one sets out a project scenario with one or two resources, such as code excerpts, contract documents from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), drawings, budgets or a program. The scenario stays the same for all its questions, and the questions don’t build on each other. From the April 27, 2026 update, the Guidelines give a maximum for each division:

NCARB: ARE 5.0 Question Types ↗Practice the question types on NCARB’s practice exams →

Sections and objectives in each division

Each division splits into topic sections, and each section into objectives. Every question is written to one objective. There are 91 objectives in all:

DivisionSectionsObjectives
Practice Management412
Project Management517
Programming & Analysis416
Project Planning & Design517
Project Development & Documentation517
Construction & Evaluation412

The guide lists each division’s sections. The Guidelines add the objectives, their weights and a reference list.

NCARB’s study materials for each division →

What order should you take the ARE divisions in?

Any order you like: NCARB sets none. In 2025, Practice Management made up 21% of all division attempts, and NCARB notes that many candidates start with it; it’s typically listed first in NCARB’s materials. Project Planning & Design came second.

NCARB’s data points to another way to choose. The six divisions line up with the six experience areas of the Architectural Experience Program (AXP), and candidates did better when they took a division within 3 months of finishing the matching area.

Some divisions also took more tries. Among candidates who finished the ARE in 2025, Project Planning & Design averaged 1.78 attempts and Project Management 1.29, the most and fewest of the six.

ARE pass rates by division →NCARB: 2026 NCARB by the Numbers, Examination ↗How the AXP fits into licensure →
Sources: NCARB and 4 more. Checked October 2026.

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

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