Registration by Examination

Persons wishing to practice in the state of Ohio must meet the education, training, and examination requirements established by the Board:

EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

Current law requires that anyone completing their education requirements after January 1, 1994, hold a professional degree in architecture. A professional degree is a degree from a university level program in architecture which has been accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) or the Canadian Architecture Certification Board (CACB). For a list of accredited degree programs, visit the NAAB website at http://www.naab.org/.

INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENT

Ohio adopted the Intern Development Program (IDP) in 1990. Anyone who begins the experience or internship requirements after January 1, 1994 is required to complete IDP prior to licensure. Applications filed prior to January 1, 2000 are exempt from this requirement. Candidates must have an NCARB Council Record to participate in IDP.

To start a Council Record, visit https://www.ncarb.org/RecordApp/recordsvc/login.aspx

IDP may be started after:

For purposes of calculating years of education, 32 semester credit hours or 48 quarter credit hours equal one year in an academic program.

Upon completion of IDP, candidates must have their IDP Record transmitted to the Board by NCARB. Be certain you have completed your IDP requirements before requesting the transmittal.

ARE CONCURRENT WITH IDP

Effective November 5, 2007, Ohio candidates are no longer required to complete IDP prior to sitting for the exam. Candidates wishing to begin the exam must submit the following to the Ohio Board: an application for Registration by Examination, a photo, a $50 fee, and their NCARB Council Record number. A transcript of the professional degree must be sent directly to the Board by the conferring university.

Candidates considering sitting for the exam prior to completion of IDP should be aware of the Five year Rolling Clock, which is described below.

RETROACTIVE REPORTING ("BACK ASSESSMENT") OF IDP TRAINING UNITS

Effective July 1, 2009, all new NCARB Council Record holders must report all IDP training units (TU's) not less than every six months, and follow the IDP Guidelines established by NCARB.

Candidates who established an NCARB Council Record prior to June 30, 2009 have until June 30, 2010 to "retroactively" report training units. After this date, all candidates must report TU's not less than every six months.

All TU's are reported electronically through the NCARB website.

There are exemptions for situations such as medical conditions/pregnancy/adoption.

See the "IDP Guidelines" on the IDP section of the NCARB website for detailed information.

Ohio follows the IDP Guidelines as established by NCARB and does not permit any other reporting of TU's.

EMERGING PROFESSIONALS COMPANION

An IDP training enrichment resource, the Emerging Professional's Companion (EPC), replaces the AIA Supplementary Education Handbook. The EPC is a free web-based (http://www.epcompanion.org/) professional development resource designed to improve the quality of internship training. EPC activities challenge interns to develop the awareness, understanding, and skills needed to achieve the core competencies identified in each IDP Training Area. Interns can acquire "elective" credit through verified completion of beginner-, intermediate-, and advance-level exercises that provide exposure to key practice issues, including liability; health, safety, welfare; and ethical dilemmas. The EPC is accessed with either an AIA member number or an IDP number. Architects may use activities in the EPC to earn Continuing Education Units.

EXAMINATION REQUIREMENT

All candidates are required to pass the Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®), which assesses candidates for their knowledge, skills, and ability to provide the various services required in the practice of architecture.

The ARE® is administered by computers year-round at a network of Thompson Prometric (http://www.prometric.com/NCARB/default.htm) test centers throughout the United States, the U.S. territories, and Canada. Candidates may take the exam divisions in any order and at any time and at any location. Most test centers are open six days a week, 50 weeks a year.

For more information on the ARE®, visit http://www.ncarb.org/are/index.html

Exam results may not be appealed; exams may not be reviewed.
As of July 1, 2009, all candidates with passing scores for divisions taken prior to July 1, 2009 will be converted to ARE® 4.0. As exam content has been redistributed into different sections, and graphic vignettes are in all sections of the exam, some candidates may have to retake sections previously passed. Please see the "Transition Chart" at http://www.ncarb.org/are/40/transition_chart.html. For candidates who tested on paper and pencil only, please call the Board office for an explanation of the equivalent divisions.

NCARB will increase the fees for the ARE® by $40 per division effective October 1, 2009. The increase is due to recent incidents of exam content disclosure by ARE candidates. The cost to develop and replace the exposed content and handle the administrative and legal costs related to these incidents totals an estimated $1.1 million.

FIVE YEAR ROLLING CLOCK

Under the terms of the NCARB Rolling Clock, which was effective on January 1, 2006, candidates taking the ARE must pass all divisions within five years. Ohio follows the NCARB Five-Year Rolling Clock.

These basic rules guide the Rolling Clock:

• For applicants who have passed all divisions of the ARE by January 1, 2006, regardless of the time taken, such applicants will have passed the ARE.
  
  
• For applicants who have passed one or more but not all divisions of the ARE by January 1, 2006, such applicants will have five years from the date of the first (non-exempt) passed division to pass all remaining divisions.
  
  
• If a candidate fails to pass all remaining divisions within the initial five-year period, the candidate is given a new five-year period from the date of the second oldest passed division.
  
  
• The five-year period begins on the date when the first remaining division is passed.
  
  
• Any division passed prior to January 1, 2006 shall no longer remain valid if all remaining divisions have not been passed by July 1, 2014.
  
  
• Effective January 1, 2011 and thereafter, the authorization to test of any applicant shall terminate unless the applicant has passed or failed a division of the ARE within a period of five years. This includes the five-year period prior to January 1, 2011. Any applicant whose authorization is so terminated must establish a new eligibility under the current requirements of the Ohio Board, including completion of IDP and holding an accredited professional degree in architecture. Thus, a terminated candidate with a four-year degree will not be allowed to re-enter the exam process until they have obtained an accredited professional degree. A candidate who has only tested on paper and pencil (prior to 1997) and never taken a section on computer will also be required to re-establish their eligibility to test.
  

To obtain application materials for registration by examination, click here.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREIGN APPLICANTS

A foreign-educated applicant is a person with a degree in the field of architecture granted by an academic institution outside of the United States or Canada. Foreign-educated applicants must obtain an Education Evaluation Services for Architects (EESA) evaluation verifying that the applicant meets the NCARB education requirement. To obtain an EESA Evaluation, candidates must first apply for an NCARB Council Record.

Foreign-educated and trained applicants with five or more years of training obtained outside the United States may qualify to sit for the exam by one of two methods:

1) Foreign-educated and trained applicants may be exempt (in Ohio only) from the IDP requirement:

• If the applicant has five or more years of training obtained outside the United States;
• The training was obtained under the direct supervision of a non-US registered architect who is practicing as a principal;
• The applicant must complete one year of training in the US under the direct supervision of a US-registered architect who is practicing as a principal.
• This method of licensure is discouraged, as it will not qualify the applicant for an NCARB Certificate.

2) Foreign-educated and trained applicants may sit for the exam:

• If they have five or more years of foreign experience practicing as a principal;
• The experience is in an organization whose architectural practice encompasses the comprehensive practice of architecture;
• The experience includes each category found in the IDP Training Requirement and submission of evidence satisfactory to NCARB showing that the experience included exposure to each of the IDP Training Areas.
• Persons obtaining licensure under this criteria may qualify for the NCARB Certificate; however, final determination rests with NCARB, not the Ohio Board.

Foreign-educated architects registered and practicing as a principal in a foreign country for at least seven years may be eligible to apply for the NCARB Broadly Experienced Foreign Architect (BEFA) Certification program. Visit www.ncarb.org for more information. These individuals are not required to complete IDP or take the exam.

All other foreign-educated candidates (not meeting any of the above requirements) must complete IDP, meet the education requirement, and pass the exam.