When Should Architects Report Experience?

Are you an architect licensed abroad, or an architect licensed in the U.S. who needs to complete NCARB's experience requirement in order to become NCARB-certified? This page includes more information on how you can document credit for your professional work experience through the Architectural Experience Program® (AXP®).

The process is slightly different than reporting experience as a licensure candidate, because there are no time limitations when documenting your hours. As an architect, any qualifying experience will count toward the AXP—regardless of when you earned it. To learn more about what qualifies for the AXP, read our AXP Guidelines.

How to Submit Your Report

To submit an experience report as an architect, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to My NCARB
  2. Go to your NCARB Record and click “Experience”
  3. Select “+ New AXP Experience Report”
  4. Select experience setting A or O (in most cases, setting A)
  5. Enter your employment or experience type, then select the report format you will be using:
    • You can submit a “Bulk” report, which allows you to report an average number of hours per week.
    • You can also submit a “Weekly” report, which allows you to report your hours in a timesheet format that can be submitted weekly.
    • If your jurisdiction has additional duration requirements, you can submit a “Duration Only” report. This specifies that you were employed by the company listed on the report during the stated time period. (You will not be able to add hours in this reporting format.)
  6. Enter your hours; your report will save automatically
  7. Review your report, and submit it to your supervisor

Similar to the process for licensure candidates, your AXP supervisor will need to review the experience report and approve it. Once you have met the education, experience, and examination requirements, you can apply for an NCARB Certificate.

Two Times AXP

If you are an architect pursuing an NCARB Certificate through the Education Alternative, please do not start documenting experience until you have received approval. Once you are made eligible for the Two Times AXP path, you will receive additional instructions from NCARB on reporting hours, as well as how many hours you need to complete based on your NCARB Record.