Developed with input from thousands of practicing architects, the NCARB Competency Standard for Architects establishes 16 knowledge areas, skills, abilities, and behaviors—called competencies—that describe the capabilities necessary at the point of initial licensure for an individual to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare.
Download the Competency Standard
About the NCARB Competency Standard for Architects
The Competency Standard establishes the level of proficiency needed in each competency to qualify an individual for initial licensure, as assessed by NCARB’s programs. The competencies are organized into three domains:
- Design & Documentation
- Construction Administration
- Practice & Project Management
Each competency includes detailed criteria to provide clarity around the expected level of knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors required for newly licensed architects, as well as commentary explaining terminology used throughout the document.
NCARB has updated our existing programs—the Architectural Experience Program® (AXP®) and Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®)—to align with the Competency Standard. We
are also using the Competency Standard as the foundation for a future licensure model that offers greater accessibility to licensure candidates. Once implemented, candidates will demonstrate their capabilities for each of the 16 competencies to earn a license to practice architecture.
Why create the Competency Standard?
Pathways to Practice seeks to expand the opportunity for licensure to individuals of all educational and career backgrounds by creating a more accessible licensure framework. As NCARB creates multiple pathways to licensure, our programs must share a core expectation of what competency looks like at the point of initial licensure. The NCARB Competency Standard for Architects establishes that shared expectation and lays the foundation for a modular licensure process.
NCARB’s volunteers are currently evaluating the best way to evolve NCARB’s current licensure programs and assess future candidates’ readiness for licensure. The assessment methods are tailored to each competency outlined in the Competency Standard, ensuring that all licensure candidates are held to the same level of competency, regardless of their licensure pathway.
Learn more about why NCARB is developing multiple licensure pathways.
How was the Competency Standard developed?
The Competency Standard is the outcome of work by NCARB’s Competency Task Force. Using findings from NCARB’s 2022 Analysis of Practice—which had nearly 20,000 professionals across the built environment—as a foundation, the task force researched which competencies were necessary at the point of initial licensure to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare. The task force also explored the competency level required for licensure in similar professions before releasing a draft list of competencies for public feedback in October 2023.
After receiving feedback from nearly 5,000 architects, the task force further refined the draft Competency Standard throughout 2023 and 2024. The Competency Standard was shared with NCARB’s members for final comments in June 2024, finalized by NCARB’s Board of Directors in September 2024, and released publicly in October 2024. Additional updates to the Competency Standard, which added detailed criteria for each competency and commentary explaining the terminology used throughout the document, were released in June 2026.