Are you preparing to take the Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®) in the next few months? Be sure to use the right version of NCARB’s free practice exams, available through your NCARB Record! To ensure that your practice experience continues to reflect what you’ll see on exam day, NCARB is currently offering two versions of our free practice exams: one version of each division that reflects the current exam objectives and case study format, and one that reflects the ARE changes going into effect on April 27, 2026.

Access the Practice Exams

ARE Updates Launch on April 27, 2026

Beginning April 27, the ARE will include minor adjustments to 12 exam objectives, clarifying revisions to several objective descriptions, and a refreshed case study format. While the overall structure of each division remains the same, these changes are intended to better align the exam with the NCARB Competency Standard for Architects and improve the candidate testing experience. Learn more about the upcoming ARE changes.

Because NCARB’s practice exams are designed to mirror the real exam, we’ve launched an updated version that reflects the revised exam objectives and new case study format. If you’re testing on or after April 27, be sure to use the updated practice exams to prepare for your exam administration.

Note: The practice exams have only been updated in areas impacted by the upcoming exam changes. You should not expect to see entirely new practice content in the updated version of each practice exam.

How to Access the Updated Practice Exams With Active Exam Eligibilities

You can access the updated practice exams exactly the same way you access the previous version of the practice exams. If you have active exam eligibilities—meaning you have been approved to begin scheduling exam appointments by your licensing board—you can access the updated practice exams through your NCARB Record:

  1. Log into your NCARB Record
  2. Select the “Exams” tab
  3. Navigate to the bottom of the page and select “Practice Exam Dashboard” under “ARE Resources”
  4. Within the Practice Exam Dashboard, you’ll see two different sets of practice exams. The first set of exams titled “ARE 5.0 Practice Exams (Effective Through April 26, 2026)” reflects the ARE as it will appear through April 26, 2026. If you are preparing for an exam scheduled between now and April 26, you should use this set of practice exams.
Current version of the ARE practice exams available through April 26.
  1. If you scroll down the page, you’ll see a second set of practice exams titled “ARE 5.0 Practice Exams (Effective Beginning April 27, 2026)” that reflects the ARE as it will appear beginning April 27, 2026. If you are preparing for an exam scheduled on or after April 27, you should use this set of practice exams.
New version of ARE practice exams effective beginning April 27.

The updated practice exams will continue to use the same familiar layout, navigation, resources, and tools as the current exam does today.

Practice for Success Using Two Modes

The updated practice exams continue to offer both test mode and practice mode, allowing you to choose how you want to prepare. 

  • Test Mode: If you want to test your grasp of ARE divisional content while replicating many of the conditions of an actual exam appointment, you can take the practice exam in test mode.
  • Practice Mode: If you want to linger over the exam tools and navigation and be provided with correct responses and the rationales behind them, you can take each practice exam in practice mode. 

Both modes provide an examination results page at the end of the exam, where you can find a record of the items you answered correctly or incorrectly, a percentage breakdown of how you fared in each section, and a list of the correct responses and rationales for every item on the exam.

Don’t Have an Active Exam Eligibility?

If you don’t have active ARE eligibilities but are interested in exploring the exam’s content and format, you can still access the updated practice exams through your NCARB Record:

  1. Log in to your NCARB Record
  2. Under “Quick Links” on the right side of the screen, click “Practice the ARE”
  3. You’ll now be in the Practice Exam Dashboard, where you can access the existing and updated versions of NCARB’s free practice exams. 

If you’re not a licensure candidate with an active NCARB Record, you can still access the PDF versions of both the new and the current practice exams for reference—this is particularly helpful for supervisors and mentors who are interested in becoming familiar with the exam’s content and structure. 

Learn more about NCARB’s Free ARE 5.0 Practice Exams.