Note: This blog was last updated on September 16, 2025.
NCARB is making several changes to the Architectural Experience Program® (AXP®), effective November 18, 2025—including updates to the experience program’s reporting requirement. Learn more about the new reporting policy and how it may impact your licensure journey.
The Current Reporting Requirement
Under the current requirement, candidates must report all experience within eight months of earning it for 100% credit, and within five years for 50% credit; any experience older than five years does not receive any credit.
The New Reporting Requirement
Under the new policy, candidates will be able to earn 100% credit for experience up to a year old. Experience older than one year will be worth 75% credit, with no limitation on how old that experience can be.
This change will apply retroactively to previously submitted or approved experience reports, as well as all new experience reports. Many candidates will automatically receive additional AXP credit when the updated policy goes into effect.
How This Impacts You
Depending on when an experience report was submitted, it could be worth additional AXP credit under the new reporting policy! Read through each scenario below to find out how your experience reports will be impacted by this change.
- An experience report only includes experience that was reported within eight months of earning it. This report is already worth 100% credit toward the AXP and will not be impacted by the new reporting policy.
- An experience report includes experience that was reported at least one year after the time it was earned and is currently worth 50% credit. This experience report will be updated to 75% credit as of November 18.
- An experience report includes experience that was reported ONLY between eight months and one year from the time it was earned and is currently worth 50% credit. This experience report will be updated to 100% credit as of November 18.
- An experience report with a start date less than one year old at the time of submission and an end date more than one year old at the time of submission and is currently worth 50% credit. This experience report will be split into two new reports: one for the time submitted within one year, and the other for the time submitted outside of one year. Splitting the original report into two new reports allows the hours to be appropriately updated to either 100% or 75% credit. This split will happen in one of two ways depending on the type of report:
- For candidates who use bulk reporting, your experience will be updated proportionally based on the dates of your original report. NCARB will calculate the percentage of the report that falls within the 100% credit window and the percentage of the report that falls within the 75% credit window. Those percentages will be applied per experience area in two new reports – one for all the hours updated to 100% credit and the other for all the hours updated to 75% credit.
- For candidates who use weekly reporting or certain setting O opportunities that occurred on specified dates, your experience will be updated based on the actual dates included in your original report. NCARB will determine which dates occurred within the 100% credit window and which dates occurred within the 75% credit window. The hours associated with those dates will be applied in two new reports – one for all the hours updated to 100% credit and the other for all the hours updated to 75% credit.
If you have experience reports that are worth additional AXP credit under the new reporting policy, your NCARB Record will be updated to reflect your new experience hours on November 18. You do not need to take any action to receive additional credit, but please check your NCARB Record before November 18 to ensure that all your experience has been reported correctly.
This change will impact submitted and approved experience reports, but please note that only approved experience reports count toward your AXP completion. Your supervisor does NOT need to take any action related to already-approved reports, including already-approved reports that are split into two new reports to allow for 75% and 100% credit updates. However, you should connect with your supervisor to review any submitted reports or discuss any reports for experience older than five years that you may want to submit once the updated policy goes into effect.
If you have already finished the AXP, you do not need to take any action. Please note that your hours will not be automatically updated in your My NCARB account, since you are AXP complete.
Learn more about all the upcoming AXP changes, effective November 18, 2025.
