All AXP experience must be reported within one year to earn full credit toward the program’s requirements. This ensures that you and your supervisor are both familiar with the details of your work as documented in your report. Experience that is older than one year at the time of submission is eligible to receive 75% credit toward the AXP, with no limit on how old that experience can be.
If you want to report experience earned within the past year and experience older than one year, you must submit two reports—one report for experience that is up to a year old at the time of submission (worth 100% credit) and a separate report for experience that is older than one year at the time of submission (worth 75% credit).
Note: If you are an architect documenting experience to earn an NCARB Certificate, the reporting policy does not apply to you. For more information, download the Certification Guidelines.
Review these examples to understand how the AXP reporting policy works.
Example 1: Full Credit
To receive full credit for experience earned during a one-year period from January 1 to December 31, 2025, you would have through January 1, 2026, to report the experience.
If you miss the January 1 reporting date by one day, and instead submit on January 2, then you would lose one day of full credit—instead receiving 75% credit for the day that falls outside the one-year reporting period. In this instance, you would need to submit two separate reports: One report for January 2 – December 31, 2025, and another report for January 1, 2025.
Example 2: Supervisor Delay
You have submitted a report for experience earned less than a year ago, worth 100% credit. However, your supervisor takes several months to review your experience report, finally approving it more than one year after you earned the experience. Your experience will still be worth 100% credit because it was submitted within one year of earning it.
Reporting Policy Extensions
If you are experiencing extenuating life circumstances, you may qualify for a reasonable extension to the reporting policy. Some examples include:
- The birth or adoption of a child: six-month extension
- Military service: extension determined on a case-by-case basis
- A serious medical condition: extension determined on a case-by-case basis
If you would like to request an extension, contact us within six months of the event. You will need to provide appropriate documentation, such as a birth certificate or doctor’s note, to qualify.
Review these examples to understand how reporting policy extensions work.
Example 3: Birth or Adoption of a Child
You are becoming a new parent or adopting a child on February 15, 2026. Before taking a leave of absence on February 1, you had completed a year of work (January 31, 2025 – January 31, 2026). Whereas you would normally be expected to submit the experience report by January 31, 2026, to receive 100% credit for the full year, you may request a six-month extension to the reporting policy. If approved, you would have until July 31, 2026, to submit the report for full credit. You will need to provide a birth certificate or proof of adoption to NCARB to apply for the extension.
Example 4: Active Military Duty
You have been called to active military duty on January 15, 2026. Before this event, you had completed six months of work (July 1 – December 31, 2025). Whereas you would normally be expected to submit the experience report by July 1, 2026, to receive 100% credit, you may request a reasonable extension for submitting this report following the end of your active military duty. You will need to provide appropriate documentation to NCARB to apply for the extension.
Example 5: Serious Medical Condition
If you have experienced a serious medical condition, you may qualify for a reasonable extension to the reporting policy. To apply for an extension, you will need to provide NCARB with appropriate documentation from a licensed medical doctor overseeing your care.
