With 55 architectural licensing boards in the United States, NCARB works to provide board support, encourage program alignment, and assist individuals seeking licensure.
NCARB’s community continued growing in 2024, with over 126,800 Record holders, more than 350 volunteers, and over 450 licensing board members. Our volunteer community—made up of architects, licensure candidates, educators, and experts from other professions—worked together across 20 committees to develop resources for licensing boards, explore challenges in the field of architecture, and more.
NCARB’s Record holder community continues to grow.
Over 126,800 individuals held an NCARB Record in 2024, a 1% increase compared to 2023. NCARB’s Record holder community has grown by more than 12% since 2020, a sign that the architecture profession is recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase seen in 2024 was primarily due to growth in the number of candidates actively pursuing licensure, which rose by 5%.
WHO ARE NCARB RECORD HOLDERS? An NCARB Record holder is anyone who holds an active NCARB Record. This includes individuals from a variety of career stages, from students to emerging professionals to practicing architects.
Over 51,000 architects held an NCARB Certificate in 2024.
The number of NCARB Certificate holders remained relatively unchanged in 2024, with just over 51,500 architects holding an active NCARB Certificate. This lack of growth is likely due to the overall decrease in the number of U.S. architects in 2024.
Over the past several years, NCARB has continued to enhance the value of the NCARB Certificate, regularly releasing new continuing education courses on cutting-edge topics and expanding our mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with countries outside of the United States.
DID YOU KNOW? The NCARB Certificate simplifies the process of earning additional licenses in U.S. jurisdictions and can also be used to support licensure in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the
United Kingdom.
The number of non-certified architects fell slightly.
The number of non-certified architects with an NCARB Record fell by 2% in 2024—a slight drop following the 17% growth seen between 2022 and 2023. The sharp increase seen in 2023 was most likely a result of NCARB’s amnesty campaign in the summer of 2023, which waived reactivation fees for architects with lapsed NCARB Records.
Initial licensure applications return to pre-pandemic levels.
When candidates apply for an initial license or architects apply for a reciprocal (out-of-state) license, NCARB transmits their Records to the jurisdiction’s licensing board in support of their application.
The total number of transmittals fell by less than 1% in 2024, which was caused by a slight decrease in reciprocal licensure transmittals. Of the nearly 16,000 transmittals, more than 12,000 were in support of reciprocal licensure applications—approximately 200 less than 2023. Despite this decrease in reciprocal licensure applications, NCARB’s member licensing boards reported an overall increase in the number of out-of-state licensees, likely a result of some architects applying directly to their state licensing board.
The number of new Record holders returns to normal.
After a spike in 2023, the number of new Record holders fell by 5% in 2024. Still, more than 9,600 candidates opened an NCARB Record in 2024—higher than the roughly 8,500 new Records per year seen just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s decrease is likely a sign that the rush of new Record creations seen after the pandemic is beginning to fade as the licensure pipeline returns to a new level of normal.
DID YOU KNOW? NCARB considers creating an NCARB Record the first step on the path to licensure.
The proportion of architects starting an NCARB Record in school is on the rise.
Nearly half of all new architects licensed in 2024 started their NCARB Record while in school, the highest proportion seen in recent years. The remaining 51% waited to start their NCARB Record until after graduating college—a common choice for those who don’t have significant AXP experience to report while in school.
Because NCARB considers starting a Record the first step to earning an architecture license, an increase in the proportion of new architects starting their Record earlier could signal that more candidates are starting the path to licensure earlier in life.
NCARB’s Professional Conduct Committee reviews and recommends disciplinary action.
NCARB’s Professional Conduct Committee is responsible for overseeing NCARB’s policies and practices regarding the professional conduct of NCARB’s Record holders and customers. Each year, the committee reviews any cases where an individual may have violated NCARB’s professional conduct standards.
Typically, these cases involve reviewing findings from or actions taken by a jurisdictional licensing board, but they can also involve the violation of NCARB’s ARE Candidate Agreement.
In FY25 (July 2024 – June 2025), NCARB’s Professional Conduct Committee reviewed 33 cases, including 2 cases related to breaches of the exam’s content or security.
Note: The drop in cases in FY21 was due to a temporary pause on case review while the committee updated its policies and procedures.
