Minneapolis, MN—During the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards' (NCARB) 2026 Annual Business Meeting in Minneapolis, delegates representing XX of the Council’s 55 Member Boards, which oversee the practice of architecture in their individual jurisdictions, voted on three resolutions. 

[Resolution 2026-01] [Resolution 2026-02] [Resolution 2026-03]

Resolution 2026-01: Mutual Recognition Agreement With the Architects Registration Board (ARB)

Passed 53-02

RESOLVED, that the existing Mutual Recognition Agreement between the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, representing the 55 architectural licensing boards of the United States, and the Architects Registration Board in the United Kingdom be terminated as of the effective date of the new MRA, and the new MRA be and hereby is ratified and approved as published in Appendix A in these resolutions.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that upon the approval of this resolution by a majority of the Council Member Boards, the new MRA will become effective no earlier than 60 calendar days after the execution of the Agreement.

Resolution 2026-02: Amendment and Restatement of Policies Passed by Membership

Passed 55-00

RESOLVED, that the National Council of Architectural Registration amends and restates the following resolutions into NCARB Policies Passed by Membership, the full, restated texts of which are attached hereto, collectively, as Appendix B:

  • Resolution 1995-17: Annual Administrators’ Workshop
  • Resolution 1996-02: Centralized Disciplinary Action Data Base
  • Resolution 2002-05: NCARB Goal of Universal Acceptance of Certificate
  • Resolution 2003-07: Allowance for President and First Vice President
  • Resolution 2003-15: Publishing of Comprehensive and Unabridged NCARB Accrual Basis Financial Statements on NCARB “Members’ Only” Web Page Quarterly
  • Resolution 2007-12: Continuing Education Credit for NCARB Activities

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards sunsets the following resolutions:

  • Resolution 1999-06: Satisfying Training Requirements
  • Resolution 2002-07: Support for Seeking Financial Assistance to Defray International Activities

FURTHER RESOLVED, that upon the approval of the foregoing resolution by a majority of the Council Member Boards, such resolution will become effective immediately.

Resolution 2026-03: Certification Guidelines Amendment – Expanding Access to NCARB Certification

Passed 54-01

RESOLVED, that Section 2.5 in the Certification Guidelines be amended by the addition of paragraph C. as indicated below:

“2.5 Alternatives to the Examination Requirement 

If you fail to meet the examination requirement for certification identified in Section 1.5, you may still be certified in the following circumstances:

  1. If your license was based in whole or in part on having passed previous examination equivalents, you are deemed to have passed the corresponding divisions of the ARE. See the ARE Exam Equivalency Guide for a table of these qualifying equivalents.
  2. If your examination deficiency arose from causes other than having failed a division of an examination under applicable NCARB pass/fail standards, and the deficiency is, in NCARB’s judgment, compensated for by your demonstration of competency in the deficient area.
  3. If you were originally licensed through a pre-computer-based historic jurisdictional variation in exam score requirements, and you:
    • Are a licensed architect in good standing in a U.S. jurisdiction,
    • Have no disciplinary action that resulted in a sanction lasting for a period greater than 5 years,
    • Have no disciplinary action within the previous 5 years, and
    • Have maintained an active license in good standing for at least 10 consecutive years.”

FURTHER RESOLVED, the ARE Exam Equivalency Guide will be updated by the NCARB Board of Directors to reflect this change.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that upon the approval of the resolution by an absolute majority vote of the Council Member Boards, such resolution will become effective September 1, 2026.