To meet Illinois landscape architect license requirements, you need qualifying education in landscape architecture, a set number of years of supervised professional experience, a passing score on all four sections of the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (LARE), and an approved application filed with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). The governing statute is the Landscape Architecture Registration Act, 225 ILCS 316.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 225 ILCS 316 – Landscape Architecture Registration Act
One thing to know up front: Illinois has a title act, not a practice act. The statute restricts who may call themselves a “landscape architect” or “registered landscape architect,” but it does not prevent an unregistered person from offering or providing landscape architecture services.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 225 ILCS 316 – Landscape Architecture Registration Act Registration is what lets you use the title on contracts, proposals, business cards, and sealed documents.
Education and Experience
Illinois recognizes three pathways, and the one that applies to you depends on your degree.
If your degree is from a program accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) or its Canadian counterpart (LAAC), you need two years of professional experience. At least one of those years must be under the direct supervision of a licensed landscape architect. The second year may be supervised by a licensed landscape architect, a licensed professional engineer, or a licensed architect.2Cornell Law Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 68 1275.30 – Experience
If your degree is in landscape architecture but from a non-accredited program, the requirement jumps to eight years of total experience. Each year of school substitutes for one year of experience, capped at four years of credit. At least half of your remaining experience must be under a licensed landscape architect, with the rest supervised by a licensed landscape architect, licensed architect, or licensed professional engineer.2Cornell Law Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 68 1275.30 – Experience
If you hold any other kind of degree, you also need eight years of experience, but academic credit drops to six months per year of school, capped at two years. The supervision rules stay the same. Someone with a four-year degree in a related field would still owe roughly six years of qualifying work before they can apply.
The LARE Exam
Every applicant must pass the Landscape Architect Registration Examination, a four-section computerized test administered nationally by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB).3Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards. Landscape Architect Registration Examination The sections cover project management, site analysis, design, grading and drainage, and construction documentation. You don’t have to pass all four at once, and most candidates spread them across multiple testing windows.
CLARB directs candidates to register through its own portal rather than publishing a flat per-section price, and it has confirmed its current fee schedule runs through September 30, 2026. Plan on several hundred dollars per section, plus retake fees if needed. IDFPR verifies your scores directly with CLARB, so you don’t send separate reports.
Filing the Application
Illinois moved new landscape architect applications to its CORE online system in October 2024, replacing the earlier paper process.4Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Landscape Architect Professions The application fee is $175.5Cornell Law Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 68 1275.75 – Fees
You’ll document your work history, including employment dates and the names of your supervising professionals. Official transcripts from every college or university you attended must come directly to IDFPR, unless that information is already in your CLARB Record.6Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Landscape Architect Registration Application A CLARB Record is a verified file that packages your exam scores, transcripts, and experience documentation together, saving you from collecting individual employer verification forms.7Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards. CLARB Record Without one, each former employer must submit experience verification separately.
After IDFPR receives your materials, staff review them against the statutory requirements. If anything is missing or inconsistent, you’ll receive a deficiency notice. Once approved, you receive a registration number that authorizes your use of the landscape architect title in Illinois.
If You’re Already Licensed in Another State
If you hold an active landscape architecture license elsewhere, Illinois lets you register without retaking the LARE.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 225 ILCS 316 – Landscape Architecture Registration Act CLARB’s Illinois page states that all applicants are required to apply using the CLARB Record.8CLARB. Illinois, United States The Record consolidates your education, experience, exam history, and current licensure into a single verified package for IDFPR to evaluate.7Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards. CLARB Record
You still pay the $175 application fee and meet any additional requirements set by rule. Because the exam and experience are already verified, review tends to go faster than initial registration.
Keeping Your Registration Active
All Illinois landscape architect registrations expire on August 31 of odd-numbered years, regardless of when they were first issued.6Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Landscape Architect Registration Application The next deadline is August 31, 2027, covering September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2027.
Renewal requires 24 credit hours of continuing education per two-year cycle. At least 16 of those hours must address health, safety, and welfare topics, and those 16 must come from structured educational activities.9Cornell Law Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 68 1275.85 – Continuing Education The remaining 8 hours can cover related subjects such as sustainable design, professional ethics, or business practices. Keep your attendance records for at least five years, since IDFPR audits a share of renewals and will ask for documentation.
Registered professionals also seal and sign certain documents. Your seal must include your name, registration number, and the words “Registered Landscape Architect, State of Illinois,” and it must be reproducible on copies. Your signature, the current date, and your license expiration date appear alongside it, and electronic seals are permitted.10Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Illinois Code Enforcement Manual
Penalties for Using the Title Without Registration
Calling yourself a landscape architect or registered landscape architect in Illinois without active registration is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense. A subsequent conviction becomes a Class 4 felony.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 225 ILCS 316 – Landscape Architecture Registration Act IDFPR can also seek an injunction through the Attorney General or a local State’s Attorney to stop the unauthorized use. If you plan to market yourself under the title, finish registration first.