Virginia Architecture License Requirements: AXP, Exams, and Renewal

To meet Virginia architecture license requirements, you need a professional degree from a program accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), completion of the NCARB Architectural Experience Program (AXP), passing scores on all six divisions of the Architect Registration Examination (ARE 5.0), and a passing score on Virginia’s Exam on Board Regulations. Licenses are issued by the APELSCIDLA Board under the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR).¹

Education

The standard route is a professional degree in architecture from a NAAB-accredited program. Virginia accepts both the five-year Bachelor of Architecture and the post-professional Master of Architecture, provided the program held current NAAB accreditation. Your school sends an official transcript or degree verification form directly to DPOR.²

Alternative to the Accredited Degree

If you don’t hold a NAAB-accredited degree, Virginia Code § 54.1-406.1 requires the board to accept a combination of qualifying work and education experience totaling at least 10 years.³ The board weighs experience through a credit system tied to its relevance to architectural practice, and applicants certify their experience annually. It’s a longer road, but it’s available to people who entered the profession through non-traditional channels.

Foreign-Educated Applicants

If you earned your degree from an institution where instruction was not in English, you must submit a TOEFL iBT score report showing at least a 20 on each module. The report cannot be more than two years old when you apply. If your foreign program was taught in English, official documentation confirming that can be submitted instead of a TOEFL score.⁴

Experience Through the AXP

Every candidate completes NCARB’s Architectural Experience Program, which requires a minimum of 3,740 documented hours across six areas:⁵

Project Planning and Design: 1,080 hours
Project Development and Documentation: 1,520 hours
Project Management: 360 hours
Construction and Evaluation: 360 hours
Programming and Analysis: 260 hours
Practice Management: 160 hours

At least half of those hours (1,860) must be earned at an architecture firm under the supervision of a U.S.- or Canadian-licensed architect. The remaining 1,860 can come from outside a traditional firm setting.⁵

Report hours as you earn them. NCARB gives full credit for experience logged within the past year and 75% credit for older experience, so reconstructing hours after the fact costs you.⁶

Examinations

Virginia requires passage of all six divisions of the Architect Registration Examination (ARE 5.0), developed and administered by NCARB: Practice Management, Project Management, Programming and Analysis, Project Planning and Design, Project Development and Documentation, and Construction and Evaluation.⁷ Every U.S. jurisdiction requires all six.

Each division costs $250 to take or retake under the NCARB fee schedule effective August 2024, so passing every division on the first attempt totals $1,500.⁸ NCARB has scheduled minor updates to the ARE for April 27, 2026, involving adjustments to exam objectives and case study formatting. The division structure, number of items, and testing time won’t change, and any divisions you’ve already passed won’t be affected.⁹

Virginia’s Exam on Board Regulations

Beyond the ARE, Virginia requires a separate Exam on Board Regulations covering state-specific rules on professional conduct, seal use, and practice standards. The board emails the exam to you after receiving your application, and your license will not be issued until you complete it.⁴ Many applicants assume the ARE is the only test, so plan for this step.

Applying to DPOR

You submit your application to DPOR with a nonrefundable application fee. Effective August 1, 2025, the initial architect license fee increased to $185, up from $75, which had been the fee since 2004.¹⁰ If you’re working from older fee figures, confirm the current amount before you file.

Your application package must include:

Degree verification sent directly from your school to DPOR.²
Verification of AXP completion and ARE passage transmitted directly from NCARB. An NCARB Certificate can substitute for separate reference letters and experience documentation.²
Disclosure of any prior disciplinary action from any jurisdiction, not just architecture-related discipline.

Discrepancies between the experience you report and what NCARB’s records show will slow processing. Verify your NCARB record is complete and matches your application before submitting.

If You’re Already Licensed in Another State

Virginia offers a streamlined endorsement pathway for architects who hold an active license elsewhere. The most common route is through an NCARB Certificate, which packages your education, experience, and exam history into a verified record the board can review quickly.²

Holding a license in another state is not by itself enough to practice in Virginia. You still apply, and two dated cutoffs may apply to you: if you first became licensed after January 1, 1998, Virginia requires a NAAB-accredited degree regardless of what your original state accepted, and if you first became licensed after January 1, 2001, you must also have completed the AXP.⁴ The Virginia Exam on Board Regulations still applies. The endorsement fee was affected by the August 2025 adjustment, so check DPOR’s current fee schedule.

After You’re Licensed

Your Professional Seal

Once licensed, you obtain a professional seal that conforms to the board’s specifications: two inches in diameter, matching the exact design in the regulations, and displaying your six-digit license number. Every sheet of final plans, drawings, or plats must carry your seal, signature, and date, as must the cover sheet of technical reports and specifications. Affixing your seal means you exercised direct control and personal supervision over the work and accept full responsibility for it. Preliminary or incomplete documents don’t need a seal but must be clearly marked as not final. Electronic seals are permitted if they uniquely identify you, are verifiable, and remain under your direct control.¹¹

Renewal and Continuing Education

Architect licenses renew every two years. The renewal fee changed in the August 2025 adjustment, so use DPOR’s current fee schedule rather than the prior $55 figure. Practicing with an expired license is prohibited.¹²

Under Virginia Code § 54.1-404.2, licensees must complete 16 hours of continuing education per renewal cycle, at least 8 of them in health, safety, and welfare topics. Keep your CE records for three years from the license expiration date; the board runs random audits, and if you’re selected you have 21 calendar days to produce documentation.¹³

A renewal payment received within 30 days after expiration carries a $50 late fee. After that, the process gets harder. For licenses expired between six months and five years, reinstatement costs the current renewal fee plus $200. Beyond five years, you reapply as a new applicant with a fee equal to the renewal fee plus $300, and the board may require additional testing, CE, or documented experience covering the gap.¹⁴ Renewal deadlines are worth taking seriously.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 54.1 Chapter 4 – Architects, Engineers, Surveyors, Landscape Architects and Interior Designers
2
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Architect Information Sheet
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 54.1 Chapter 4 Section 54.1-406.1 – Alternative to Education Requirement for Licensure of Architects
4
Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects
5
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Experience Requirements
6
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Recording AXP Experience
7
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Architect Registration Examination Overview
8
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Updated Fees for Architects and Licensure Candidates on August 1, 2024
9
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Upcoming AXP and ARE Updates
10
Virginia Regulatory Town Hall. APELSCIDLA Board Fee Adjustment Agency Statement
11
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-760 – Use of Seal
12
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-670 – Renewal
13
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-683 – Continuing Education Requirements for Renewal or Reinstatement
14
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC10-20-680 – Reinstatement