Purpose

The purpose of the examination is to evaluate a person's competence to practice architecture and to protect public health, safety and welfare while providing architectural services. The Board finds the content of the Architectural Registration Examination (ARE), prepared by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), to be the most practicable for testing the applicant's readiness for registration in Oregon. Candidates are tested on their ability to exercise value judgments in actual architectural practice situations.

Entry Qualifications

A candidate first must have a professional degree from a NAAB accredited program of architecture and have established an Intern Development Program (IDP) record with NCARB. For more information on the IDP program, contact NCARB at (202) 783-6500 or visit their web site at http://www.ncarb.org. Candidates must decide for themselves the best timing for taking divisions of the ARE. That process may begin anytime after beginning the IDP process.

Application and Fee Information

A candidate who wishes to begin taking ARE divisions must contact NCARB at (202) 783-6500 to request transmittal of their IDP Record to the Board office. The candidate must also send a complete Oregon exam application and fee to the Board address (listed on the form and on this website).

A candidate shall complete and return the application with the non-refundable application fee of $75.00 to the Board office. The Board will not take action until the IDP Record, application and fee is received. Incomplete applications will be returned. Applicants who do not provide evidence of meeting the minimum qualifications will be denied.

Notice of approved eligibility will be issued concurrently to the candidate and to the NCARB Test Administration Center. Prometric will subsequently provide the candidate with an Authorization to Test letter and information on the ARE and scheduling instructions. At that time, it is the candidate's responsibility to contact the test center directly to schedule examination(s) and to arrange for payment of the examination fee(s).

The ARE is administered in a computerized format at various sites in the United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.  To locate a test site and/or schedule a test, visit www.prometric.com/NCARB or call  1-800-479-6215.

Confidentiality

All ARE candidates must agree to abide by a confidentiality agreement before starting to test in each division. Your future career may be placed in jeopardy if you violate the agreement.

As always, you may discuss your general experiences about taking the ARE and pass along study strategies to friends or colleagues; however, there is an obligation by the Board and NCARB to protect the integrity and content of the ARE. By keeping the terms of the confidentiality agreement, you will help ensure a fair and equal opportunity for all exam candidates.

Violating the agreement is a very serious matter, and those that do may be subject to disciplinary measures by NCARB and/or the Board. Some disciplinary measures may include canceled test appointments, closed eligibility periods, voided test scores, delayed or denied licensure, delayed or denied NCARB certification.  You could also be exposed to legal action.  Don't risk your career or have a permanent mark on your record by violating the agreement.  The confidentiality agreement you will be asked to sign can be found in the ARE Guidelines Booklet.  To read NCARB's policy and procedures for testing irregularities, click here.

Time Limits

After being granted approval, examinees may schedule any division of the examination, at any time. However, there is a 6-month waiting period to re-take failed divisions.  Testing can occur at any authorized test site.  In Oregon, test sites are located in Portland, Milwaukie, Eugene, Redmond and Medford.  The Redmond and Medford sites have limited hours of operation.  You can locate test sites, schedule test appointments, and find answers to FAQ's through Prometric's website.

No matter which version of the ARE that is taken, candidates are not allowed to bring a calculator into the test center. All divisions of both versions include an on-screen scientific calculator for a candidate's use.

• ARE 3.1 -  last date to test was 6/30/09
• ARE 4.0

Since January 1, 2006, candidates can take no more than five years to pass all portions of the ARE. After five years, the older divisions taken/passed by a candidate must be retaken in order to be considered passing the ARE. This is called the five-year "rolling clock".

There is a transition into this rolling clock as follows:

• If a candidate passes all parts of the ARE by 1/1/06, the candidate will have been considered to pass the ARE no matter how long it took to pass it.
• If a candidate passes one or more (but not all) parts of the ARE by 1/1/06, the candidate has five years to pass all remaining divisions of the ARE. A passing grade for any remaining division not completed by 1/1/06 is valid for five years; the candidate must retake that division if it takes more than five years to complete.  However, the candidate who has not completed all divisions of the ARE by 2014 must complete all divisions of the ARE within a 5-year window.
• If a candidate has not passed any division of the ARE by 1/1/06, the candidate has five years to pass the entire ARE. Older divisions must be retaken once the five year window is up.

You may petition NCARB to allow an extension of the five year window only for circumstances where completion of the divisions is prevented by a medical condition, active duty in the military, or other like causes. Expect to provide documentation before your request will be considered.

Test Results

The time it takes for you to receive the results of any division of the ARE varies.  Your exam is not graded at the test center where you test.  The test center only records your answers and solutions.  The actual scoring is a process that takes place between Prometric and NCARB, and is subject to rigorous quality control processes to ensure the accuracy of the score.  Successfully passing the ARE is required for licensure by all US jurisdictions and accepted by nine Canadian provinces as part of their licensure process.  To protect the security of the exam, content must remain separate from the scoring engine.  Because of the recent conversion to a new version of the ARE, large numbers of candidates have been sitting for divisions.

Only a jurisdiction, such as the Oregon Board, may grant the right for an individual to practice architecture.  As such, after all the quality controls are done and the score is considered valid, the scores are sent to the jurisdiction you designate to NCARB as the one in which you wish to gain licensure.  Once the Board receives the score, it is mailed out to the candidate.

At this time, the average time it takes from the date you sit for an ARE division until you receive notice of your results is about 60 days.  Your results will NOT be given over the phone or in person.  Be sure to keep your contact informaiton updated with the Board office.

If you fail a division, you may reschedule it anytime after the six-month waiting period has passed.  The ARE is not intended to be a teaching tool.  It is a licensing exam developed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public and to ascertain whether an individual is minimally competent to practice architecture.  As such, you will receive very limited diagnostic information for each failed division.

Completing the ARE

Upon completion of all divisions of the ARE, your application materials will be evaluated to determine if you have met all the initial requirements for licensure.  You may be asked to complete another application in order to update your Board record.  Additional fees are not required for updating your information.

When you complete the ARE and IDP, you will be notified by the Oregon Board. The final steps to licensure include:

• Jurisprudence Examination (JE)
• Oral interview process
• Registration fee

Information on the ARE is also available on NCARB's web site located at http://www.ncarb.com/en/ARE.aspx