National Council of Architectural Registration Boards

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) is a nonprofit organization comprising the legally constituted architectural registration boards of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands as its members. Its mission is to collaborate with licensing boards to facilitate the licensure and credentialing of architects to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

NCARB recommends model law, model regulations, and other guidelines for adoption by its member jurisdictions, but each makes its own laws and registration requirements. As a service to its members, NCARB develops, administers, and maintains the Architectural Experience Program (AXP) and the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) as well as facilitates reciprocity between jurisdictions through the NCARB Certificate.

History

Illinois became the first state to enact laws regulating the practice of architecture in 1897. In May 1919, during an American Institute of Architects (AIA) convention in Nashville, TN, 15 architects from 13 states came together to form an organization that would become NCARB. Emil Lorch from Ann Arbor, MI, was elected the organization's first president in May 1920.

As expressed by its founding members, NCARB's stated goals were:

To facilitate the exchange of information on examining, licensing, and regulating architects

To foster uniformity in licensing and practice laws

To facilitate reciprocal licensing

To discuss the merits of various examining methods as well as the scope and content of licensing examinations

To strive to improve the general education standards of the architectural profession in the United States

Organization

NCARB is led by a Board of Directors elected by the licensing board members at its Annual Business Meeting each June. It has five officers (president, vice president, second vice president, secretary/treasurer, and the past president) and 10 directors (one from each of the six regions, a member board executive director, a public director, and two at-large directors).

Additionally, a chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and chief innovation and information officer lead the headquarters in Washington, DC. Over 100 people are on staff in Washington, DC.

NCARB Regions

Today, NCARB comprises the registration boards from the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories (Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). These boards are organized into six regions:

New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

Middle-Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia

Southern: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands

Mid-Central: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin

Central States: Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wyoming

Western: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, Washington

Services

Each U.S. jurisdiction grants individuals an architectural license.