Considering US license can also be transferred to Canada and Canada experience can also counted as AXP, is it rare for Canadian architecture field people to take US exams instead? It is also because there is no sign that there will be any UK & Canada reciprocal licensing for architect
If you want to work and practice in canada... there is literally no reason why you should write any other exam but the ExACs. Not only are they more modern and easier than the USA ones... they are also geared towards Canadian practice law.
With that said... license and degree reciprocity exists between the UK and canada. It's just not as easy, but still very doable as long as the school is semi-decent.
It is fine to take the ARE in lieu of the Exac's. Note that they seem to generally be more difficult and cumbersome in terms of content, and are very much based on US practice law. I also think you need to be registered with any one state as an intern architect prior to getting the ability to book your first exam date.
If you go this route, it would be best to give your provincial association a headsup, as it is less common than the standard of taking Canadian exams. You will also need NCARB to transmit results officially to your provincial association, although this is fairly straightforward. I went this route due to professional reasons and had everything confirmed with OAA.
That being said - it is nice to be able to take the ARE on your own schedule (versus in Canada where it is offered once per year).
Jul 12, 22 3:40 pm ·
·
sleepearlier
feel like you are with US background and went through ARE to be licensed architect. And trans to OAA afterwards. Am i correct? :)
Jul 13, 22 10:00 am ·
·
Bench
No - Canadian who has worked in both countries, and went through both processes simultaneously / concurrently. It was actually less cumbersome that way, rather than getting licensed in one jurisdiction and then applying for reciprocal recognition. Easier to just continuously check boxes in both regions at the same time, since most requirements overlap anyways.When it came time to take exams, I was in the states, so I just took them at my local proctoring office and reported the results back to Ontario.
Jul 13, 22 11:18 am ·
·
sleepearlier
so you have taken both ARE (9 papers) and OAA exams (4 papers)? what's the reason behind, rather than getting one license and do the reciprocal. Taking papers on both sides sound quite tiring
Jul 13, 22 2:21 pm ·
·
Bench
No. I only took the ARE. Then I transmitted those results back to OAA once completed, as they are recognized by both associations.
Jul 13, 22 2:23 pm ·
·
ArchKid
ARE is 6 exams. Some states have an extra exam.
Jul 13, 22 2:29 pm ·
·
sleepearlier
Bench, in your opinion, how distance it is between ARE exam content and Canada working practice? I really find the reciprocal between US and UK quite tempting. No one knows the future if i will work in another country.
Jul 13, 22 3:56 pm ·
·
sleepearlier
Hi Bench, do you have to be registered to certain province before & after finishing all the AXP US experience and ARE exams? Though I am now working in Canada with zero US work experience, the reciprocal agreement between US and UK is very tempting (I have many frds and family in UK and may/maynot move there in the future time) So for me, given that there is zero news on reciprocal between Canada and UK on mutual license, taking ARE instead is more tempting and "universal" in terms of licensing. Thank for your prolonged reply and help. I am still struggling how could I go through the process of recording AXP and taking ARE instead of tradition ExAC logsheet and exams.
Nov 22, 22 4:07 pm ·
·
Bench
Hi SE - sorry, I didnt see this previous comment here. Im not sure I have a good answer for you - I would recommend contacting NCARB directly by phone, as the scenario you're describing is very obscure.
Nov 22, 22 8:00 pm ·
·
Bench
Ah shit. My lengthy response got deleted. Anyways, what you are describing does not quite make sense. You should pursue licensure in whatever jurisdiction you currently reside in - sounds like that is probably a Canadian province. I may not have all the details correct, but what I understand is that to pursue licensure in the US, you need to be registered with NCARB and have chosen a state where you are going to pursue your initial license. Your employer needs to be actively registered in that jurisdiction, and has to sign off on your experience hours to finish that requirement. If you aren't currently working in the US in some capacity, I don't see how that works. You can't really pursue the license without actually doing work there. I had a very unique situation where I had completed the majority of my licensing process in the OAA (hours, seminar, etc) and then unexpectedly began working in the States. My office registered me for the AXP and I completed my hours working in the American office, while maintaining my active internship in Ontario at the same time. Effectively, I was registered with two jurisdictions at the same time, because I had a work history in both. At that time I just needed to pass the ARE's - once I did, the US automatically recognized it, and once the results were transmitted to the OAA as the equivalent to Exac, they also recognized it. Essentially, instead of pursuing reciprocal licensing in one country after the other, I went through the entire licensing process in both countries at the same time.
Nov 22, 22 8:16 pm ·
·
Bench
You should focus on getting your initial license, wherever that might be. Don't base the decision on reciprocity, especially if you don't have confirmation from the licensing authority that your plan would lead to a license.The Exac and the ARE are just interchangeable as exams, they don't in themselves lead to other licenses based on what you take. Reciprical licenses just look at the reciprical nature of the license itself, not the internship hours or exams written.
ArchKid, the current configuration of the ARE (ARE 5.0) is six exam divisions. Before that, ARE 4.0, was 7 divisions. Before that, ARE 3.1, it was 9 divisions. ARE 3.1 was from 2006 to 2009. Before the ARE 3.1 was ARE 3.0. The rough coverage and issues covered are about the same... more or less. I'm guessing that Bench passed the ARE during the 3.1 time period. Maybe 3.0 but not clear on the exact number of exam divisions in the 3.0. The ARE wasn't fixed to a specific number of divisions between versions.
Nov 22, 22 8:32 pm ·
·
Bench
I did not write v3.1. The summary of past ARE configurations is not useful.
I'll probably add one thing in regards to the comment about the extra state exam, the extra "exam" that a state may have license candidates do is not part of the ARE itself. It's a separate requirement of licensure of a specific state.
The ARE is whatever number of divisions for the particular version as setup by NCARB. The ARE is a national architectural examination designed and administered by NCARB and proctered by their proctoring agents. The state specific exams are not part of the NCARB's ARE exams. They are entirely separate and should be thought of as a completely separate requirement of licensure in a particular state.
you can only transfer your (US) license into CANADA through certain states. For example, you can’t do it in New York.
One advantage NCARB has over most of the Canadian licensing boards such as OAA, is that you can enter your experience hours before you finish your education. So in my case, I did my undergrad in Toronto, did my Masters in the US. I finished all my experience hours for NCARB before graduating from my masters. Meanwhile I’m at 0 hours with OAA.
I know as students we can enter like 760 hours in OAA. Which is still pretty stupid. I didn’t even bother.
Jul 12, 22 11:14 pm ·
·
Non Sequitur
It's changed again, I believe students can now add hours completed pre M.arch. Pro-tip, it's the same rules in all provinces (except maybe quebec... because it's quebec)
Jul 13, 22 12:34 am ·
·
sleepearlier
Hi ArchKid,
so you are currently working in US or Canada?
Jul 13, 22 10:02 am ·
·
ArchKid
Im currently working in Canada. Looking for opportunities in the US. But obviously, if that doesn't work out, I can always stay in Canada and apply for intern architect. But its going to be a pain in the ass to redo all my hours.
Hey Non Sequitur, can you link me to where I can put in my hours before becoming intern architect? Cause I have 6 years of experience, and I'm at 0 hours.
Jul 13, 22 10:04 am ·
·
Non Sequitur
Arch,
"Pre-graduation experience obtained while a registered student in a CACB accredited architectural degree program may be considered as IAP experience. Up to 760 hours may be eligible for acceptance for candidates who meet all other requirements of the IAP except for CACB certification of their academic credentials."
The important thing here is that it's only 760 out of the min 3720hours... which is less than 2 years full time work if you're smart with projects. What ever they allow you to back-log will only be in the "extra" category and will not apply to any of the minimums. Still easier to navigate than NCarb for those who want to work professionally in a superior country anyways. 8-)
Jul 13, 22 10:47 am ·
·
Bench
You dont need to redo all of your hours. You can hold intern status with NCARB and the OAA at the same time, to report hours to both. They will recognize each other's exams. The OAA hours reporting is much more onerous than the American hours reporting.
Jul 13, 22 11:20 am ·
·
Bench
One more side note - there are very specific limits to how far back you can report hours. For the OAA i believe it is only 6 months; otherwise you need to pay additional late reporting fees. This is likely to discourage someone who has many years of experiencing from immediately registering and then back-reporting years of experience, which it sounds like you might be trying to do. NCARB only gives half-credit time for anything reported over 6 months ago.
Jul 13, 22 11:22 am ·
·
ArchKid
That's why the best case scenario for me specifically is to get licensed in the US since I already finished my NCARB hours. Work there for a year, then apply to transfer my US license to Canada. A very long process with a lot of IFs. I could continue to live in Canada while I'm doing my exams, but the only issue is that Canadian firms will not reimburse you for US license. So all the fees will be coming out of my pocket.
Definitely agree with the logging hours in OAA compared to NCARB. People take 5+ years to finish all categories.
Jul 13, 22 11:46 am ·
·
Non Sequitur
^Exam reimbursement is not a guarantee even for ExACs in the frozen tundra either. It took me under 3years-4months to fill all my canadian IAP hours and write the ExACs and that back in the old 5600hr system.
Jul 13, 22 12:01 pm ·
·
Bench
Hmm. This seems like a very roundabout approach to licensure. The OAA hours are designed to be attainable within 2 years, if you hit all of your hours correctly. The 1-year license in another country, plus the administrative timelines between the two, would probably be longer collectively than simply doing your hours and taking the exams in Canada.
Dont forget, it would likely take an absolute minimum of 6 months to finish the ARE exams. Realistically, its much more common to take 12-18 months for the exams.
RAIC Syllabus students have most of their required hours upon completion. In Alberta I need just shy of 1000 hours after graduation. In my IAP I need 9800 hours in my CERB upon completion of the program.
Do you know which state has the most convenient rules for Canadian who completed the required experience hours in Ontario and want to write their exams in US?
Oct 14, 24 10:04 pm ·
·
Non Sequitur
Why?
Oct 15, 24 6:10 am ·
·
OddArchitect
Yeah why? I believe their is reciprocity between the US, Canada, and Mexico.
There is reciprocity, and they even agreed to make it easier last week. Best option is to get a license in Canada first then seek reciprocity in the US. Why bother starting the headache with NCARB now?
[For Canadian Architecture Peers] Is is rare to take ARE (the United States) exams, instead of Canada license exams?
here is a latest news that US and UK has reached an agreement for reciprocal licensing (https://www.dezeen.com/2022/06/14/us-uk-arb-ncarb-reciprocal-licensing-architects/
).
Considering US license can also be transferred to Canada and Canada experience can also counted as AXP, is it rare for Canadian architecture field people to take US exams instead? It is also because there is no sign that there will be any UK & Canada reciprocal licensing for architect
If you want to work and practice in canada... there is literally no reason why you should write any other exam but the ExACs. Not only are they more modern and easier than the USA ones... they are also geared towards Canadian practice law.
With that said... license and degree reciprocity exists between the UK and canada. It's just not as easy, but still very doable as long as the school is semi-decent.
I cant see reciprocity for license between from CA to UK actually.. For academic, it does. But for license itself, seems not
Google "Canberra Accords"
im quite sure that Canberra Accords is for education reciprocal
It is fine to take the ARE in lieu of the Exac's. Note that they seem to generally be more difficult and cumbersome in terms of content, and are very much based on US practice law. I also think you need to be registered with any one state as an intern architect prior to getting the ability to book your first exam date.
If you go this route, it would be best to give your provincial association a headsup, as it is less common than the standard of taking Canadian exams. You will also need NCARB to transmit results officially to your provincial association, although this is fairly straightforward. I went this route due to professional reasons and had everything confirmed with OAA.
That being said - it is nice to be able to take the ARE on your own schedule (versus in Canada where it is offered once per year).
feel like you are with US background and went through ARE to be licensed architect. And trans to OAA afterwards. Am i correct? :)
No - Canadian who has worked in both countries, and went through both processes simultaneously / concurrently. It was actually less cumbersome that way, rather than getting licensed in one jurisdiction and then applying for reciprocal recognition. Easier to just continuously check boxes in both regions at the same time, since most requirements overlap anyways.When it came time to take exams, I was in the states, so I just took them at my local proctoring office and reported the results back to Ontario.
so you have taken both ARE (9 papers) and OAA exams (4 papers)? what's the reason behind, rather than getting one license and do the reciprocal. Taking papers on both sides sound quite tiring
No. I only took the ARE. Then I transmitted those results back to OAA once completed, as they are recognized by both associations.
ARE is 6 exams. Some states have an extra exam.
Bench, in your opinion, how distance it is between ARE exam content and Canada working practice? I really find the reciprocal between US and UK quite tempting. No one knows the future if i will work in another country.
Hi Bench, do you have to be registered to certain province before & after finishing all the AXP US experience and ARE exams? Though I am now working in Canada with zero US work experience, the reciprocal agreement between US and UK is very tempting (I have many frds and family in UK and may/maynot move there in the future time) So for me, given that there is zero news on reciprocal between Canada and UK on mutual license, taking ARE instead is more tempting and "universal" in terms of licensing. Thank for your prolonged reply and help. I am still struggling how could I go through the process of recording AXP and taking ARE instead of tradition ExAC logsheet and exams.
Hi SE - sorry, I didnt see this previous comment here. Im not sure I have a good answer for you - I would recommend contacting NCARB directly by phone, as the scenario you're describing is very obscure.
Ah shit. My lengthy response got deleted. Anyways, what you are describing does not quite make sense. You should pursue licensure in whatever jurisdiction you currently reside in - sounds like that is probably a Canadian province. I may not have all the details correct, but what I understand is that to pursue licensure in the US, you need to be registered with NCARB and have chosen a state where you are going to pursue your initial license. Your employer needs to be actively registered in that jurisdiction, and has to sign off on your experience hours to finish that requirement. If you aren't currently working in the US in some capacity, I don't see how that works. You can't really pursue the license without actually doing work there. I had a very unique situation where I had completed the majority of my licensing process in the OAA (hours, seminar, etc) and then unexpectedly began working in the States. My office registered me for the AXP and I completed my hours working in the American office, while maintaining my active internship in Ontario at the same time. Effectively, I was registered with two jurisdictions at the same time, because I had a work history in both. At that time I just needed to pass the ARE's - once I did, the US automatically recognized it, and once the results were transmitted to the OAA as the equivalent to Exac, they also recognized it. Essentially, instead of pursuing reciprocal licensing in one country after the other, I went through the entire licensing process in both countries at the same time.
You should focus on getting your initial license, wherever that might be. Don't base the decision on reciprocity, especially if you don't have confirmation from the licensing authority that your plan would lead to a license.The Exac and the ARE are just interchangeable as exams, they don't in themselves lead to other licenses based on what you take. Reciprical licenses just look at the reciprical nature of the license itself, not the internship hours or exams written.
ArchKid, the current configuration of the ARE (ARE 5.0) is six exam divisions. Before that, ARE 4.0, was 7 divisions. Before that, ARE 3.1, it was 9 divisions. ARE 3.1 was from 2006 to 2009. Before the ARE 3.1 was ARE 3.0. The rough coverage and issues covered are about the same... more or less. I'm guessing that Bench passed the ARE during the 3.1 time period. Maybe 3.0 but not clear on the exact number of exam divisions in the 3.0. The ARE wasn't fixed to a specific number of divisions between versions.
I did not write v3.1. The summary of past ARE configurations is not useful.
Fair point.
I'll probably add one thing in regards to the comment about the extra state exam, the extra "exam" that a state may have license candidates do is not part of the ARE itself. It's a separate requirement of licensure of a specific state.
The ARE is whatever number of divisions for the particular version as setup by NCARB. The ARE is a national architectural examination designed and administered by NCARB and proctered by their proctoring agents. The state specific exams are not part of the NCARB's ARE exams. They are entirely separate and should be thought of as a completely separate requirement of licensure in a particular state.
you can only transfer your (US) license into CANADA through certain states. For example, you can’t do it in New York.
One advantage NCARB has over most of the Canadian licensing boards such as OAA, is that you can enter your experience hours before you finish your education. So in my case, I did my undergrad in Toronto, did my Masters in the US. I finished all my experience hours for NCARB before graduating from my masters. Meanwhile I’m at 0 hours with OAA.
I know as students we can enter like 760 hours in OAA. Which is still pretty stupid. I didn’t even bother.
It's changed again, I believe students can now add hours completed pre M.arch. Pro-tip, it's the same rules in all provinces (except maybe quebec... because it's quebec)
Hi ArchKid, so you are currently working in US or Canada?
Im currently working in Canada. Looking for opportunities in the US. But obviously, if that doesn't work out, I can always stay in Canada and apply for intern architect. But its going to be a pain in the ass to redo all my hours.
Hey Non Sequitur, can you link me to where I can put in my hours before becoming intern architect? Cause I have 6 years of experience, and I'm at 0 hours.
Arch,
"Pre-graduation experience obtained while a registered student in a CACB accredited architectural degree program may be considered as IAP experience. Up to 760 hours may be eligible for acceptance for candidates who meet all other requirements of the IAP except for CACB certification of their academic credentials."
Section 2 in IAP manual. Link to OAA but it's the same (again, maybe not in Qc) everywhere else: https://www.oaa.on.ca/Assets/C...
The important thing here is that it's only 760 out of the min 3720hours... which is less than 2 years full time work if you're smart with projects. What ever they allow you to back-log will only be in the "extra" category and will not apply to any of the minimums. Still easier to navigate than NCarb for those who want to work professionally in a superior country anyways. 8-)
You dont need to redo all of your hours. You can hold intern status with NCARB and the OAA at the same time, to report hours to both. They will recognize each other's exams. The OAA hours reporting is much more onerous than the American hours reporting.
One more side note - there are very specific limits to how far back you can report hours. For the OAA i believe it is only 6 months; otherwise you need to pay additional late reporting fees. This is likely to discourage someone who has many years of experiencing from immediately registering and then back-reporting years of experience, which it sounds like you might be trying to do. NCARB only gives half-credit time for anything reported over 6 months ago.
That's why the best case scenario for me specifically is to get licensed in the US since I already finished my NCARB hours. Work there for a year, then apply to transfer my US license to Canada. A very long process with a lot of IFs. I could continue to live in Canada while I'm doing my exams, but the only issue is that Canadian firms will not reimburse you for US license. So all the fees will be coming out of my pocket.
Definitely agree with the logging hours in OAA compared to NCARB. People take 5+ years to finish all categories.
^Exam reimbursement is not a guarantee even for ExACs in the frozen tundra either. It took me under 3years-4months to fill all my canadian IAP hours and write the ExACs and that back in the old 5600hr system.
Hmm. This seems like a very roundabout approach to licensure. The OAA hours are designed to be attainable within 2 years, if you hit all of your hours correctly. The 1-year license in another country, plus the administrative timelines between the two, would probably be longer collectively than simply doing your hours and taking the exams in Canada.
Dont forget, it would likely take an absolute minimum of 6 months to finish the ARE exams. Realistically, its much more common to take 12-18 months for the exams.
RAIC Syllabus students have most of their required hours upon completion. In Alberta I need just shy of 1000 hours after graduation. In my IAP I need 9800 hours in my CERB upon completion of the program.
Hello everyone!
Do you know which state has the most convenient rules for Canadian who completed the required experience hours in Ontario and want to write their exams in US?
Why?
Yeah why? I believe their is reciprocity between the US, Canada, and Mexico.
There is reciprocity, and they even agreed to make it easier last week. Best option is to get a license in Canada first then seek reciprocity in the US. Why bother starting the headache with NCARB now?
That's a good question. Maybe the OP thinks it's easier in the US? Hint: It's not.
Very few things are easier in the USA... other than getting shot I guess. Unless you're an elk in COL. Seems that's a safe gig these days.
Around me all elk are safe during bow hunting season. :(
I blame Texas.
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