to facilitate the registration reciprocity process...in other words, if you ever want to practice architecture in another state, being NCARB certified would facilitate / expedite the process;

See question #18 here:
http://www.ncarb.org/stateboards/MBRfaqrecip.asp


NCARB is required for reciprocity in many states. Many other states have alternate ways to apply for reciprocity, but in some of them it is a longer, more complicated process (sometimes requiring in-person interviews and a portfolio review, for example).

There are two other much less commonly encountered reasons to get certified:
1. Some employers prefer or require it. This is more often the case in a larger firm, especially one with offices or projects in multiple states.
2. Clients are occasionally interested in this credential - though it's a rare one that's aware of it at all. NCARB touts the certificate as a way of knowing that your architect meets "the most rigorous standards" - i.e. if he's certified then you know he has completed IDP and has a professional degree. (Since about 20 states still allow initial licensing without a professional degree, and lots of older architects out there never did IDP, then if you're a client who cares about this stuff you might potentially look up your architect on NCARB's site.)


As for the negatives:
The biggest is the cost. If you did IDP and you're paid up to current on your annual maintenance fees, then there's no additional application fee for certification, and your first 3 years of dues are $95 per year. But after that they're $190 per year, forever (and realistically they're a lot more, because the rates rise nearly every year.)
Once you're certified, if you let your fees lapse at any point and you later want to transmit your record to another state then you will owe the back years of dues AND a reactivation fee of several hundred dollars (and it also costs $300 for the "transmittal fee" each time you have your record sent to a state, whether you're certified or not.)

The only other negative I can think of is that it takes a crazily long time to get certified. Even if you did everything by-the-book (got an NAAB-accredited degree, did IDP, recently passed the ARE, got registered in your state) it takes 6 to 8 months on average to approve your certification application.

That first sentence should read NCARB CERTIFICATION is required....

You do get a neato NCARB certificate you can frame and hang next to your college diploma.

They give Coffee Mugs, once you have become registered in a minimum of twenty five states and of course China. Oh Ya the Coffee Mug comes with the the Inscription "Architecture Sucks"
They do pay a flat fee to Archinect for copyright purposes...

you get a discount on overpriced CE materials too!