The path for foreign architects seeking licensure in the US just got a lot more familiar. NCARB has decided to discontinue the Broadly Experienced Foreign Architect (BEFA) Program, its previous credentials for architects already licensed in another country to gain US licensure, and stripped it down to two major requirements: completion of IDP and ARE.

This essentially treats foreign architects more like architects in the US, removing the previous BEFA requirement that foreign architects have practiced (with a license) for at least seven years before being eligible to get a US license. BEFA requirements will persist until July 1, 2016, at which point the new requirements go into effect.

Read NCARB's press release announcing the change here. A run-down of the soon-to-be-defunct BEFA requirements are outlined below, paraphrased from NCARB:

• Graduate with a professional degree in architecture from an accredited/validated/officially recognized architecture program
• Be currently credentialed as an architect in a country other than the United States and Canada (NCARB provides certification for architects registered in Canada), that has a formal record keeping method for disciplinary actions for architects
• Have completed a minimum of seven years of comprehensive, unlimited practice as a credentialed architect
• Complete IDP
• Pass the ARE
• Register to practice with an NCARB Member Board

For more on NCARB, BEFA, and licensing in general:

• IDP Change: Effective July 1, 2015
• NCARB will phase out the "intern" title
• NCARB announces reciprocity program across the US, Canada and Mexico
• NCARB announces major changes to IDP program
• NCARB announces it will create program for architecture students to graduate with licensure