On January 1, architectural licensing authorities in U.S., Australia, and New Zealand entered into a Mutual Recognition Arrangement that enables American architects to earn reciprocal licenses abroad.
Twenty-nine of the 54 licensing boards in the U.S. have accepted this arrangement. These include boards in Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North and South Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico.
The Washington, D.C.-based National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) spearheaded this arrangement, which required over two years of research and negotiation with the other signatories, the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia and the New Zealand Registered Architects Board. Architects must hold a current NCARB Certificate to be eligible for reciprocity. NCARB has a similar arrangement with Canada.
U.S. and foreign architects who want to earn a license in Australia or New Zealand under this agreement must be present proof of citizenship or permanent residence in their home country, as well as an active license to practice architecture from a U.S. jurisdiction. (That license cannot be gained through foreign reciprocity.)
Prospective licensees must also have at least 6,000 hours (the equivalent of about three years) of post-licensure experience in their home countries.
Related Stories
| Jan 3, 2012
28th Annual Reconstruction Awards: Bringing Hope to Cancer Patients
A gothic-style structure is reconstructed into comfortable, modern patient residence facility for the American Cancer Society.
| Jan 3, 2012
Art Gensler: Still Making a Difference for Clients Every Day
After running what is today the largest architecture firm in the world for more than four decades, M. Arthur Gensler, Jr., FAIA, FIIDA, RIBA, is content to be just another employee at the firm that bears his name.
| Jan 3, 2012
Gensler: 'The One Firm Firm'
The giant architecture firm succeeds by giving each of its more than 3,000 employees the opportunity for career growth and professional leadership.
| Jan 3, 2012
Rental Renaissance, The Rebirth of the Apartment Market
Across much of the U.S., apartment rents are rising, vacancy rates are falling. In just about every major urban area, new multifamily rental projects and major renovations are coming online. It may be too soon to pronounce the rental market fully recovered, but the trend is promising.
| Dec 29, 2011
OSHA enforcing new fall hazard standards
OSHA is enforcing its new fall protection standards, as evidenced by a recent crackdown in New York.
| Dec 29, 2011
Decision not to fireproof the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub criticized
Some criticized the decision, reasoning that the structure could be a terrorist target.
| Dec 29, 2011
Seismic safety in question at thousands of California public schools
California regulators responsible for enforcing earthquake safety laws have failed to certify more than 16,000 construction projects in California public schools, increasing the risk that some projects may be unsafe, according to a state audit report.
| Dec 29, 2011
GreenWizard offers cloud-based LEED credit management, assessment
The company recently began offering companies the ability to run assessments for design credits, in addition to traditional product-specific LEED credits.
| Dec 27, 2011
Clayco awarded expansion of Washington University Data Center in St. Louis
Once completed, the new building addition will double the size of the data center which houses sophisticated computer networks that store massive amounts of genomic data used to identify the genetic origins of cancer and other diseases.
| Dec 27, 2011
Ground broken for adaptive reuse project
Located on the Garden State Parkway, the master-planned project initially includes the conversion of a 114-year-old, 365,000-square-foot, six-story warehouse building into 361 loft-style apartments, and the creation of a three-level parking facility.