LEED Professional Credentials
For questions about the new LEED exams, qualifications, or credentials, please contact www.gbci.org/ContactUs
Click here for USGBC’s LEED Professional Credential Preparation Resources!
Click here for information and options for Existing LEED APs!
About LEED Professional Credentials
The LEED AP program has always been grounded in the pursuit of excellence and continuous improvement. To continue to meet these goals, GBCI developed a new, multi-faceted credentialing system that ensures that LEED professionals have the latest knowledge and understanding of green building practices and that they are recognized for distinction.
The new LEED professional credentialing program was developed to encourage green building professionals to maintain and advance their knowledge and expertise.
A LEED credential provides employers, policymakers, and other stakeholders with assurances of an individual’s current level of competence and is the mark of the most qualified, educated, and influential green building professionals in the marketplace.
These goals had to be balanced with three market challenges:
* Staying current: Technology, best practices, and the LEED rating systems evolve rapidly.
* Differentiation: A credentialing system that provides for multiple levels of accomplishment and expertise is needed to distinguish among green building professionals with basic, advanced, and extraordinary levels of knowledge.
* Specialization: Many green building professionals develop expertise in specific sub-sectors of the industry.
Three fundamental changes to the LEED credentialing program are being phased in throughout 2009:
* Three levels of excellence that distinguish practitioners with basic, advanced, and extraordinary levels of knowledge.
* Eligibility requirements for all levels of the exam system.
* Credentialing maintenance requirements that ensure that LEED professionals have the latest knowledge and understanding of green building practices.
Learn more about the new exams and eligibility here.
Credential Maintenance
Recently the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) developed the Crediting Maintenance Program (CMP) for those considered LEED APs, but do not have a specialty. A LEED AP without a specialty refers to those who passed the New Construction, Commercial Interiors, or Existing Buildings exam tracks prior to June 30, 2009. As a result of this recent development, two options exist to become a LEED AP with a specialty, of which must be completed within an enrollment window of a 2-year period.
Option 1: Pass a Specialty Exam
LEED specialty examinations are designated as Operations + Maintenance (O+M), Homes, Building Design + Construction (BD+C), Interior Design + Construction (ID+C), and Neighborhood Development (ND). After passing the applicable exam, LEED APs must complete 30 Continuing Education (CE) hours of CMP for their specialty.
Option 2: Complete Prescriptive CMP Requirements
The Prescriptive CMP Requirements mean participating in 30 CE hours where 6 of the CE hours are LEED specific. CE hours involve crediting maintenance for general green building activities while LEED specific hours are particular to LEED Rating systems. Refer to the CMP Enrollment Guide (for LEED APs without specialty) for more information.
Refer to the Credentialing Maintenance Guides for more information regarding the Specialty Exam and CMP Requirements.
It is not required to complete one of the above specialty options to maintain the title of a LEED AP. However, if a LEED AP without a specialty chooses to enroll for a specialty after the 2-year period, individuals must complete the new LEED AP exam track.
The new LEED AP exam track was established for those who have not yet earned their accreditation and has two parts. The first part is an exam to become a LEED Green Associate, which denotes basic knowledge of green design, construction, and operations. The second part is an additional exam to become a LEED AP with a specialty either in O+M, Homes, BD+C, ID+C, or ND to prove advanced knowledge in sustainable practices. However, passing these exams alone does not guarantee accreditation. It is now required that candidates have experience in LEED-registered projects or be employed in the sustainable design industry to qualify for the exams.
For more information regarding the LEED accreditation process, please refer to the the GBCI website.
