How to Become an Architect in Ohio

Licenses covered

• Architect
• Landscape Architect

Architects Board by the numbers

These figures are ours, not the board's — we computed them from the full State of Ohio licence file so you can see this board in context rather than one record at a time. Data as of September 2026.

Only 34.7% of the 22,021 licences this board has on record are currently active — the other 65.3% belong to people who retired, moved, changed careers, or simply let a credential lapse. That gap is the single best reason to verify a licence rather than assume a name in a database means somebody may practise today.

Most common licence types

When a licence from this board is not active, the most common reason recorded is deceased (2,849 records), followed by expired (2,219). Our status dictionary explains what each label actually means.

1.33% of this board's licences carry a recorded board action (292 of 22,021), against about 1.6% across all Ohio professions. A board action covers everything from an administrative consent agreement to revocation, and it is cumulative over a licence's whole life — see how we measured that before reading much into it.

Computed by OhioLicenseCheck from the State of Ohio eLicense dataset (issued licences only; application records excluded). Refreshed daily.

Why choose this path

• Licensed authority: your seal is what makes building plans legally buildable
• UC’s co-op program lets you graduate with ~1.5 years of paid experience already logged
• Firm ownership and solo practice are established Ohio career endgames
• Design skills increasingly cross into development, construction tech, and preservation
• Landscape architecture offers a parallel license with an environmental focus

Path to the license

1. 1

   Earn a NAAB-accredited degree

   Either a five-year B.Arch or a bachelor’s plus M.Arch. Accreditation is non-negotiable for licensure.

2. 2

   Log AXP experience hours

   The Architectural Experience Program (~3,740 documented hours across practice areas) runs concurrently with early employment — start recording from your first job or co-op.

3. 3

   Pass the ARE 5.0

   Six exam divisions covering practice management through construction evaluation. Most candidates spread them over one to two years.

4. 4

   Apply to the Ohio Architects Board

   With degree, AXP, and ARE complete, Ohio issues the license; firms also carry a certificate of authorization. NCARB certification later makes multi-state practice easy.

Pay and outlook

BLS puts the national architect median in the low-$90,000s; Ohio salaries typically run $70,000–110,000 from early licensure through senior roles, with principals and firm owners above that. Landscape architects track somewhat lower nationally (high-$70,000s median) with strong public-sector demand.

Ohio’s steady institutional and healthcare construction pipeline keeps regional firms hiring.

Where Ohioans train

Schools listed are well-known examples, not endorsements — always compare accreditation, cost, and outcomes.

Official links & resources

• Ohio Architects Board
• NCARB (AXP + ARE)
• BLS Outlook: Architects