How to become a LEED Professional

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

The LEED rating system is well known and used in many construction projects worldwide. Having LEED certification demonstrates your understanding of the LEED rating system and opens doors to opportunities both in your home country and abroad as it is globally recognized.

The LEED Professional certification is governed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), with exams administered by GBCI. To become a LEED professional, two levels of assessment must be taken and passed. I.e, LEED Green Associate and LEED Accredited Professional (LEED GA & AP). This article will guide you through how you can become a LEED Professional.

The route at a glance

1.Prepare. Training is optional but strongly recommended. It is also where your continuing education hours start accumulating.

2.Pass the LEED Green Associate exam. No prerequisites — anyone can register.

3.Pass a LEED AP with specialty exam. Requires an active LEED Green Associate credential, unless you take the combined exam covering both.

4.Maintain the credential. Report continuing education hours every two years.

LEED Professional

To become a LEED Professional, you must take these simple steps that will have a great impact on enabling your certification and improving your career. First, enroll in the LEED training program, complete the training to garner all the information and experience needed to pass the LEED Professional examination, write the LEED professional examination, and attain a certificate of completion.

Attending the LEED professional training program

You get great advantages by attending the LEED professional training program. This will help you better understand the concept of the LEED rating system, and better prepare for the examination. 3FOLD TRAINING offers the LEED GA and AP BD+C combo course to enable aspirants to achieve their goal of becoming LEED certified. The course is delivered online and conveniently scheduled to accommodate working professionals. Once you complete the training you receive a certificate of attendance. To be clear about how this works: GBCI does not require training before you sit a LEED exam — anyone can register. Training exists to improve your chances of passing first time, and your certificate of attendance also counts towards continuing education hours later. The exams open to you are:

1.LEED Green Associate Examination

2.LEED Accredited Professional (BD+C)

3.LEED Combo (combined examination LEED GA & LEED AP)

Note: To give LEED AP examination you must be LEED GA certified and also the certificate must be valid. The one exception is the combined exam, where the LEED GA prerequisite is waived because you sit both parts together.

Before you register: check the LEED version and format

The LEED Green Associate exam is based on LEED v5. The LEED AP BD+C, O+M and ID+C exams are transitioning to v5, while LEED AP Homes and LEED AP ND remain based on LEED v4. Available exam formats can change during a transition — including whether the combined exam is offered for a given specialty — so confirm the current position in the USGBC LEED Candidate Handbooks before you pay. Our LEED v5 guide for GA and AP candidates explains what the change means for study.

What the exams cost

Exam fees are set by USGBC, differ between the LEED Green Associate, LEED AP and combined exams, and are reduced for USGBC members. They are reviewed from time to time. Always check the current fee on the USGBC website before you register. Training fees are separate and are shown on our course pages.

Exam registration process to become LEED Professional

1.Log in to your USGBC account by visiting USGBC.ORG. If you don’t have one yet, you can make one right away. Under the Credential Menu, choose your preferred exam.

2.Click on the register menu, and you will be taken to the exam registration page.

3.Make sure you fill in all the required information and pay the exam registration fee.

4.After the payment, you will find an option to schedule your exam on the payment summary page. You will have two options:  Choose a testing center or Take the exam remotely (online from home). For the purpose of this article, we will choose to take the exam at the testing center.  

• • Choose a testing center or
  • Take the exam remotely (online from home). For the purpose of this article, we will choose to take the exam at the testing center.

5.Visit prometric.com/gbci to schedule your exam.

6.Now, click on the schedule option below the “Test Center Exam” and make sure to read all the instructions and tick the box that indicates that you gave your consent. It will redirect you to the Eligibility Information page.

7.Fill in the eligibility information and click on submit. The next step is to choose the location tab under “Test Center Exam” and select the appropriate program and test.

8.You will need to put the start date and end date within a two weeks time frame and click on “find available times”. A page will pop up with an available date and time for that particular 2 weeks. Choose a date and click on the arrow mark to continue to the next page.

9.On this profile page, you need to fill in or check the existing personnel information. Once the information is filled, move on to the next page to verify the details. Once it is verified, click on submit to finish the exam registration process. After the confirmation, you will have a copy of an appointment summary.

Note: Once the payment is completed, you will receive a receipt of payment and an email with the eligibility ID. Your eligibility ID has a validity window, stated in that email — that is the period within which you must schedule and sit the exam.

Test centre or remote?

Both LEED exams can be taken at a Prometric test centre or remotely through the ProProctor application. The combined LEED GA and LEED AP exam is taken at a test centre, in a single longer appointment covering both parts. If you pass only one half of the combined exam you can retake just that part, and passing the Green Associate section grants you that credential.

What if you don’t pass?

There is no cap on the number of attempts, but after three unsuccessful attempts within a twelve-month period you must wait 90 calendar days before registering again. Each attempt requires the exam registration fee to be paid again — there is no discounted retake rate. Rescheduling an appointment is free if you do it well in advance, and attracts a fee closer to the exam date. The current thresholds are in the candidate handbook for your exam.

Keeping the credential you just earned

LEED credentials run on a two-year cycle. LEED Green Associates report 15 continuing education hours per cycle, three of them LEED-specific. LEED APs report 30 hours, six of them LEED-specific in their specialty. Renewal fees apply and vary depending on whether you renew early, on time or late; USGBC publishes the current amounts. There is a grace period after your renewal date, but once a credential expires it must be re-earned by re-taking the exam. If you hold more than one LEED AP specialty, renewal is charged once rather than per credential.

Why choose 3FOLD for your LEED GA/AP Training?

It takes commitment and dedication to become a LEED Professional. One of the ways of ensuring you pass the LEED professional examination is by enrolling in a training program. 3FOLD TRAINING has been preparing professionals for certification exams since 2008, with more than 30,000 candidates trained across over 100 countries. We deliver LEED Green Associate training and LEED AP BD+C training, the specialty most relevant to design and construction professionals.

For additional information on how you can become a LEED Professional or on our LEED Professional Training, please contact us via the enquiry form, WhatsApp, or email. Our Product Manager will contact you with further details.