ABOUT GBCI

The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) is a third-party organization that provides independent
oversight of professional credentialing and project certification programs related to green building. GBCI
is committed to ensuring precision in the design, development, and implementation of measurement
processes for green building performance (through project certification) and green building practice
(through professional credentials and certificates).

LEED is an internationally recognized green

building program.
It provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying
and implementing practical
and measurable green building design, construction, operations and
maintenance solutions.

Why LEED?
LEED-certified buildings are designed to:

Lower operating costs and increase asset value

Reduce waste sent to landfills

Conserve energy and water

Be healthier and safer for occupants

Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions

Qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances and other incentives in hundreds of cities

LEED Green Building Rating Systems

Rating systems are groups of requirements for projects that want to
achieve LEED certification. Each group is geared towards the unique
needs of a project or building type.
LEED is flexible enough to apply to all project types including healthcare facilities, schools,
homes and even entire neighborhoods. The Rating System Selection Guidance will help
you determine which specific rating system is right for your project.

Projects earn points to satisfy green building requirements

Within each of the LEED credit categories, projects must satisfy prerequisites and earn
points. The number of points the project earns determines its level of LEED certification.

Main credit categories - 100points possible (+10 bonus)

Sustainable sites credit < 15-21 points > encourage strategies that minimize the impact on ecosystems
and water resources.
Water efficiency credits < 8-11 points > promote smarter use of water, inside and out, to reduce potable
water consumption.
Energy & atmosphere credits < 23-37 points > promote better building energy performance through
innovative strategies.
Materials & resources credits < 3-14 points > encourage using sustainable building materials and
reducing waste.
Indoor environmental quality credits < 9-17 points > promote better indoor air quality and access to
daylight and views.

Two bonus credit categories < +4 points >

Innovation in design or innovation in operations credits address sustainable building expertise as

well as design measures not covered under the five LEED credit categories. Six bonus points are
available in this category.
Regional priority credits address regional environmental priorities for buildings in different geographic
regions. Four bonus points are available in this category.

Define yourself as a LEED Green Associate

The LEED Green Associate credential demonstrates a solid and current foundation in green
building principles and practices. From marketers to lawyers, landscape architects to
education professionals, and product manufacturers to policymakers, LEED Green
Associates enjoy a broad understanding of sustainability that bolsters their careers and
enhances their lives.
LEED Green Associates earn their credential by passing a two-hour, computer-based exam
comprising 100 randomly delivered multiple-choice questions.

LEED Green Associate

The LEED Green Associate credential denotes basic knowledge of green design,
construction and operations. Professions that may be interested in the LEED Green
Associate include real estate, law, planning, manufacturing, marketing, leasing, sales,
education and those new to green building. Access the candidate handbook for exam
policies and procedures.
All LEED Green Associates are required to maintain their credential through continuing
education.

LEED professional credentials

Distinguish your expertise
If you are looking to show that you have the key technical knowledge, experience and
credibility in the exploding green building marketplace, a LEED Professional Credential is
your pathway to success.
A LEED Professional Credential signifies that you are a leader in the field and an active
participant in the green building movement who contributes expertise to the design,
construction, operations and maintenance of buildings and neighborhoods that save energy,
use fewer resources, reduce pollution, and contribute to healthier environments for their
occupants and the community.
With new jobs specifying the need for expertise in LEED, the LEED Professional Credential
helps you stand out by increasing your opportunity for employment, job stability and
promotion, while underscoring your value to LEED project teams and sustainability-focused
organizations.

LEED professional credentials

LEED Green Associates

LEED AP with specialty

Distinguish yourself as a LEED AP with specialty

The LEED AP credential affirms your advanced knowledge in green building as well as
expertise in a particular LEED rating system.
All LEED AP with specialty credential holders are required to maintain their
credential through continuing education.

Which LEED specialty is right for me?

LEED AP Building Design + Construction (LEED AP BD+C)

The LEED AP BD+C credential suits professionals with expertise in the design and
construction phases of green buildings serving the commercial, residential, education and
healthcare sectors. The specialty denotes practical knowledge in the LEED for New
Construction, LEED for Schools and LEED for Core and Shell rating systems. Access
thecandidate handbook for exam policies and procedures.

LEED AP Operations + Maintenance (LEED AP O+M)

The LEED AP O+M credential distinguishes professionals implementing sustainable

practices, improving performance, heightening efficiency and reducing environmental
impact in existing buildings through enhanced operations and maintenance. The specialty
denotes practical knowledge in the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and
Maintenance rating system. Access the candidate handbook for exam policies and
procedures.

LEED AP Interior Design + Construction (LEED AP ID+C)

The LEED AP ID+C credential serves participants in the design, construction and
improvement of commercial interiors and tenant spaces that offer a healthy, sustainable and
productive work environment. The specialty denotes practical knowledge in the LEED for
Commercial Interiors rating system. Access the candidate handbook for exam policies and
procedures.

LEED AP Homes

The LEED AP Homes credential is suited for those involved in the design and construction
of healthy, durable homes that use fewer resources and produce less waste. The specialty
denotes practical knowledge in the LEED for Homes rating system. Access the candidate
handbook for exam policies and procedures.

LEED AP Neighborhood Development (LEED AP ND)

The LEED ND credential applies to individuals participating in the planning, design and
development of sustainable, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. The specialty denotes
practical knowledge in the LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system. Access
the candidate handbook for exam policies and procedures.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
All candidates for a LEED Professional Exam must meet the experience requirements listed for their
credential and must submit the appropriate eligibility documentation. In addition, candidates must agree
to the disciplinary policy and credential maintenance requirements of their credential track.

LEED Green Associate

LEED AP

Earning your LEED Green Associate

The LEED Green Associate exam measures your ability to understand and support green
design, construction and operations.

Exam Format

Two hour computer-based test

100 randomly delivered multiple-choice questions

Your score will be available immediately at the end of the exam, and you will receive a printed score
report.

A passing score is 170 or higher on a scale of 125 to 200.

Fees

Application: $50

Full exam: $150 ($200 for non-members)

Maintenance: $50 every two years

Schedule

Once you receive your eligibility ID, schedule your exam through Prometric within a year of application.

There is a $50 cancellation or rescheduling fee within 30 days of your appointment.

Maintenance

15 continuing education hours every two years

Earning your LEED AP with specialty

The LEED AP exam measures your ability to understand and support green design,
construction and operations. In addition, the exam also assesses your understanding of the
LEED rating system and your ability to facilitate the certification process.

Exam Format

Four hour, two-part computer-based test

Part one consists of 100 randomly delivered multiple-choice questions and must be completed within the
first two hours of your exam appointment.

Part two is comprised of 100 randomly delivered multiple-choice questions and must be completed in the
second two hours of your exam appointment.

The exam session should take approximately 4.5 hours total, or 2.5 hours for LEED Professionals.

Your score will be available immediately at the end of the exam and you will receive a printed score
report.

A passing score is 170 or higher on a scale of 125 to 200.

Eligibility requirements

You are eligible for the LEED AP with specialty credential if you have experience working on a LEEDregistered project within the past three years.

Fees

Application: $100

Full exam: $300 ($450 for non-members)

Specialty only (for LEED Green Associates): $150 ($250 for non-members)

Maintenance: $50 every two years

Schedule

Once you receive your eligibility ID, schedule your exam through Prometric within a year of application.

There is a $50 cancellation or rescheduling fee within 30 days of your appointment.

Maintenance

30 continuing education hours every two years

AFTER THE EXAM

Your results will be posted to My Credentials no later than 72 hours after your exam appointment.
Select below for more information:
Passing the exam
Designating credentials & certificates
Failing and retaking the exam

PASSING
If you receive a score of 170 or higher on all required sections of your exam (one part for the
LEED Green Associate and both parts for the LEED AP exam), you will be notified that you have
successfully earned your LEED credential. Upon receipt of that notification, you are authorized to use
the credential title and logo in accordance with the GBCI logo guidelines.
If you elect to be displayed in the LEED Professional Directory, your listing will be posted when your
results are imported into My Credentials.

Certificates
If you are successful in earning a LEED Professional Credential, you are eligible to receive a certificate
for your achievement. Once your exam results have been processed in your My Credentials account, you
will receive an email notifying you that you can now request your certificate. Certificates are available in
two forms: softcopy (PDF) and a hardcopy. You can view and download the softcopy at any time for free.
You can request one free hardcopy each reporting period. Each additional copy costs $25.
In the event that a certificate arrives damaged or does not arrive at all, the certificate will be replaced free
of charge. These requests should be made in writing to GBCI credentialing staff
at www.gbci.org/contact > Certificate Status or Replacement Requests.

DESIGNATING CREDENTIALS & CERTIFICATES

LEED Green Associates
LEED Green Associates should designate their credential by using the LEED Green Associate or LEED
Green Assoc. titles and the LEED Green Associate logo in accordance with the GBCI logo guidelines.
(Please note that LEED GA is not an approved abbreviation for the LEED Green Associate credential,
and should not be used under any circumstances.)

LEED APs with specialty

LEED APs with specialty should designate their credential by using the LEED AP title followed by your
specialty(ies) or specialty abbreviation(s) and the applicable LEED AP logo in accordance with the GBCI
logo guidelines. All specialty abbreviations should use a +; for example, LEED AP BD+C is correct, LEED
AP BD&C is not. (Please note LEED AP H is not an approved abbreviation for the LEED AP Homes
credential, and should not be used under any circumstances.)

While LEED is a registered trademark, USGBC and GBCI do not require LEED Professionals to use the
or TM symbols in email signatures or on business cards. All other instances should be noted as

LEED ...

Credential Maintenance
LEED Green Associates must earn 15 CE hours biennially (3 of which must be LEED-specific hours).
LEED APs must earn 30 CE hours biennially (6 of which must be LEED-specific hours). Learn more about
CMP

FAILING and Retaking the Exam

If you receive a score of 169 or lower on any of the sections of your exam, you will be denied the
credential. You will receive a copy of your exam results from Prometric, which will indicate your
performance on each section.

Retaking
If you fail to meet the minimum score requirements of one of the LEED Professional Exams, you may
retake the exam by registering again (as long as your application is active) in accordance with the
following policy:
Candidates are allotted three registrations per exam section per one year application period. This
means that you have three chances to meet the minimum competency score of 170 for any given LEED
Professional Credential exam section while your application is live.
For the LEED Green Associate credential, this translates into three attempts at the exam during the one
year application period.
For a LEED AP credential, you are allowed three attempts per section during the one year application
period. Both sections are delivered concurrently unless you previously passed one of the sections during
the current application period. In this case, you will only be tested on the section you have not passed.
Once you have passed a section of a LEED AP with Specialty exam, that section will no longer be
available to you during your application period. Candidates must pass both sections of a LEED AP with
specialty exam to earn the credential.
Please note that there is no discount on a retake; candidates are responsible for the full exam fee for the
sections(s) that they retake.

Stakeholders and Value

What are the eligibility requirements to take the LEED Green

Associate exam?
In order to take the LEED Green Associate exam, you will have to meet an eligibility
requirement.
You have to fulfill at least one of the following:
You must have previous experience supporting a LEED-registered project
You must have experience working in a sustainable field of work
You must have attended an education program that addresses green building principles.
Your experience must be documented in the form of a letter from a supervisor, client, project manager, or
teacher, and describe your involvement. A completion certification from an educational program, or an
official transcript will suffice. This information is uploaded during your application process for the exam.

Lets go through each of these eligibility requirements one-by-one:

You must have previous experience supporting a LEED-registered project
This is self-explanatory. If youve worked on a LEED registered project in any way, shape or form then
you qualify for the LEED Green Associate exam. Again, youll need documentation (as described above)
to prove this.

You must have experience working in a sustainable field of work

I believe all they are looking for is for you to explain how you and your company or profession has
anything to do with sustainability, environmentalism, or the green building industry. Of course, if youre an
architect or engineer, then you should be able to meet this requirement very easily. If you work for a
product manufacturer (i.e. a carpet manufacturer), then youll have a little bit of explaining to do as to
how you and your company relate to the green building industry.

You must have attended an education program that addresses green building principles

What are the eligibility requirements to take a LEED AP specialty

exam?
In order to take a LEED specialty exam (BD+C, ID+C, O&M, Homes or ND), you will have to meet an
important eligibility requirement:
You MUST have previous experience with a LEED registered project within three years of your
application submittal date.
This must be documented in the form of a letter from a supervisor, client, or project manager, etc. and
must describe your involvement on the LEED project.

What can I do if Im not eligible to take a LEED specialty exam?

If you are not eligible for a LEED specialty exam, your best bet is to take the LEED Green Associate
exam first, since you will have to take that portion of the exam anyways (its the 1st part of the 2 part
specialty exam). From there, I would try and get onto a LEED registered project.
Im going to ask the USGBC if there are other ways to become eligible for the exam, but as far as I know
you need that experience on a registered project in order to take the exam.

What EXACTLY is the Credential Maintenance Program for

LEED?
The CMP is a way to keep you updated on the latest changes to LEED every 2 years. It consists of
continuing education credits, and a fee.

If you go for the LEED Green Associate exam, youll be required to pay a maintenance fee of $50 every
two years. You will also be required to do 15 hours of continuing education every two years, with 3 hours
obtained from an approved program specific to LEED updates.

If youre attempting the LEED AP Specialty Exam, youll be required to pay a maintenance fee of $50
every two years. You will also be required to do 30 hours of continuing education every two years, with 6
hours obtained from an approved program specific to LEED updates.

If you have Multiple LEED Specialties, for example you are a LEED O+M and ID+C, you will be required
to pay the $50 maintenance fee every two years, plus the same hourly requirements as above for the
LEED AP Specialty (30 hours, 6 LEED-specific) + 6 LEED-specific hours for each Specialty you have
after the first one. So if you are a LEED O+M & ID+C, you will be required 36 hours, 12 of which are
LEED-Specific.

If youre already a LEED AP from a previous version of the LEED exam (NCv2.2, CIv2.0, etc.), you will be
required to pay a $50.00 maintenance fee every two years. However, you dont have to start paying until
June 2011. So essentially, your first round of CMP is free. Along with the fee, youll be required to do 30
hours of continuing education every two years, with 6 hours obtained from an approved program specific
to the LEED Rating System, credit categories and LEED updates.

You will be able to report these hours online (at www.gbri.org > My Credentials) starting in November of
2009 and its strictly based on the honor system. However, an unknown certain percentage of LEED
professionals will be audited, so its vital that you remain truthful and honest and have the paperwork to
back up the hours you input.

So what counts for Continuing Education (CE) hours?

There are a variety of activities that you can take to earn your hours (which again you must report every
two years). They include:
Live Presentations
Self-Study Programs
College and University Courses
Certificates, Professional Licenses and Credentials
Committee and Volunteer Work
Authorship
and LEED project participation
Please note that the GBCI will not award CE hours for activities intended as preparation for any exam!
Now, there are specific requirements regarding each of these activities, which is already neatly outlined
for you in The Credentialing Maintenance Program Guide, which can be found on the CMP portion of the
GBCI website here.

What are the eligibility requirements to take a LEED AP specialty

exam?
In order to take a LEED specialty exam (BD+C, ID+C, O&M, Homes or ND), you will have to meet an
important eligibility requirement:
You MUST have previous experience with a LEED registered project within three years of your
application submittal date.
This must be documented in the form of a letter from a supervisor, client, or project manager, etc. and
must describe your involvement on the LEED project.