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What is the Certificate of Professional Experience?

The Certificate of Professional Experience is only used by those with substantial experience or training, in lieu of the Professional Experience and Development Record sheets. Students using the Certificate of Professional Experience will be at least 30 years of age and will have had at least 6 years' experience in an architect's office.

Advice on applying for Exemption from use of the Professional Experience and Development Record

Students with lengthy experience who have reached a degree of responsibility in their offices which gives them supervisory functions may apply to their Professional Studies Advisor for permission to use the RIBA Certificate of Professional Experience in lieu of the Professional Experience and Development Record Sheets, provided that they satisfy the following conditions:

• they are over the age of thirty;
• they have at least six years of experience in architects' offices;
• they are working at a sufficient level to be capable of taking responsibility for small jobs or of acting as a team leader in charge of a number of assistants engaged on either a large project or a series of smaller projects.

Immediately after passing Part 2 of the RIBA Examination in Architecture, or the equivalent recognised examination in a school of architecture, such students should send to their Professional Studies Adviser the following:

• a statement of the length of their experience;
• a description of the kind of work they are currently undertaking, with the character and size of projects;
• a statement from their office about their work and the level of responsibility.

Because a Certificate of Professional Experience is of limited value to the Professional Practice Examiners in assessing the quality of experience, it must be accompanied by a report (of approximately 2000 words) and supplementary evidence, giving the student's own appreciation of the value of each employment to date.

How to complete a Certificate of Professional Experience

To complete a Certificate of Professional Experience online your first step is to register. Once registered, click on ‘Your Certificates’ under the ‘Certificates of Professional Experience’ menu item. Then click on ‘New Certificate’. This will take you to the general information section of your selected sheet and the menu will expand to display links to the other sections.

The best way to complete your certificate, especially when starting a new record, is to fill in the details on each page and then click on 'Save and proceed to the next step'. This will take you through all the sections you need to complete. Most sections can be left blank and you can return to them at any time using the menu options on the left.

Viewing and printing draft copies of your record

Partial or completed record sheets can be viewed by clicking on the 'View Record' menu item. Draft copies can be viewed and printed at any time. They will appear in a pop-up window in the printer friendly format. Use the print button on your web browser to print the record.

Submitting a Certificate of Professional Experience

The Certificate of Professional Experience must be signed by an employer (a principle in private practice or the chief architect in a public commercial or industrial practice) to confirm the candidate has undertaken the activities recorded overleaf whilst in their employment. A letter of support from the employer to accompany the Certificate would also assist the Examiners.

A separate Certificate must be submitted in respect of each employment in which the candidate has obtained professional experience.

Before completing the Certificate of Professional Experience the candidate should read the accompanying Advice Note on the Regulations regarding their use.