Architecture Continuing Education: A Guide to Requirements

Many AEC firms let their architects handle their own continuing education (CE) requirements. As the industry becomes more competitive, however, it’s important to prioritize ongoing employee training and career development.

In this blog, we’ll review everything you need to know about architecture continuing education and how it can give your organization a competitive advantage.

Key highlights:

• Architecture continuing education is ongoing training required to maintain licensure and uphold professional standards.
• Most U.S. states and Canadian provinces mandate specific CEU/PDH hours per renewal cycle, often focused on health, safety, and welfare.
• Tracking and reporting CE credits is essential to stay compliant and avoid audits, which can delay license renewal.
• Vector Solutions simplifies compliance with accredited CEU courses and an LMS that automates reporting, saving firms time and resources.

What Is Continuing Education for Architects?

Continuing education for architects is the ongoing learning that helps licensed professionals maintain their credentials and advance their expertise. Within the AEC continuing education sector, this type of training helps architects stay compliant with licensing requirements while simultaneously growing in their careers.

Implementing AEC continuing education can benefit your organization in several areas, including:

• Compliance: Meeting licensing renewal requirements and maintaining good standing with state and professional boards.
• Public Safety: Keeping teams updated on changing building codes, sustainability initiatives, and safety regulations.
• Professional Growth: Expanding employee expertise in areas like digital modeling and project management.
• Career Credibility: Strengthening your organization’s reputation and competitive edge in the market.

Understanding AEC Continuing Education Requirements

Architects must complete ongoing continuing education to maintain their licenses. This training helps architects stay current with the latest advancements in the field, in addition to newly developed safety and sustainability regulations.

The specific AEC continuing education requirements can differ between jurisdictions and architectural licensing boards. Architects are usually required to earn a certain number of continuing education units (CEUs)/ learning units (LUs) or professional development hours (PDHs) over a specific renewal period, which is often measured in years.

CEUs or PDHs can be fulfilled by engaging in educational activities such as workshops, conferences, or online courses.

As part of the license renewal process, architects must keep detailed records of their continuing education activities and submit them to a licensing board. Failing to do so may result in the suspension or non-renewal of an architect’s license. Since one in five architects gets audited every year, as reported in a Vector whitepaper, it’s important to keep up with CEUs and maintain compliance.

Architect CE Requirements: A Regional Breakdown

As previously mentioned, each U.S. state and Canadian Province has different requirements for architect continuing education. These requirements can vary based on multiple facts, including:

• Number of hours required
• How often CEUs must be completed
• When CEUS are due

Therefore, it’s critical that your organization and its architects understand what must be completed each year to avoid penalties.

State Requirements (U.S.) 

Each U.S. state has its own continuing education requirements that licensed architects must meet to maintain their credentials.

The table below outlines the number of hours, renewal cycles, and deadlines for each state, so firms can easily track what their architects need to stay compliant and avoid penalties.

 Province Requirements (Canada) 

Just like in the U.S., each Canadian province establishes its own continuing education standards for architects.

This table summarizes the required hours, renewal cycles, and deadlines across provinces to help firms manage compliance for their Canadian-licensed professionals.

Meeting AEC Certification Standards

In addition to state and provincial continuing education requirements, many architects also pursue professional certifications. Certification training helps architects strengthen their skill areas, stand out in competitive markets, and qualify for specialized project roles.

There are many different certifications, but a few main ones include:

Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI): LEED Accredited Professional and LEED Green Associate

• American Council for Accredited Certification – ACAC
• EnviroCert International Certifications
• Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP)
• National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) — Certified Green Professional (CGP)
• Building Performance Institute (BPI)

All these institutions have their own continuing education requirements, as well. While there can be overlap in training requirements (check out our license requirements tool), each of these certifications may specify that architecture continuing education courses must cover specific topics.

For example, the LEED certifications focus on sustainability. For general CE hours, architects must complete courses on these topics:

• Green Building
• Health
• Wellness
• Resiliency
• Net Zero
• Decarbonization
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
• Social Equity
• The Circular Economy

For more specific LEED credentials (e.g., LEED AP BD+C), your architects’ studies should focus on water efficiency, indoor water use reduction, and optimizing energy performance.

How to Report Continuing Education Units for Architects

Tracking and submitting continuing education units for architects can be a time-consuming process, especially if your organization is managing multiple licensed professionals across different states or provinces. Each step requires attention to detail and consistent recordkeeping. Without a centralized system, it’s easy to forget certain deadlines, which can lead to compliance risks and renewal delays.

Partnering with a continuing education provider like Vector Solutions enables AEC firms to simplify and strengthen their professional development and license compliance programs. Through a robust Learning Management System (LMS), organizations can centralize and automate continuing education by assigning relevant architecture and engineering courses, tracking completions, managing license renewals, and maintaining a centralized record of employee course completions. In addition, firms provide their licensed professionals access to accredited courses tailored to their specific license and continuing education requirements, providing a method of completing the license-aligned continuing education to stay compliant and current. This approach reduces administrative burden, minimizes compliance risk, and supports a culture of ongoing professional growth across the firm.

In the following section, we’ll outline the key steps your organization must take to properly document and report architects’ continuing education.

Complete Approved Continuing Education Courses

The first step is checking that all completed courses are approved by the appropriate licensing board or professional organization, such as the AIA or other state licensing boards. Not all training options meet official standards, so it’s important to verify that the provider is accredited before registering.

Here’s what architects in your firm should do:

• Look for courses specifically labeled as AIA-approved or state-accredited.
• Confirm that courses align with the required Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) topics.

Completing unapproved courses can result in wasted time, which may delay renewal.

Obtain Certificates or Proof of Completion

After finishing a course, architects should receive a certificate of completion that includes essential details such as the course title, provider, completion date, and number of CEUs or Learning Units (LUs) earned.

Make sure that your employees:

• Save both digital and printed copies for redundancy.
• Ensure that provider information and approval numbers are visible on all certificates.

This documentation serves as your official record in case of a future audit or license verification request.

Track Your CEUs in a Personal Record or Log

Each architect in your organization is responsible for recording their completed CEU courses. However, this process can become tedious as it requires architects to keep track of numerous details across jurisdictions.

Some key details to keep track of include:

• Course topic
• Associated license
• Course provider and approval number
• Category
• Date of completion
• Accredited hours

When partnering with a registered CE provider like Vector Solutions, which offers AIA-approved architecture courses, these key details—such as course hours and completion data—are tracked and reported directly to AIA on a weekly basis.

The AIA transcript then serves as an official record of completed CE hours and is recognized by many state licensing boards as valid documentation toward continuing education requirements.

Submit Credits to AIA or Your State Licensing Board

Once CEUs are completed, credits must be reported to the right organization. Both the AIA and state licensing boards follow their own reporting processes.

If your firm is a registered CE provider for AIA (and any required state boards), you are responsible for submitting CEU credits, including each employee’s AIA member number and corresponding completed CE hours.

For non-AIA or state-specific courses, your firm must follow the state’s reporting method, often online or by mail.

If your firm is not a registered CE provider, then individual architects are responsible for reporting their own CE credits and managing their AIA and state license renewals.

Your organization can still support employees in choosing courses that meet CE requirements. Accurate and timely submission prevents lapses in licensure and demonstrates your firm’s commitment to compliance.

Verify That Reported Credits Are Posted Correctly

Even after submission, it’s important to confirm that all reported CEUs have been received and logged correctly. Errors can occur when transferring data between systems or across multiple boards.

Verify that your organization does the following:

• Review your official transcript through AIA or the state licensing portal.
• Contact the course provider or board if discrepancies appear.

Keep Records on File in Case of an Audit

While your firm must carry all documentation of CEU completion for each licensed professional across relevant states, ultimately, it is the responsibility of the architect to maintain certificates of completion, along with course descriptions and attendance records for at least five years.

Licensing boards frequently conduct random audits, and disorganized documentation can lead to downsides such as:

• Penalties
• Delayed renewals
• Lost or incomplete CEU records
• Increased administrative workload

How an LMS Makes Delivering and Tracking Architect CEU Courses Easier

Managing continuing education for architects can quickly become overwhelming when handled manually. Between tracking hours, storing certificates, and reporting credits to multiple boards, firms often spend unnecessary time and resources reaching compliance.

A learning management system (LMS) eliminates these challenges by centralizing all training, tracking, and reporting on one streamlined platform. This allows your organization to stay organized and prepared for audits.

Below, we’ll explore how an LMS simplifies the entire continuing education process for AEC professionals.

AEC LMS: Centralized Course Delivery for Architects

An LMS allows firms to host, assign, and deliver continuing education courses to architects all in one place. Instead of relying on multiple vendors or in-person events, firms can provide on-demand access to accredited courses that fulfill both AIA and state requirements.

With a robust learning management system:

• Architects can complete CEU courses anytime, anywhere, without travel.
• Administrators can easily assign and track course completion across teams.

Automated CEU Tracking and Reporting

One of the biggest advantages of an LMS is automation. The system tracks CEU progress in real time, offering organizations the following benefits:

• Automatically generated completion certificates.
• Submission of credits directly to the appropriate boards.
• Built-in reminders so that deadlines are never missed.

By automating these repetitive tasks, your organization can save hours of administrative work and minimize the risk of non-compliance during license renewals.

Seamless Compliance with AIA and State Boards

Since each licensing body has different CE requirements, keeping track of multiple requirements can be complex. An LMS simplifies this by integrating with AIA and state licensing boards to confirm that courses meet official standards and reflect the required number of hours appropriately.

• Courses can be filtered by category or jurisdiction-specific credit requirements.
• Compliance dashboards show progress across individuals, teams, or the entire firm.

Flexible Access Across Devices and Locations

Modern LMS platforms offer mobile-friendly access, allowing architects to complete courses from any device. This flexibility accommodates busy schedules and hybrid work environments.

• Users can start a course on one device and finish on another without losing progress.
• Learning is self-paced, making compliance easier for architects managing multiple projects or licenses.

Data and Analytics for Firm-Wide Oversight

Beyond compliance, an LMS provides valuable insights into how continuing education impacts performance and engagement. Administrators can use built-in analytics to track completion rates, identify skills gaps, and plan future training initiatives.

• Generate reports by project team, location, or certification type.
• Use data to align professional development with firm goals and client needs.

Why Providing Best-in-Class Architecture Continuing Education Courses is a Game Changer

Many architectural firms are used to letting their employees manage their own continuing education requirements. However, there are multiple reasons for your organization to start providing better CE training.

Here’s why architecture continuing education matters for your firm:

It’s Costing You More Than You Realize

Companies save an average of 30–60% on continuing education costs when they’re able to consolidate all employee training with one provider.

Remember that all your architects aren’t receiving the same quality of training. Some are just checking the box to get it over with, while others might be spending money traveling to conferences or paying for eLearning courses individually.

Retention Is Becoming an Issue

Less than one-third of architects feel like they have growth opportunities at their current firms, according to the Engineering Management Institute. Showing your architects that you care about the future of their careers is a great retention strategy.

A Learning Path Template for Architects, Designers & Engineers

Download our learning path template to unlock new ways to onboard, retain, and upskill your architects, designers, and engineers.

Download our learning path template to help you onboard, retain, and upskill your architects, designers, and engineers more effectively: View Template

Simplify Architects’ Continuing Education with Vector Solutions

“People were taking training all over the place. They had to find it on their own. They were going everywhere. They were taking it and then not telling us they were doing it and then trying to track it and find out where it was difficult.”
— Kathleen Pearson , Senior Manager, Learning and Development, Colliers Engineering & Design Inc.

Vector Solutions’ suite of learning and compliance tools helps architecture firms stay safe and meet compliance. Our robust learning management system (LMS) is tailor-made for AEC firms, enabling teams to manage license renewals and deliver AEC training online, without disrupting demanding project schedules.

With over 25 years of experience, our safety, compliance, and workforce readiness platform delivers accredited CE/PDH training, competency assessments, and role-specific AE learning paths that simplify multi-state licensing requirements.

Vector’s LMS and specialized courses will help your firm:

• Deliver role-specific CE training. Our comprehensive course library supports architecture licenses across 50 states.
• Assign, track, and report on course completions. Help your firm meet professional licensing requirements with ease.
• Maximize billable hours and productivity. Utilize role-specific learning paths, competency assessments, microlearning courses, and just-in-time learning capabilities across sites, seniorities, and roles.
• Achieve proven ROI. Firms that consolidate CE with Vector save 30–60% annually on training costs, with mid-sized firms saving up to $69,000 per year and enterprises saving more than $345,000.

Ready to learn more? Request a demo today and see how Vector can help streamline architecture continuing education for your firm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Requirements?

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) establishes continuing education standards to solidify that architects maintain their professional expertise and uphold public safety. The AIA CEU requirements specify that all active AIA members must complete 18 Learning Units (LUs) (1 CE Hour equals 1 LU) each year, with 12 of those hours dedicated to Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) topics. These continuing education credits help architects stay current with changing industry standards and building regulations.

Architects can meet AIA CEU requirements through various formats such as online courses, workshops, or in-person seminars approved by the AIA. Vector Solutions offers AIA-approved continuing education courses that automatically report completions to the AIA, reducing manual tracking and fulfilling compliance. This streamlined approach helps firms and individuals stay focused on professional growth while meeting all annual CEU obligations.

How Many Continuing Education Units for Architects Are Needed to Renew a License?

The number of continuing education units required for license renewal varies depending on the state or province. Most CEU architects programs in the U.S. require professionals to complete between 12–24 hours of approved coursework each year, often emphasizing Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) topics. In Canada, many provinces follow a biennial renewal cycle that typically requires between 36 and 70 hours of continuing education. These requirements certify that licensed architects remain up to date with evolving standards, sustainability practices, and safety regulations.

Because requirements differ by jurisdiction, it’s important for architects to confirm the specific CEU guidelines outlined by their state’s licensing board or provincial authority. Many companies streamline this process by using digital tools or an LMS to track completion and renewal deadlines. Vector Solutions offers accredited online courses and tracking tools that make it easy for AEC firms to meet requirements efficiently, guaranteeing full compliance and peace of mind during the renewal process.

Do CEU Requirements Differ Between States and the AIA?

Yes, the AIA’s continuing education requirements are separate from state licensure requirements, though there is often overlap in accepted topics and course providers. For example, the AIA requires 18 total LUs annually, while a specific state might require 24 hours every two years.

Architects who are both licensed and AIA members must meet both sets of requirements. To avoid duplication of effort, many professionals choose courses that qualify for both AIA and state credit. Vector Solutions’ accreditations functionality helps firms choose the minimum number of CE courses that meet the maximum number of license renewal requirements, maximizing billable hours for every firm.

What’s the Easiest Way to Track CEU Architects’ Training?

The easiest way to track Architect CEU courses and completion records is by using a centralized learning management system (LMS). An LMS allows AEC firm administrators to assign, complete, and monitor all continuing education efforts in one platform. This allows for every course, whether state-required or AIA-approved, to be properly documented and accessible for audits or eligible for license renewals.

With Vector Solutions, tracking Architect CEU courses becomes effortless. Our platform automates reporting to AIA and state boards, stores certificates of completion, and provides a clear dashboard view of progress across teams. This saves firms valuable time and helps every architect stay compliant.

Can Architects’ Continuing Education Credits Be Earned Online?

Yes, most architects’ continuing education credits can be completed online through accredited course providers. Online learning gives architects the flexibility to meet their CEU or LU requirements on their own schedule while maintaining compliance with state and AIA standards. Courses often cover essential topics such as health, safety, welfare, sustainability, and emerging design trends, all of which help professionals stay current in a rapidly evolving industry.

Vector Solutions simplifies architects’ continuing education by offering accredited courses designed specifically for AEC professionals, a robust learning management system, and scalable safety management software. With breadth of courses, automated tracking, and direct reporting to AIA and state boards, your organization can efficiently manage professional development without the hassle of manual paperwork or travel.