The Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.) is a four-part fully computerized examination designed to determine whether applicants for landscape architectural licensure possess sufficient knowledge, skills and abilities to provide services without endangering the health, safety and welfare of the public. It is prepared and scored by CLARB in accordance with all current standards for fairness and quality of licensure exams. In order to become a licensed landscape architect, you must pass all sections of the L.A.R.E. as well as meet other requirements for their jurisdiction.

The L.A.R.E. is made up of the following sections:

• Inventory, Analysis, and Project Management
• Planning and Design
• Construction Documentation and Administration
• Grading, Drainage, and Stormwater Management

The L.A.R.E. is administered three times a year over a two-week period in April, August and December. Please visit the "Dates, Deadlines and Fees" webpage for more information.

Note:  All fees are in U.S. dollars, subject to change and non-refundable unless otherwise noted.
Please visit the "Dates, Deadlines, and Fees" page to view current L.A.R.E. rates.

Please refer to the Blueprint in the L.A.R.E. Orientation Guide for more information. 

The content of the L.A.R.E. is based on the results of a scientific “job analysis” survey conducted every five to seven years. The most recent survey was administered in early 2022 in which more than 3,614 practicing landscape architects from the United States and Canada participated. The survey results were analyzed by a group of subject matter experts, comprised of licensed landscape architects representing diversity (areas of practice, geographic) of the profession.

Survey respondents were asked to rate all job tasks on three separate scales: how frequently the tasks were performed, how important the tasks were to successful performance of the job, and whether successful performance of each task was required at initial licensure. Overall, the tasks, and subsequent knowledge, that are performed most often are considered the most important and are required at the initial point of licensure and thus form the basis of the L.A.R.E.

Changes to the L.A.R.E. blueprint resulted in a transition of previous blueprint sections to current blueprint sections. This transition may have required that a candidate take additional sections or retake content if they did not complete the L.A.R.E. prior to the completion of the transition in 2023.

If you have questions about how your exam sections transitioned to the current blueprint, please contact our team.

Registering is as easy as 1-2-3.  Visit the "Registration" page for details.

Requirements for licensure and beginning the exam process vary in each jurisdiction. View CLARB’s eligibility map to learn more about your jurisdiction’s requirements and if you are eligible to take the L.A.R.E.

• Contact your licensure board to confirm what information the board needs in support of your exam application (for pre-approval).  
• Login to your Council Record and enter the information your board needs into the corresponding categories (education, employment, references, etc.). 
• Once you “submit” your entry, CLARB will begin the process of verifying your information. 
• Within a few weeks, login to your Council Record and look at the “Date Verified” column for each category you submitted.
• If a "Date Verified" is listed, that entry is complete.

For transmittal in support of exam application (for pre-approval), only those categories of information that your licensure board requires at this stage in your career need to be verified.

If all of the above is true for your Council Record, you may then request a transmittal for pre-approval in your jurisdiction using the "Transmit my Council Record" button at the top of your Council Record page.

All candidates must fill out their education history before registering for the exam. Other components can be completed at a later time (before applying for licensure).

Candidates who need to obtain pre‐approval should start and complete the Record so they can transmit their Record to their licensure board. Exam candidates may transmit their Record for free in support of exam application. There is no fee when applying for exam pre-approval.

Yes, your Council Record must be current in order for you to register for the exam.

If you need to reactivate your Council Record, please contact our team.

CLARB is working to simplify the licensure process. Starting a Council Record during the exam process ensures that CLARB is collecting, verifying and storing the information that licensure boards need from you in order to apply to take the exam and be evaluated for licensure throughout your career. 

• The L.A.R.E. is administered by PSI Services, and you may choose to take your exam at a PSI test center or via online proctoring (at your home or office, for example).
  

• Regardless of where you wish to become initially licensed, you can take any section of the L.A.R.E. in any PSI test center that offers the L.A.R.E. Please remember, however, that if you are seeking initial licensure in a jurisdiction that requires pre-approval, you still must obtain pre-approval from your licensure board BEFORE you may register for the L.A.R.E.

• After you register for the L.A.R.E., you will be directed to book your test appointment through PSI, and CLARB will also send you a confirmation email with instructions about how to select your test center and schedule your exam appointment. If you do not receive this email, please check your spam/junk folder, and if you still do not see it, please contact our team.

• You can preview PSI appointment availability anytime.

• To schedule, confirm or change your test appointment, sign in to PSI using your CLARB login details.

• If you have difficulty finding an appointment near you, please contact our team. We may be able to work with PSI to add appointments at your preferred location.

Examinees may schedule their test appointment online via the CLARB website.  Make your appointment as soon as possible to have the best chance of being able to test at the center of your choice.

To schedule your appointment for the exam, please login to the CLARB website and locate the “Schedule/Reschedule my exam appointment” under the My Event Registration section of the profile page  

*Once scheduled, you will receive an email confirmation from PSI. If you do not receive this email, your appointment may not be scheduled. Please check your appointment by following these same steps and logging into the CLARB website.

To Add another section, log in to “My Profile,” then scroll down to “My Event Registrations.” Click on the open exam registration line item you would like to add to (ex: April 2022 LARE). Then click on the “Review and Edit Sessions” button. There you will be able to add another section to your registration. 

Please note you will not receive an additional confirmation email. Please continue to your CLARB profile and follow the "Schedule/Reschedule My Exam" link under My Event Registrations.

You must present one form of valid and current identification when arriving at the test center or logging in to your online appointment. The name on your identification must match the name in which you registered for the exam.

If testing in a PSI test center, you are not permitted to bring anything into the test center.

• No test-related items (including reference material, calculators, pencils, pens, paper or drafting supplies) are permitted.
• No personal items (including purses, backpacks, food) are allowed in the testing room.
• No smartphones or electronic devices (including cell phones, calculators, devices with a computer memory chip or any device with an alphanumeric keyboard such as a language translation tool) can be brought to the test site.
  
  If testing online, you must place your cell phone out of reach once you have been checked in and start your examination.

Candidates will be allowed to access their approved food/drink during an exam break. If you require food or drink, you will need to request a special accommodation for these items. For approved accommodations, be sure that all items are in clear packaging free of any labels or markings. 

If testing via online proctor, water in a clear glass is allowed in your testing room, however food is not permitted. You may take a break and access food or drink during the break.

Please refer to CLARB’s Orientation Guide for more information.

No. A digital calculator will be available through the exam software for your use.

Candidates testing in person at a PSI testing center may request a handheld calculator to use during their exam.

No. An electronic white board is available through the exam software.

Candidates testing in person at a PSI testing center may request a physical whiteboard to use during their exam.

For details on the CLARB cancellation policy, please visit the Exam Dates & Deadlines page.

CLARB has a "Good Cause" policy if you are unable to attend the exam administration due to severe physical or emotional hardship.

For details on the CLARB cancellation policy, please visit the Exam Dates & Deadlines page.

Please refer to the Blueprint in the L.A.R.E. Orientation Guide for more information. 

All exams include a limited number of pretest items that will NOT be scored and will NOT have an impact on your results.  This is common practice within high-stakes testing and allows CLARB to evaluate the items for potential use in future exams.  Pretest items are randomly placed throughout the exam and are not identifiable as pretest items. 

Results will be available approximately 6 weeks following the last day of each administration.  CLARB will notify candidates via email, the CLARB website, Facebook and Twitter when results are ready to be viewed on the CLARB website. 

The L.A.R.E. is scored completely by computer in order to increase fairness and defensibility.  Accordingly, results are final. Keeping in line with best practices in the professional testing industry, a review is not provided.

Please refer to the Blueprint in the L.A.R.E. Orientation Guide for more information. 

Plan to arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment to allow time for check-in procedures. Candidates who arrive late will NOT be allowed to take the exam.

If you are testing via online proctoring, your appointment will be available to launch 30 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. We encourage you to launch 30 minutes before your appointment to allow ample time for the check-in and security process. 

Exam results for all sections of the L.A.R.E. are not reported immediately after completing the exam due to the analysis performed on the items to ensure that the items are correct, fair and accurately address the subject matter being tested. CLARB’s testing experts look at the difficulty of the items, the response patterns by candidates and the ability of the items to discriminate between candidates of differing ability levels.

Exam results for all sections of the L.A.R.E. will be available on the CLARB website approximately 6 weeks after the last day of the exam administration.

Exam results are reported as pass or fail. If a "Fail" result is received, a number representing a scaled score will also be received. The scaled score provides candidates with a performance indicator demonstrating how close they were to the passing point. For each section, candidates must obtain a scaled score of at least 650 to pass. A scaled score of 640, for example, would indicate that a candidate was close to passing.

  

View recent pass rates.

Please contact the licensure board in the jurisdiction in which you are pursuing initial licensure for more information about your jurisdiction's requirements.