This document serves as a resource for supervisors and employees, offering guidance on the roles, responsibilities and expectations of the supervisor/employee relationship as it relates to gaining experience towards becoming a licensed landscape architect. It provides CLARB’s definition of direct supervision, the domains of practice an applicant for landscape architecture licensure needs supervised experience within, the types of employment that qualify, including full-time and part-time experience, as well as experience gained outside CLARB’s member jurisdictions, or other non-traditional employment or experience backgrounds. This guidance supplements the existing requirements outlined for CLARB Certification and the CLARB Uniform Standard for Landscape Architecture (CLARB Uniform Standard).
An individual is encouraged to document their experience on an annual basis to keep their records up to date and reduce the risk of not being able to verify their information at a later date.
Approved by the CLARB Board of Directors December 2024.
Section 1
Direct supervision
a. Definition
A direct supervisor oversees the individual’s work by reviewing, directing and/or monitoring through regular personal contact and/or remote communication.
b. Acceptable supervisory relationships
CLARB recognizes multiple situations where a supervisor can provide direct supervision to an applicant, ensuring flexibility and expanding opportunities for experience to be gained in the regulated practice of landscape architecture. Opportunities to gain experience must include formal and documented relationships between the supervisor and supervisee, including, but not limited to, traditional employment, internships, contract arrangements and other supervised scenarios.
Section 2
Verification of experience
a. Verifier responsibilities
A verifier plays a critical role in the licensure process by confirming an applicant’s professional experience. A verifier completes the verification process through the CLARB Record or other forms accepted by the licensure board, ensuring that the applicant’s experience is properly documented. This information is then shared with licensure boards when an applicant transmits their CLARB Record in support of their licensure application. See Appendix A for examples of the applicant and verifier documentation requirements for the CLARB Record.
b. Qualifications of a verifier
A verifier must be a licensed landscape architect or a licensed professional in a related field, as determined by jurisdictional requirements. The verifier must have provided direct supervision of the applicant as defined in the previous section or as determined by applicable statute or regulations.
c. Diversified experience
A verifier should encourage diversified experience across all regulated practice domains. While no minimum requirements are set, an applicant must obtain experience in all regulated practice domains to qualify for licensure.
d. Legal attestation
The verifier must legally attest to providing direct supervision, as defined above, over the applicant’s work. They must also verify the type of work performed and specify in which regulated practice domain(s) the experience was gained.
e. Applicant responsibilities
An applicant should be collaborating with their supervisor on projects and work, seeking guidance and training to gather the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to be a licensed landscape architect. An applicant should monitor their experience in each of the regulated domains and communicate with supervisors to ensure they are obtaining the required experience to become licensed.
e. Regulated domains of practice
The regulated domains of practice that qualify as acceptable experience for landscape architecture licensure are based on the sections of the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.) and are defined through the current version of the Job Task Analysis Study conducted by CLARB:
Regulated domains of practice include:
- Inventory, Analysis and Project Management: includes project management, inventory and data collection, stakeholder engagement process, physical analysis, and contextual analysis; and
- Planning and Design: stewardship and design principles, master planning, schematic design, design development; and
- Construction Documentation and Administration: includes construction plans and details, construction specifications and bidding, and construction administration; and
- Grading, Drainage, and Stormwater Management: includes stormwater management, grading and earthwork, and drainage systems.
Section 3
International experience
a. Definition of a licensed professional
Experience in the regulated practice of landscape architecture* may be obtained anywhere, provided it is completed under the direct supervision of a licensed professional.
A licensed professional is defined as an individual legally authorized to practice by a governmental agency or credentialing body. CLARB recognizes that regulation varies globally and has identified specific countries that meet the criteria for having licensed professionals qualified to supervise work in the regulated practice of landscape architecture.
b. Criteria for approval of jurisdictions
International experience in an approved jurisdiction is recorded and reviewed as outlined in the section above.
An applicant who has experience in a jurisdiction outside of CLARB’s membership can submit a request for review of their jurisdiction by contacting CLARB.
c. CLARB-approved jurisdictions and credentialing bodies
To qualify as an approved jurisdiction outside of the United States and Canada, the following criteria must be met:
- The verifier must be legally recognized to practice by a governmental agency or a credentialing body in the jurisdiction where the experience was gained; or
- The verifier must hold a credential from a credentialing body approved by CLARB that must assess competency through a combination of education, experience and/or assessment.
* Regulated domains of practice: The regulated domains of practice that determine acceptable experience for landscape architecture licensure align with the sections of the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.) and are determined by the job task analysis conducted by CLARB.
Section 4
Unverified experience
When an applicant cannot obtain verification of their experience to meet licensure requirements in a jurisdiction, they may submit their experience for review by the appropriate licensure board.
a. Examples of situations
Examples of circumstances when experience may be unverified include, but are not limited to:
- Unavailable supervisor: The applicant’s supervisor is unable or unwilling to confirm the experience.
- Loss of records: The necessary documentation has been lost or is incomplete.
- Business closure: The company from which the experience was gained is no longer in operation.
b. Criteria for review
An applicant must provide the following information to the licensure board to demonstrate the experience they are seeking credit for:
- Explanation of the situation
- Summary: A detailed explanation of why the experience cannot be verified by the supervisor.
- Supervisor details: Include the name and licensure status of the direct supervisor who is unable to verify the experience.
- Jurisdiction: Specify the jurisdiction where the experience was gained.
- Nature of work: Describe the scope of work and include details about the regulated domains of practice covered.
- Work samples: Provide examples of work that demonstrate competencies in the regulated practice domains.
- Attestation: Legally confirm the truth and accuracy of the unverified experience being submitted for review.
- Reference letters: Include supporting letters from clients and/or coworkers that can corroborate the experience.
Section 5
Self-verified experience for reciprocal licensure
An applicant who is unable to verify experience under the direct supervision of a licensed landscape architect or other licensed professional may submit experience as a principal. A principal is defined as a licensed landscape architect in good standing.
An applicant who has eight (8) years of self-verified work experience in the regulated domains of practice as a principal can satisfy the experience requirement for licensure. The eight-year requirement is consistent with the CLARB Model Law and the CLARB Uniform Standard.
It ensures a rigorous evaluation while providing a pathway for a licensed landscape architect who may not have verifiable experience working under the supervision of another licensed professional.
Appendix A
Documentation examples
The following information is collected in the CLARB Record from applicants and verifiers to document and verify an applicant’s experience:
a. Collected from applicants
- Supervisor information
- Name
- Licensure type (e.g. landscape architect, architect, engineer)
- Company
- Contact information (e.g. email, phone, address)
- Experience information
- Nature of work (e.g. landscape architecture, architecture, engineering)
- Weekly hours
- Employment/experience dates
- Skills gained (in the regulated domains of practice)
- Related skills gained (teaching, research, planting design, onsite construction, maintenance or installation)
b. Collected from and/or verified by verifiers
- Supervisor information
- Name
- Licensure type (e.g. landscape architect, architect, engineer)
- Licensure information (e.g. jurisdiction, number, dates)
- Company
- Contact information (e.g. email, phone, address)
- Experience information
- Nature of work (e.g. landscape architecture, architecture, engineering)
- Weekly hours
- Employment/experience dates
- Skills gains (in the regulated domains of practice)
- Related skills gained (teaching, research, planting design, onsite construction, maintenance or installation)
- Explanation of experience (providing details of the applicant’s role, size of projects, etc.)
- Applicant’s technical competence and professional conduct
- Attestation that the information provided is accurate and complete
