Eligibility Requirements

LEED Green Associate

To take the LEED Green Associate exam, you must have experience in the form of involvement on a LEED-registered project, employment (or previous employment) in a sustainable field of work, or engagement in (or completion of) an education program that addresses green building principles. You only have to meet one of these criteria to demonstrate eligibility. Your experience must be documented in the form of a letter of attestation from a supervisor, client, project manager, or teacher and must describe your involvement on the job or in the classroom.* Your eligibility documentation should meet these requirements:

• The letter must be on letterhead or provide other evidence of its authenticity.
• The body of the attestation should be limited to 750 words or less.
• The letter must be dated.
• The letter must be authored and signed by a supervisor, client, project manager, teacher, or someone else qualified to evaluate the applicant’s performance.
  
• The author’s title and relationship to the applicant should be demonstrated, for example the author’s business card.
  
• The letter must summarize and confirm the applicant’s participation in one of the three qualifying experience categories (project involvement, employment, or education).
  
• For eligibility based on project involvement:
• The letter must name a specific LEED-registered project.
  
• The letter must affirm that the applicant was involved with the project.
• The letter must provide the date(s) of the applicants involvement with the project
• For eligibility based on employment:
• The letter must explain how the applicant’s profession or company relates to environmentalism or the green building industry.
  
• The letter must affirm the applicant’s employment and provide the applicant’s job title or company.
• The letter must provide the applicant’s date(s) of employment
• For eligibility based on education:*
• The document must provide the course’s title and provider
• The document must explain how the course relates to green building principles or LEED
• The document must affirm that the candidate was enrolled in the course
• The document must provide the applicant’s date(s) of enrollment

*For candidates who have attended or are attending an education program that addresses green building principles, GBCI will accept a certificate of completion or an official transcript in lieu of a letter of attestation. Any other eligibility documentation must be in the form of a letter of attestation.

LEED AP

To take the LEED AP exams, you must have previous experience with a LEED Registered Project within three years of your application submittal date. This work experience must be documented in the form of a letter of attestation from a supervisor, client, or project manager and must describe your involvement on the LEED Project as a consultant, contracted worker, member of the LEED Project Team, LEED Homes Provider, LEED Commercial Reviewer, LEED Homes Green Verifier, or staff member of a Certifying Body (CB).If you are audited, GBCI auditors will review this letter of attestation based on these requirements:

• The letter must be on letterhead or provide other evidence of its authenticity.
• The body of the attestation should be limited to 1,500 words or less.
• The letter must be dated.
• The letter must be authored and signed by a supervisor, client, project manager, or someone else qualified to evaluate the applicant’s performance.
• The author’s title and relationship to the applicant should be demonstrated, for example the author’s business card.
• The letter must summarize and confirm the applicant’s involvement with the LEED Project.
• The full name or Project ID for the LEED Project must be provided.
• The letter must provide the dates of the applicant’s relevant involvement.
• If the applicant is not currently involved with this LEED project, the end date of this involvement cannot be more than three (3) years ago.

Applying for Your Exam

1. Go to My Credentials. This will prompt you to log in to your My Credentials account. If you do not have an account, click First Time Here? to create one.
   
2. Select Apply for an exam from your Current Options. (If you do not see this option, it means that you have already applied for an exam or you are a LEED AP credentialed under the New Construction, Commercial Interiors, or Existing Buildings exam tracks and you haven’t enrolled in the new system.)
   
3. Review and, if applicable, update your profile.
   
4. Verify that your name matches the identification you will present at the test center; if it does not, contact GBCI credentialing staff at www.gbci.org/contact > Name Changes or at 1-800-795-1746, within the US, and +1-202-828-1145, outside the US, as you cannot update it yourself.
   
5. Select your LEED Professional Directory preferences; if you are choosing to be listed, please enter a city, state (ZZ if outside the US and Canada), and country. Press “Submit.”
   
6. Select your credentialing route. Press “Submit.”
7. Upload your documentation of eligibility. (See Eligibility Requirements for more information.) Press “Submit.”
   
8. For LEED Green Associate applications, select whether you would like to request student pricing. (See Student Pricing for more information.) Press “Submit.”
   
9. Select whether you would like special testing accommodations based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (See Special Testing Accommodations for more information.) Press “Submit.”
   
10. Review your exam application. You may return to the main menu and leave your application incomplete; however, your application will not be processed until it is completed and submitted. Once you have confirmed that all information is correct and all documentation is uploaded, press “Submit.”
    
11. Read Candidate Terms and Conditions, Disciplinary and Exam Appeals Policy, and CMP Guide. Affirm that you have read and agree to all documents by electronic signature. Press “Submit.”
    
12. Select the credit or debit card type (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover) with which you will pay the $50 non-refundable LEED Green Associate application fee or the $100 non-refundable LEED AP application fee. Press “Pay fee.”
    
13. Enter the card number, expiration date, name, and billing address of the credit or debit card with which you will pay the non-refundable application fee. Press “Process Payment.” Do NOT hit the button more than once; doing so may cause multiple charges on your credit or debit card.
    
14. You will receive an on-screen notification that your application is complete and will be provided with your application reference number.
    
15. You will receive notice within seven days that your application is approved or, if more information is required, incomplete. If your application is approved, you can proceed to registration. (See Registering for an Exam) If the application is denied or expires (see Application Period), you must wait 90 days before reapplying.

Application Period

LEED Green Associate

For the LEED Green Associate credential, this translates into three attempts at the exam during the one year application period.

LEED AP

For a LEED AP credential, the candidate is allowed three attempts per section during the one year application period. Both sections are delivered concurrently unless the candidate previously passed one of the sections during the current application period. In this case, the candidate only will be tested on the section they have not passed. Once the candidate has passed a section of a LEED AP exam, that section will no longer be available to the candidate during their application period. Candidates must pass both sections of a LEED AP exam to earn the credential.

Student Pricing for the LEED Green Associate exam

Green Building Certification Institute
Attn: Student Pricing
2101 L Street NW, Suite 650
Washington, DC 20037

Special Testing Accommodations

• Diagnosis and nature of the disability
  
• Name of tests used to evaluate the condition
  
• Length of the condition
  
• Date you were last seen by your health care provider
  
• Specific suggested accommodation(s)
  

This step-by-step guide is a general overview of the credentialing process. Official GBCI and Prometric policies and procedures are available in your exam's candidate handbook. Candidate handbooks are valid for one month. Updated handbooks are released on the first business day of each month.