Beta Exam: A preliminary exam for a new exam that is used to gather data about the test and its questions. The beta exam is used to acquire statistics for a new exam based on a sample set of candidates. The statistics are used to determine a cut, or passing, score for the exam and to weed out questions that do not meet the validity and reliability standards of the exam. Beta exam candidates receive a score based only on the questions that are found to be valid and reliable. GBCI currently tests beta exam candidates free of charge. Candidates who successfully pass the beta exam earn the LEED credential for that exam. There is no distinction between a credential earned through beta testing and standard testing, because there is no difference in the content, eligibility requirements, or scoring standards of the exam.

All candidates interested in beta exams must apply to GBCI in order to participate. Any active beta exam applications will be available on the Volunteer page.

Cancellation: The process that removes an existing exam appointment. Candidates can cancel appointment on Prometric's website at www.prometric.com/gbci or by phone at 1-888-215-4154 within the US; please refer to the candidate handbooks for international numbers. The confirmation number is required to cancel online. Prometric charges $50 for appointments canceled or rescheduled within 30 days of the exam appointment. Learn more »

Candidate care: Prometric’s department that handles complaints, appeals, and refunds based on Prometric faults (e.g., the air conditioning was broken at the test center) and makes accommodations for candidates who miss an appointment due to a documented emergency. Contact Prometric’s candidate care at 1-800-853-6769; please refer to the candidate handbooks for international numbers. (See also Prometric.)

Candidate handbooks: Candidates’ resource for GBCI and Prometric policies and procedures throughout the exam process. Each exam has its own handbook, which includes exam specifications; study materials; sample questions; GBCI and Prometric contact information; and application, registration, and scheduling information. Candidates should read and understand their exam's handbook, including all policies, procedures, and consequences. Candidate handbooks are valid for one month. Updated handbooks are released on the first business day of each month. View the candidate handbooks »

Candidate ID: See eligibility ID.

Categories: Subject areas within the credential maintenance program in which LEED Professionals complete their CE hours. Categories vary for each credential. (See also Credential Maintenance Program.)

Certificate: Formal notification from GBCI of passing a LEED Professional Exam™ and earning a LEED Professional Certificate or Credential. Certificates arrive two to three months after a candidate passes the exam. (Also see LEED Professional Certificates.)

Chapter member: An individual that is a member of a local USGBC Chapter. There are currently no discounts on LEED Professional Exams for Chapter Members.

CMP reporting period: The 2-year period in which LEED Professionals must complete their credential maintenance requirements. It begins on the enrollment date and ends 2 years minus 1 day from the start date. (LEED Professionals will continue on the same cycle unless the credential is not renewed.)

Confirmation number: The 16-digit number issued by Prometric for a candidate’s exam appointment. A confirmation number is used for confirming, rescheduling, and canceling exam appointments at Prometric. The eligibility ID cannot be used for confirming, rescheduling, or canceling exam appointments. (See also Prometric, scheduling, confirmation, rescheduling, and cancelation.)

Confirmation: The process that displays the date, time, location, exam, and other useful information related to an existing exam appointment. Candidates can confirm appointments on Prometric's website at www.prometric.com/gbci or by phone at 1-888-215-4154 within the US; please refer to the candidate handbooks for international numbers. The confirmation number is required to confirm online. Learn more »

Continuing education (CE) hours: The units in which LEED Professionals earn credential maintenance. CE hours earned are calculated differently depending on the activity; see the Activities section of the CMP Guide for an outline of credential maintenance activities and the CE hours possible. LEED Green Associates must earn 15 CE hours (3 of which must be LEED-specific) biennially. LEED APs with specialty must complete 30 CE hours (6 of which must be LEED-specific) biennially. (See LEED-specific, credential maintenance, and Credential Maintenance Program.) Learn more »

Credential: (See LEED Professional Credentials.)

Credential maintenance: Continuing education completed by LEED Professionals to maintain current knowledge of green building and LEED. Credential maintenance requirements ensure the LEED Professional Credentials maintain their relevance in a constantly advancing industry. Learn more » (See also Credential Maintenance Program and continuing education hours.)

Credential maintenance audit: A review of the CE hours entered into My Credentials for credential maintenance. CMP staff will review for relevance and adherence to the guidelines outlined in the CMP Guide. Five to seven percent of hours will be audited. Learn more »

Credential Maintenance Program (CMP): The guidelines for completing the various activities, including authorship, LEED project participation, and volunteer work, that LEED Professional can pursue to maintain their credential. These policies, outlined in the CMP Guide, make completing credential maintenance requirements easy and hassle-free. Learn more » (See also credential maintenance and continuing education hours.)

Diagnostic score report: A printed document provided by Prometric at the conclusion of an exam appointment showing pass or fail exam results. Candidates receive information on their performance in each domain (see Domains.) This information can be used as a learning/study tool should the candidate choose to retest.

Disciplinary and Exam Appeals Policy: Code of ethics that articulate standards of conduct for individuals seeking accreditation, holding a credential and certificate, and maintaining that credential or certificate through the LEED Professional Credential and Certificate programs. Additionally, it establishes a fair process for addressing noncompliance. View the Disciplinary and Exam Appeals Policy.

Domains: Major subject areas in the exam specifications selected by subject matter experts for their relevance to a particular credential.

Eligibility ID: The numeric code (e.g., 123412151) that is generated at registration with GBCI. The eligibility ID is used to first schedule the appointment with Prometric. Thereafter, the confirmation number is used to confirm, reschedule, or cancel an appointment. The eligibility ID cannot be used to confirm, reschedule, or cancel exam appointments. (See registration, scheduling.)

Eligibility requirements: The experience or education requirements for taking a LEED Professional Exam. For more information on eligibility requirements, view the applicable candidate handbook.

GBCI: (See Green Building Certification Institute.)

Green Associate: See LEED Green Associate.

Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI): The organization that develops and administers the LEED Professional Credentials and Certificates as well as the Credential Maintenance Program. GBCI does not handle any aspects of scheduling exam appointments or billing (see Prometric). GBCI and the US Green Building Council are separate organizations. GBCI does not develop LEED Rating Systems, educational programs, or test preparation material. GBCI also administers project certification for commercial and institutional buildings and tenant spaces under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating Systems™ addressing new construction and ongoing operations.

Knowledge areas: Specific subjects and subtopics related to the domain under which they appear. Knowledge areas help define the depth and breadth of the domain. (See domains.)

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®): An internationally recognized green building certification system that provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED provides a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

LEED AP with specialty: The LEED Professional Credential that signifies an advanced depth of knowledge in green building practices and specialization in a particular LEED Rating System: Building Design + Construction, Operations + Maintenance, Interior Design + Construction, Homes, or Neighborhood Development.

LEED AP without specialty: The credential earned by candidates who were credentialed under the LEED AP for New Construction v2.0- v2.2 [NC] exam between January 2001 and June 30, 2009; the LEED AP for Commercial Interiors v2.0 [CI] exam between June 2006 and June 30, 2009; or the LEED AP for Existing Buildings v2.0 [EB] exam between June 2006 and December 31, 2008.

LEED Fellow: The LEED Fellow honors and recognizes distinguished LEED APs who have made a significant contribution to the field of green building and sustainability at a regional, national, or international level. Meet the 2011 LEED Fellows »

LEED for Homes Green Rater: The LEED Professional Certificate that denotes demonstrated understanding of the LEED for Homes verification process. To be eligible for the LEED for Homes Green Rater exam, candidates must first meet eligibility requirements and finish USGBC's training program.

LEED Green Associate: The LEED Professional Credential that attests to basic knowledge and skill in understanding and supporting green design, construction, and operations. There are no specialties within the LEED Green Associate credential.

LEED Professional Certificates™: Designations administered by GBCI that certify the skills and knowledge of LEED implementation required to provide verification services on LEED projects. They denote an individual who provides the quality assurance on projects necessary to ensure the continued value of LEED.

LEED Professional Credentials™: Designations administered by GBCI that demonstrate current knowledge of green building technologies, best practices, and the rapidly evolving LEED Rating Systems.

LEED Reviewer: The LEED Professional Certificate that attests to the understanding of LEED required to provide technical reviews of projects applying for LEED certification.

LEED-specific: CE hours that meet one or more of the following criteria:Except for those earned through authorship or LEED project participation, all LEED-specific CE hours must be approved and designated as LEED-specific by an ERB. For the LEED AP credential, the six LEED-specific hours must directly relate to the LEED AP’s specialty designation.

Member: (See Chapter Member or National Member.)

Member pricing: A discounted price on the LEED Professional Exams available for full-time employees of USGBC and CaGBC national member companies. Eligible candidates should refer to their exam’s candidate handbook for instructions on linking membership to their My Credentials account prior to registering for an exam.

My Credentials: GBCI's credential management system. Candidates use My Credentials to create or update their profile, change passwords or usernames, apply or register for an exam, view their exam records, or self-report credential maintenance activities.

My Credentials profile: The profile page that contains a candidate’s information, including first and last name, contact information, demographics, organization information, primary and secondary address, LEED Professional Directory information, and contact preferences. The primary address is the one to which certificates are mailed. This information can be changed at any time by logging in to My Credentials and selecting Update Profile.

National member: A full-time employee of a USGBC or CaGBC National Member company. If this relationship is correctly linked prior to registration, the candidate receives member pricing for each exam appointment scheduled. (See member pricing.)

Prescriptive credential maintenance: Continuing education requirement that contains a minimum number of hours in each domain. Prescriptive CMP ensures a LEED AP's continuing education mirrors the level of knowledge required to pass a specialty exam. LEED APs without specialty who enrolled through prescriptive credential maintenance, must complete it for only their first reporting period. No other LEED Professionals complete prescriptive credential maintenance.

Project experience: For the LEED Green Associate credential, a person who provides support on a project registered for LEED certification could be a person who aids or assists on a project by providing administrative or research tasks, managing templates, coordinating meetings, tracking consultants and/or contractors, or helping in compiling documentation for review. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but is meant to provide guidance for candidates with their application.

For the LEED AP credentials, to be personally involved with a project registered for LEED certification means that the candidate can show how they have contributed to the registered project through active participation in it and have on-going responsibility through their participation. The candidate must show how they have been exposed to the LEED process and have knowledge of the project.

Prometric: GBCI’s testing company. Prometric administers LEED Professional Exams at their testing centers internationally. Prometric handles all aspects of scheduling exam appointments (including confirming, rescheduling, and canceling) and billing. Prometric is available through their website, www.prometric.com/gbci, or at 1-888-215-4154 within the US; please refer to the candidate handbooks for international numbers. Candidates use their eligibility ID to first schedule an exam appointment with Prometric. Candidates must use their confirmation number to confirm, reschedule, or cancel an exam appointment on Prometric’s website. (See confirmation number, scheduling, confirmation, rescheduling, and cancelation.)

Receipt: A document given at the end of the exam confirming the amount paid for the appointment. Candidates must call Prometric’s candidate care department if they did not receive a receipt or if they require an additional copy. Within the US, Prometric's candidate care is available 6 days a week at 1-800-853-6769; please refer to the candidate handbooks for international numbers. GBCI cannot provide a copy of a receipt.

Registration: The process of registering for an exam with GBCI; it is the second step to taking the LEED Professional Exams. It creates the eligibility ID that candidates need to schedule with Prometric. Candidates must register each time they take the exam. Candidates can have only one pending exam registration at a time. (See the candidate handbooks for additional details.)

Renewal: The process of completing a cycle of credential maintenance. Once LEED Professionals have completed the CMP requirements for their credential, they renew their credential and pay the $50 CMP renewal fee in My Credentials. They may do so at any time during their reporting period without altering its start and end dates. However, LEED Professionals must renew their credential within the 30 days following the end of their reporting period. If the credential is not renewed within 30 days of the end date, the credential will expire.

Reporting period: (See CMP reporting period.)

Rescheduling: The process of changing the date, time, or location of an existing exam appointment with Prometric. Candidates can reschedule exam appointments on Prometric's website at www.prometric.com/gbc or by phone at 1-888-215-4154 within the US; please refer to the candidate handbooks for international numbers. The confirmation number is required to reschedule online. Prometric charges $50 for appointments canceled or rescheduled within 30 days of the exam appointment.

Scaled score: A common numerical range to which all candidates’ raw scores map for comparison. Scaled scores are ordinal indexes that allow for different candidates to be compared; thus two candidates who receive a scaled score of 186 both have the same amount of knowledge, though they may have answered different test questions. A well-known example is the 1600 (now 2400) point scale used by the SAT exam.

Score report: See diagnostic score report.

Scheduling: The process that first sets the date, time, and location of an exam appointment. Candidates must first apply and then register on GBCI’s website to receive an Eligibility ID. Candidates may then schedule an exam appointment on Prometric's website at www.prometric.com/gbci or by phone at 1-888-215-4154 within the US; please refer to the candidate handbooks for international numbers. (See Prometric, confirmation number, confirmation, rescheduling, and cancelation.)

Special Testing Accommodations: Changes to the test delivery procedure to accommodate candidates that have a documented disability which would prevent them from taking a LEED Professional Exam under normal testing conditions. Special testing accommodations are granted to ensure that every candidate has the opportunity to test on a level field with other candidates, but not to provide any candidate with an unfair advantage over other candidates. To request special testing accommodations, the Candidate form (completed by the candidate) and the Provider form (completed by a health care provider) documenting the disability and the need for accommodation must be submitted with the application.

Specialty: Within the LEED AP with specialty credential, the LEED Rating System content in which a candidate chooses to test.

Student pricing: A discounted price for the LEED Green Associate exam for full-time students. Candidates may request student by providing GBCI with a copy of their current student transcript demonstrating a full-time schedule of courses and a copy of a current student ID. Student pricing requests must be approved before a candidate is able to register for or schedule an appointment.

Sustainable field of work: Employment (or previous employment) in a profession or at a company that relates to environmentalism or the green building industry.

Test specifications: An outline of every domain and corresponding knowledge areas on which candidates are tested. Each exam appointment delivers questions from every domain listed. (See domains, knowledge areas.)

Tracking number: See confirmation number.

U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC): The organization that creates the LEED Rating Systems and publishes and sells the LEED Reference Guides. US Green Building Council and GBCI are separate organizations and USGBC does not handle any aspect of LEED Professional Exam development or administration. USGBC also does not administer GBCI’s Credential Maintenance Program; however, USGBC is an ERB meaning that they review and approve professional development/continuing education courses for CE hours. (See Green Building Certification Institute.)