Architecture CE · United States · for providers
AIA CES certificate requirements for architecture CE providers
The nine elements an AIA CES provider must put on a certificate of completion, how Learning Units are counted, the exact provider statement, the 10-business-day reporting rule and the records you must keep. Checked against the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs (Version 2018.10.15), the current adopted edition.
Short answer · checked 30 October 2026
An AIA CES certificate of completion must show the provider’s name, contact information with mailing address and provider number, the participant’s name, the program title, the registered course and session numbers, the date completed, the location, the delivery method, the assessment score if there was one, and the number and type of LUs (LU|HSW or LU|Elective). Electronic certificates are allowed. You give the certificate on request within 20 business days, report AIA members to AIA CES within 10 business days, and keep records for 6 years.
- Required elements
- 9
- Issue the certificate
- On request, within 20 business days
- Keep records
- 6 years
- Central reporting system
- AIA CES transcript, via the CE Provider Dashboard
New to CE?
How continuing education works, in one line
New to CE?
How continuing education works, in one line
Accreditor
Sets the rules and approves providers.
Provideryou
Runs the course and issues the certificate.
Learner
Completes the course and keeps the certificate.
Board
Renews the licence and may audit the certificate.
- AIA CES Provider
- An organization or person with a paid, current AIA CES Provider subscription. Only a provider in good standing can award AIA LUs.
- Learning Unit (LU)
- The unit of AIA continuing education. One LU is one hour of instruction. Do not call it a CEU or a PDH.
- LU|HSW
- A Learning Unit in a health, safety and welfare topic. At least 75 percent of the program content must be HSW. Written exactly as “LU|HSW”.
- LU|Elective
- A Learning Unit that is not HSW. Written exactly as “LU|Elective”.
- AIA CES transcript
- AIA’s official record of what each member has completed. Providers post to it by reporting attendance. Non-members have no transcript.
- Session
- One offering of an approved course. A live course needs a new session each time it runs. An on-demand course has one session.
Who this applies to
Providers under AIA CES, and the learners they serve
Providers
- Organizations and individuals with a current AIA CES Provider subscription (Passport, Platform, Portal, Professional or Architecture Firm; AIA chapters hold a Component subscription)
- Building product manufacturers, firms, schools, non-profits and AIA chapters that teach architects
Learners
Architects who are AIA members (18 LUs a year, 12 of them HSW), and licensed architects who need HSW hours for state licence renewal.
The 9 elements
What the certificate must show
Each number on the sample matches one element AIA CES requires. The list says where the rule is written and which Hyperstack field fills it.
- 1
Provider name, contact information and provider number
The AIA CES provider that owns the course. Contact information must include a mailing address. Show your AIA CES provider number next to it.
Example: Meridian Building Science Institute · AIA CES Provider 40028117
In Hyperstack: set once in the templateAIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34
- 2
Participant’s name
The name of the architect who completed the program.
Example: Daniel R. Okafor, AIA
In Hyperstack:
[recipient_name]AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34 - 3
Learning program title
The title of the course as AIA CES approved it.
Example: Fire-Rated Glazing in Exit Enclosures
In Hyperstack:
[group_title]AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34 - 4
Registered course and session numbers
The course number AIA CES gave the course when it was approved, and the session number for this offering.
Example: Course MBS2026-07 · Session 1
In Hyperstack:
[custom_course_session]AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34 - 5
Date completed
The day the learner finished the program. For an on-demand course this is the day the learner passed, not the day the course was approved.
Example: 14 October 2026
In Hyperstack:
[issue_date]AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34 - 6
Location (if applicable)
The city and venue for a live in-person program. For online programs, say so.
Example: Online, on demand
In Hyperstack:
[custom_location]AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34 - 7
Instructional and delivery method
The delivery type the course was approved under (live in-person, live online, on-demand e-learning, on-demand print, Nano, blended) and the teaching method.
Example: On-demand e-learning · narrated lesson with quiz
In Hyperstack:
[custom_delivery_method]AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34 - 8
Summative assessment score (if applicable)
The final test score, where the program has a final test. Every on-demand program needs one: at least 10 questions for the first LU and a pass mark of 70 percent (Nano learning: 3 questions, 100 percent). Leave it off a live program with no test.
Example: 90%
In Hyperstack:
[custom_assessment_score]AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34, and Standard 13 (S13-01), p. 22 - 9
Number and type of LUs awarded
The LUs for this program and the type, written as “LU|HSW” or “LU|Elective”. Never “CEU” or “PDH”.
Example: 1.5 LU|HSW
In Hyperstack:
[custom_learning_units]AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34, and Standard 18, p. 27
Exact wording
The statements, word for word
AIA CES has 3 wordings. Use the one that fits your approval and your activity. Copy it, do not retype it.
AIA CES Provider statement (all providers)
[AIA CES Provider name] is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number [assigned AIA CES Provider number]. All registered AIA CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider or this learning program may be sent to AIA CES ([email protected] or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3). This learning program is registered with AIA CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product. AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.
This is the only fixed wording AIA has. The Standards require it in the course description and marketing materials given to learners in advance, not on the certificate itself. Many providers also print it on the certificate; that is allowed, and it is the easiest way to show the provider number and the complaint contact in one place. Use it as written.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 14 (S14-01), p. 24Course hosted by a Platform provider
Content provider: [AIA CES Provider name], AIA CES Provider [number]. Hosted by: [Platform provider name], AIA CES Platform Provider [number].
AIA sets no fixed wording for this. The rule is that when a Platform provider hosts another provider’s course, the attendance record and the certificate must clearly name both the provider responsible for the content and the Platform provider host. The entity named on the certificate is responsible for validating and reporting the LUs.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-02), p. 34How to describe the course and yourself
AIA CES approved · [Number] LU|HSW (or LU|Elective) · [Provider name] is AIA CES registered.
An approved course is “AIA CES approved” and a provider is “AIA CES registered”. You may not write “AIA endorsed”, “AIA accredited” or “AIA certified”, and you may not use the AIA logo (the AIA CES logo is different). Before approval you may only say “Submitted for AIA CES approval”, with no LU number or type.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 14 (S14-03), p. 24How credit is counted
Minutes in, LUs out
The unit
1 LU = 60 minutes
One Learning Unit is one contact hour of instruction, and a contact hour must be at least 50 minutes. Only teaching time counts: welcome, housekeeping, breaks, lunch and the evaluation form do not. A program must earn a full first LU before any fraction is added; the only exception is Nano learning (15–44 minutes), which awards 0.25 or 0.5 LU.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 18 (S18-01), p. 27, and Standard 20, p. 31Rounding
After the first full LU, add quarter LUs from AIA’s table: 1–14 extra minutes add 0, 15–29 add 0.25, 30–44 add 0.5, 45–50 add 0.75, 51–59 add 1.0. You may round down to the nearest quarter or whole LU; never round up. Some state boards do not accept partial LUs, so the learner must check.
Worked example
150 minutes = 2 full hours (2 LU) + 30 extra minutes (0.5 LU) = 2.5 LU. AIA’s own example: a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. day with a 1-hour lunch, two 15-minute breaks and 15 minutes of evaluation is 6.25 instructional hours = 6.25 LU.
150 minutes → 2.5 LU
150 ÷ 60, rounded down to the nearest 0.25. Programs under 60 minutes earn no LU unless approved as Nano learning (15–29 minutes = 0.25 LU, 30–44 minutes = 0.5 LU). AIA’s table gives a full extra LU for 51–59 extra minutes, which this calculator does not add.
Timeline
From the last slide to the audit file
Activity
Day 0
The learner attends the whole program. You monitor attendance yourself: sign-in sheet, check-in software or badge scan. Self-certification by the learner is not enough.
Certificate
On request, within 20 business days
A certificate (electronic or paper) is due to any participant who asks for one, as soon as possible and no later than 20 business days after the request. Sending it to everyone on completion is simpler.
Report
Within 10 business days
Report the attendance of AIA members to AIA CES through the CE Provider Dashboard within 10 business days of completion. Late reporting can trigger an audit.
Records
6 years
Keep participation records, dates, LUs earned, evaluations and course materials for at least 6 years, even if your subscription lapses.
Reporting
Who reports what to AIA CES transcript, through the CE Provider Dashboard
System
AIA CES transcript, through the CE Provider Dashboard
- Who reports
- The provider reports every AIA member who completed the program. Non-members are not reported; they get a certificate instead.
- Deadline
- Within 10 business days of program completion
The transcript is the official record for AIA members. The certificate is the learner’s own evidence, and the only record a non-member gets. A lapsed subscription gives you a 15-day grace period to report attendance earned before it expired.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25, p. 34; Standard 2 (S2-01), p. 13; CE Dashboard FAQs, Attendance Report Q6Provider
Registers the course in the dashboard and waits for approval (up to 10 business days). For a live course, adds a session for each date it runs; an on-demand course has one session.
Provider
Collects each learner’s AIA member number at sign-in. AIA’s attendance sheet has columns for member number, name, email, signature and whether a certificate is requested.
Provider
Reports attendance for the session in the dashboard, one learner at a time or as a bulk upload, within 10 business days of completion.
AIA CES
Posts the LUs to each member’s AIA CES transcript. Most state boards accept the transcript as proof.
Provider
Sends a certificate of completion to anyone who asks, member or not, within 20 business days of the request.
Right and wrong
The same certificate, two ways
The lines on the left are the mistakes auditors find most. The lines on the right are the fix.
Fails an audit
Meridian Building Science Institute
Daniel R. Okafor, AIA
- 1.5 CEU
- An AIA-accredited provider
- 0.75 LU|Elective for a 45-minute lunch-and-learn
- Date: 2 September 2026 (course approval date)
- Fire-Rated Glazing in Exit Enclosures — 1.5 LU|HSW (no course or session number)
- Hosted by BuildLearn (Platform provider) — no content provider named
Passes an audit
Meridian Building Science Institute
Daniel R. Okafor, AIA
- 1.5 LU|HSW
- Meridian Building Science Institute is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number 40028117.
- 1.0 LU|Elective for a 60-minute program, or 0.5 LU|Elective as an approved Nano learning program
- Date completed: 14 October 2026
- Course MBS2026-07 · Session 1
- Content provider: Meridian Building Science Institute, AIA CES Provider 40028117. Hosted by BuildLearn, AIA CES Platform Provider 40091220.
- 1. AIA credit is written as LU|HSW or LU|Elective. “CEU”, “PDH” and other names are not allowed for AIA credit.
- 2. Providers are “AIA CES registered” and courses are “AIA CES approved”. “Accredited”, “certified” and “endorsed” are banned words.
- 3. A program must earn a full first LU before fractions are added. Only Nano learning may award 0.25 or 0.5 LU.
- 4. The certificate shows the day this learner completed the program.
- 5. The registered course and session numbers are required elements. Without them AIA CES cannot match the certificate to the approved course.
- 6. When a Platform provider hosts the course, the certificate must name both providers.
Digital
Electronic certificates and badges
Electronic certificates
AIA accepts an electronic or a paper certificate of completion; the Standards say so in the same sentence. Records may also be kept as digital copies or scans.
Digital badges
AIA says nothing about digital badges. A badge is fine as an extra, but the certificate must still carry all nine elements.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34, and Standard 26, p. 35
Records and other rules
What else AIA CES checks
Keep records for 6 years
The Standards (Standard 26) say at least 6 years, even if your subscription lapses or you stop being a provider. AIA’s Terms & Conditions page (updated August 2025) says “a minimum of three (3) years”. Follow the longer one. AIA can ask for records at any time and you must answer within 15 business days. Hyperstack keeps every issued certificate, its verification page and its audit log for the life of your account and after you cancel.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 26, p. 35; CE Standards Terms & Conditions, section 3No partial credit
Learners must attend the entire program to get credit. A member who sits through part of a program can claim nothing for it. Do not issue a certificate with reduced LUs for partial attendance.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 18 (S18-03), p. 28, and Reporting continuing education credits, p. 10Conferences and multi-session programs
For a program with several related segments, work out the LUs of each segment, then add them: five 30-minute talks are 5 × 0.5 = 2.5 LU. Segments must be topically related; do not bolt short unrelated talks together to reach credit. Each AIA-credited component of a larger event must be shown on the schedule.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 18 (S18-02), p. 28, and Standard 14 (S14-01), p. 23Platform-hosted courses
A Platform provider may host another provider’s course, but may not lend its provider number. The certificate and the attendance report must name both the content provider and the host, and the provider named on the certificate validates and reports the LUs.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-02), p. 34, and Glossary, p. 3On-demand and self-paced courses
LUs for on-demand programs come from a pilot test with at least three independent testers, or from AIA’s word-count formula, not from the author’s guess. An on-demand course has one session; the certificate date is the day the learner finished. Keep the pilot-test or word-count records.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 19 (S19-01), pp. 28–29, and Standard 26 (S26-02), p. 35No signature required
The Standards do not require a signature. AIA’s own certificate template has lines for the speaker’s name and title and the provider contact, but no signing line. Add one if your learners’ state board expects it.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 25 (S25-01), p. 34; AIA Certificate of Completion template (2021)Course approval lasts 3 years
An approved course earns AIA credit for three years from the approval date and cannot be renewed; submit it again as a new course. Advertise LUs only after approval. Your provider subscription expires on 31 December each year.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 1 (S1-03), p. 13, Standard 2 (S2-01), p. 13, and Standard 14 (S14-03), p. 24; CE Dashboard FAQs, Course Management Q17–Q18Non-members
AIA members are reported to the transcript. Non-members cannot be reported; they rely on your certificate to prove the hours to their state board, so send it without waiting to be asked. Some state boards do not accept quarter LUs; the learner must check.
AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs 2018, Standard 14 (S14-01), p. 24, and Standard 18 (S18-01), p. 27Before you send
The audit checklist, to tick or print
AIA CES certificate checklist0/12
How to do it in Hyperstack
Three steps to a compliant certificate
- 1
Open the AIA CES template
The template has a place for every element on this page. Add your logo and your provider details once.
- Provider name, contact information and provider number
- 2
Map your columns
Upload a spreadsheet or connect your LMS. Each column fills one element for every learner.
- [recipient_name]
- [group_title]
- [custom_course_session]
- [issue_date]
- [custom_location]
- [custom_delivery_method]
- [custom_assessment_score]
- [custom_learning_units]
- 3
Issue and keep the record
Every learner gets an email, a verification page and a QR code. The record stays for as long as the rules need it.
- Verification page
- QR code
- Audit log
- Kept 6 years and beyond
Free template
An AIA CES-ready certificate, with all 9 elements in place
Set your provider details once. Names, dates and LUs fill in for every learner. Each certificate gets a verification page and QR code.
FAQ
AIA CES certificates, answered
The Standards require the statement in the course description and marketing materials learners see before the program, not on the certificate. The certificate needs the nine elements in Standard 25. Most providers print the statement on the certificate too, because it carries the provider number and AIA’s contact for complaints. That is allowed.
Yes. Standard 25 says “electronic or paper certificate of completion”. Records may be digital copies or scans. A verified digital certificate with a QR code also lets a state board check it without calling you.
1.5 LU. The first 60 minutes earn 1 LU; the extra 30 minutes add 0.5 LU from AIA’s table. Count only teaching time: a 90-minute slot with 15 minutes of introductions and evaluation is 75 minutes, which is 1.25 LU.
Not as a normal program. A program must earn a full first LU before any fraction is added, and a contact hour is at least 50 minutes. You can submit it as a Nano learning program, which awards 0.5 LU for 30–44 minutes, or make it 60 minutes for 1 LU.
Both are one hour of instruction. LU|HSW means at least 75 percent of the content is about health, safety or welfare in the built environment, on one of AIA’s HSW topics. AIA members need 12 of their 18 annual LUs as HSW, and most state boards ask for HSW hours, so HSW courses are in demand. AIA decides the type when it approves the course; you cannot change it on the certificate.
A certificate of completion with the same nine elements. You cannot report them to the AIA CES transcript because they have no member number. Their certificate is the only proof they have for their state board, so keep it complete and keep a copy.
The deadline is 10 business days after completion. Late or inconsistent reporting can trigger an AIA CES audit of your provider subscription. Members may not self-report a course from an AIA CES provider, so if you miss it the member has no credit until you fix it.
No. AIA lists nine required elements and a signature is not one of them. AIA’s own certificate template has no signing line. You may add one in your design if you like.
Sources
Read from American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Services documents on 30 October 2026. This page is a guide, not legal advice. Your accreditation manual and your licensing board have the final word. Something out of date? Tell us.
Changes to this page
- 2026-10-30Page written from the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs (Version 2018.10.15), the CE Standards Terms & Conditions and the CE Provider Dashboard FAQs.
- 2026-10-30Fact check: on-demand summative assessment corrected to at least 10 questions and a 70 percent pass mark (Standard 13); subscription types updated to the ones AIA sells now (Portal added, Basic removed); course approval term now also cited to Standard 1 (S1-03).
- 1AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs, Version 2018.10.15 (October 2018)Glossary (pp. 3–7), member records (pp. 9–10), Standards 1 and 2 (p. 13), Standard 13 (p. 22), Standard 14 with the provider statement (pp. 23–24), Standard 18 (pp. 27–28), Standard 19 (pp. 28–29), Standard 20 (p. 31), Standard 23 (p. 32), Standard 25 (p. 34), Standard 26 (p. 35).
- 2AIA Continuing Education Standards Terms & Conditions (updated 8 August 2025)Section 3, provider responsibilities: certificates on request and the 3-year retention line; section 9, prior review and approval of each program.
- 3AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs, Version 2027.1.1, public comment draft (September 2026)Checked that Standards 14, 18, 25 and 26 are unchanged from 2018.
- 4AIA CES Certificate of Completion template (2021)The placeholders AIA puts on its own template: course name, course and session number, completion date, location, speaker, delivery type, score, provider contact block, provider number, LUs and type, participant name, provider logo.
- 5AIA CES Course Attendance Sheet (2019)Columns: AIA member number, name, email, signature, certificate requested.
- 6AIA CE Provider Dashboard FAQsAttendance Report Q6 (10 business days), Course Management Q9–Q22 (review time, 3-year approval, no renewal), Session Management Q1–Q6.
- 7AIA: Continuing education providers (provider toolkit)Links to the current Standards, Terms & Conditions, templates and the CE Provider Dashboard.
- 8AIA: Become an AIA continuing education providerSubscription types and 2027 prices; course review within ten business days; no fee to report attendance.
- 9AIA & state continuing education requirementsMember requirement of 18 LUs a year with 12 HSW; transcripts accepted by most state boards.
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