US And UK Agree To Reciprocal Architect Licensing: Opening Doors For Professionals
Architect registration boards in the United Kingdom and the United States have signed a draught agreement to allow mutual recognition of architectural credentials between the two countries.
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB), which set the standard for architectural licencing in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, have reached an agreement that will make it easier for architects to work between the two countries.
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The agreement between all of the NCARB’s members was ratified last week. However, the agreement won’t be fully put into place until the UK government passes new laws and each US state gives its final approval.
Countries have a lot of overlap.
According to the agreement, an architect who is licenced by their respective board is considered licenced in both countries.
“The ability to pursue reciprocal licensure is one of the primary benefits enjoyed by NCARB certificate holders, and this agreement expands those benefits to a new continent,” said NCARB president Alfred Vidaurri Jr.
Alan Kershaw, chair of the ARB, agreed with what his American counterpart said. He said that a “mutual recognition agreement” would make this even stronger by letting qualified professionals register in both countries and share their skills and services.
The two countries have been talking about this deal for four years, and ARB is sure that it will be finalised in 2023.
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“We know there is significant overlap between architects in the UK and the US, as well as high regulatory standards that help protect the public in each country,” said ARB director of international and governance Emma Matthews.
“We have been talking more about this because we want to support and uphold these standards while also making it easier for professionals to work together.”
The United States believes that education in the United Kingdom is adequate.
In 2018, the NCARB set up an investigation committee to look into certification standards in the UK.
“Based on their analysis, the review team discovered that the United Kingdom has a rigorous and standardised registration process in place that parallels NCARB’s education, experience, and assessment of competency,” the NCARB stated.
Before, architects who worked across borders used the architect of record system, which lets a domestic architect mark a foreign design as ready for approval.
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This agreement with the US follows the end of mutual recognition between the UK and the EU as a result of Brexit. The ARB currently does not recognise any other certificates issued outside of the UK other than those issued while the European Union’s Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive is still in effect.
Architects who got their licences under the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive before Brexit can still work in the EU, but architects from the UK who want to work in the EU and vice versa can no longer count on mutual recognition.
In 2017, the US signed a mutual recognition agreement with New Zealand and Australia. This agreement was the basis for the current agreement between the NCARB and ARB.
The United States, Mexico, and Canada signed their own mutual recognition agreement in 2014.
Written By Tannu Sharma | Subscribe To Our Telegram Channel To Get Latest Updates And Don’t Forget To Follow Our Social Media Handles Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter. To Get the Latest Updates From Arco Unico