EESA FAQs

The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) is an accrediting body for professional architecture programs within universities. To learn more about NAAB history, click here and mission, click here.

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) is a nonprofit corporation comprising the legally constituted architectural registration boards of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands as its members. To learn more about NCARB, please visit www.ncarb.org.

To obtain licensure in a US jurisdiction, you will need to satisfy the education, experience, examination, and any additional requirements of that jurisdiction. To learn more about each jurisdiction’s requirements visit the licensing requirements tool on NCARB’s website. Please contact NCARB directly if you have questions related to the licensing process at customerservice@ncarb.org.

The Education Evaluation Services for Architects (EESA) is a program conducted by NAAB, wherein applicants’ academic transcripts are evaluated in comparison with the NCARB Education Standard.

An EESA evaluation is needed when the licensure candidate does not hold a degree from a NAAB-accredited program, and the jurisdiction where the applicant is seeking licensure requires a NAAB-accredited degree and accepts an EESA evaluation.

There is no process for accrediting individuals’ degrees as NAAB accredits architecture programs and not individuals’ education credentials. Licensure candidates who do not hold a degree from a NAAB-accredited program may apply for an EESA evaluation if their jurisdiction requires a NAAB-accredited degree and accepts an EESA evaluation in lieu of the requirement.

To begin an EESA evaluation, the applicant must first  establish an NCARB record, and complete the education information in the Education tab. Additionally, the applicant should check the jurisdiction requirements and determine with NCARB the path of licensure they are eligible to take. An invitation to apply for EESA should be requested through NCARB if the applicant’s jurisdiction requires a NAAB-accredited degree; accepts an EESA evaluation; and if the applicant is taking the Foreign Educated Applicant path for licensure. Once an invitation has been received, the applicant should remit the EESA fee and send the required documents to NAAB.

The EESA fee is $2,500.00. To review the information about fees and procedures click here.

An official transcript is prepared and sent electronically by the issuing school, with an original signature of a school official on the school letterhead and is sealed by the school. While this method is required for U.S. institutions, it is preferred but not required for international institutions.

We have recently created a new system for our applicants to log in and create their EESA Profile. *You must have received an invitation via email to create and log in to your EESA Profile.

If you received an invitation, please follow the instructions to create your profile and continue to follow the onboarding process. To access the system, please visit eesa.naab.org

*Invitations were sent based on when on when our system went live and when new applicants completed their payment.

If you did not receive an invitation, please complete the steps below.

Please upload all your documents (including certified translations) on our website here and mail your original transcript to our office:

NAAB, c/o EESA
406 Suburban Drive
STE #129
Newark, DE 19711 

The results of an evaluation are posted to the applicant’s NCARB record in the Education tab.

If an applicant’s EESA evaluation result identifies deficiencies, please follow the instructions on the Evaluation Results page satisfy these deficiencies.

An EESA evaluation takes up to 60 business days from the time the applicant submits all required documents. The evaluation cannot start if the applicant is missing all or some of the required documents.

Please click review the Submit Documents page to learn about the required documents.

For any questions related to the licensure process contact NCARB at customerservice@ncarb.org, and for any questions related to the EESA process contact NAAB at eesa@naab.org.

Most evaluations outline deficiencies in the Professional Practice and Liberal Arts subject areas of the NCARB Education Standard. To learn more about the NCARB Education Standard, please review the NCARB Education Guidelines.

EESA is an evaluation for education credentials only and does not consider professional experience. Questions related to recording experience should be addressed to NCARB at customerservice@ncarb.org.

Applicants who graduated from an accredited program offered by one of the Canberra Accord Signatories after 2010 or a NAAB Internationally Certified program should send the name of the school, the name of the program, a PDF scan of their transcript and NCARB Record number to eesa@naab.org, to confirm their eligibility.

Applicants should wait to receive the results of their evaluation before taking any courses. All courses taken to satisfy deficiencies outlined in an evaluation must be pre-approved by NAAB. To find out more about pre-approval requests, please review the Course/Examination Pre-Approval page.

An updated evaluation letter will be sent to NCARB within 30 business days after receipt of the official transcript(s).

EESA evaluates applicants’ education credentials regardless of the country of education once applicants are able to provide the required documentation. An application is not rejected if it does not meet the NCARB Education Standard. The evaluation outlines the areas of deficiency found within the applicants’ education.

Institutional accreditation status of a foreign university is not considered in an EESA application.