The following categories of membership are established in The Association:

  • successfully complete a recognized undergraduate or graduate degree programme or graduate degree programme or equivalent;
  • spend a minimum of three years of internship under the direct supervision of a
    registered/licensed Member; and
  • pass a series of registration examinations and final registration interview.

Applicants wishing to become Architects must first have their educational credentials certified by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB). The CACB certifies the educational credentials for all Architectural applicants across Canada by comparing each individual programme with the established curriculum for an architectural degree. In Alberta, the standards of the Canadian Architectural Certification Board are regularly reviewed by the AAA Certification Board.

Applicants wishing to become Licensed Interior Designers must also complete an
undergraduate degree programme or equivalent and have their educational programme approved by the AAA Certification Board.

Following certification, applicants must complete three years of supervised practical training, covering specific aspects of professional experience. This period of training recognizes that there is knowledge that can only be acquired through experience and that much that was learned in university must be tested and refined on the job.

For Architects registration examinations are the final test of all that has been learned, both through formal education and practical experience. The registration examinations currently required of applicants seeking registration as Architects, are the Canadian Architectural Registration Examinations which are developed by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. These examinations are standard across Canada and for a large percentage of American Architects. The focus of these examinations is to test competency relative to public safety.

Licensed Interior Designers also write a registration examination that is prepared in Alberta and normally takes about six hours.



The Architects Act of Alberta establishes the restricted "title of Architect". This means that only Members of the Association who are appropriately trained may use the title Architect, or any of its variations, or hold themselves out or imply they are Architects.

The Architects Act also defines a restricted "Scope of Practice" which may be practiced only by Members licensed by the Association.

These restrictions protect the public by ensuring that anyone calling himself/herself an
Architect, or performing the tasks of an Architect, has the appropriate training and background.

"Licensed Interior Designer" is also a restricted title, and may be used only by those persons licensed under the Architects Act and the Interior Design Regulation.

Licensed Interior Designers are entitled to practice that part of the "Scope of Practice" of Architecture called interior design. Only Licensed Interior Designers or Architects may practice Interior Design as defined by the Interior Design Regulation.

The Association also issues licenses to Visiting Project Architects and Visiting Project Interior Designers, who are not licensed to practice in Alberta, but who may be allowed to practice on a project by project basis, in co-operation with a local practitioner.

The Association also issues a limited number of restricted licenses to a small group of
Professional Engineers, called Restricted Practitioners. These individuals have a limited right to practice part of the "Scope of Practice" of Architecture, for specific types of buildings only.