Architect (RA) and Firm Licenses expire June 30, 2021. As of April 30th, the Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS) is accepting license renewals online.
If you have already attempted to renew your license but there is a renewal hold on the record, you will need to address the renewal hold as directed in the emailed discrepancy notice before your license can be renewed.
Follow the instructions provided by the Department of State below to renew your license:
• Login to PALS at www.pals.pa.gov. If you do not remember your User ID and Password from the previous renewal, you can access our self-help recovery center at www.pals.pa.gov/recover to recover your User ID, reset your password, or update the email address associated with your login information.
• Update your account information and click “Save Changes” to proceed to your user Dashboard.
• To renew your license, look for the banner entitled “Professional License Details.” Click the “Renew” button associated with the license you wish to renew to access the renewal form.
To determine whether your license has been renewed, please visit our license verification website at www.pals.pa.gov/verify.
Licenses expire June 30 of every odd-numbered year. The board emails renewal notices approximately two months prior to the license expiration date. Notices are emailed to the most recent email address the licensee has reported to the Board. The Postal Service does not forward licenses. Paper renewal applications are not available. The Biennial renewal fee is $100.00.
IMPORTANT NOTICE ON RENEWALS
Please note that there is no longer a grace period for renewals. This means you CANNOT renew your license after June 30, 2021. After the expiration date, you must submit a reactivation application and meet all requirements before your license will be returned to active status.
ARCHITECTURE FIRM REGISTRATION
Instructions provided by the PA Department of State
ALL FIRMS MUST BE LICENSED – including sole-proprietors. If you are providing architectural services, and you do not own and are not employed by a registered architectural firm, you must register for a sole-proprietor firm license. Please note that sole ownership of a corporation, association, LLC, or LLP is not considered to be a sole-proprietorship according to Board regulations.
There are three steps to register an architectural firm to offer and perform architectural services in Pennsylvania:
(1) – Submit the firm application to the Board online at www.pals.pa.gov. The application can be submitted through an existing account or a new account may be registered for the firm record. All documentation other than the Corporation Bureau Documentation, Firm Name Approval, and Fictitious Name Approval, should be submitted with the application.
*Please note that sole-proprietors must register under their name, followed by “architect” or “architecture”. Any other business name must then be listed as a fictitious name. Sole-proprietors may skip steps 2 and 3, unless a fictitious name is being used.
(2) – After review of your application, the Firm Name Approval and Fictitious Name Approval letters, if applicable, will be sent to you by email. The firm will then need to register with the PA Corporation Bureau (717-787-1057). The approval letters from the Board must accompany the application to the PA Corporation Bureau.
(3) – Once your registration with the PA Corporation Bureau is complete, a copy of their approval must be submitted to the Board to finalize your firm license application. The firm may not legally practice in Pennsylvania until the firm license has been issued.
Questions?
Contact the State Architects Licensure Board at (717) 783-3397 [available M-F 9 am – 3:30 pm] or St-Architect@pa.gov
Join us on June 9th for a live demonstration of the Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS) hosted by the Department of State Professionals. Our speakers will cover both individual license renewals and firm license renewals plus be available to answer any questions along the way.