Architect (RA) and Firm Licenses will expire on June 30, 2023. As of April 28th, 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 must 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.
RENEWAL CYCLE & OUTREACH
Licenses expire June 30 of every odd-numbered year. The board emails renewal notices approximately two months before 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.
Please note that there is no longer a grace period for renewals. This means you CANNOT renew your license after June 30, 2023. After the expiration date, you must submit a reactivation application and meet all requirements before your license will be returned to active status.
RENEWAL FEE
The biennial renewal fee is $100.00 for both individual registered architects and architecture firms. There is no fee for sole proprietors’ firm renewal applications.
RENEWAL PROCESSING TIMES
Firm or individual license renewal applications submitted before midnight on June 30, 2023, will be processed to ensure licenses remain active.
Please note that the processing time for architecture firm license renewal applications will take significantly longer than individual registered architect renewal applications.
All firm license renewal applications must be reviewed and processed manually by the Board staff, while individual registered architect renewal applications are expedited through an auto-renewal process.
QUESTIONS OR ISSUES WITH RENEWALS?
Contact the State Architects Licensure Board at 1-833-DOS-BPOA (1-833-367-2762) [available M-F 9 am – 3:30 pm] or St-Architect@pa.gov
FRAUD
The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA) has received reports that a person pretending to be from the State Architects Licensure Board (Board) is calling licensees about the status of their license. The scammer asks for credit card information. Persons who give their credit card information may not only lose their money, but also can become a victim of identity theft.
Licensees are urged to avoid becoming a victim of credit card fraud or identity theft:
- BPOA and/or Board will NOT call licensees asking for payment over the phone.
- If you get a text message or call asking for your credit card information, hang up.
- Do NOT give your personal or financial information over the phone.
- If you feel that you are a victim of any type of scam, you should immediately notify your local or state police.
ARCHITECTURE FIRM REGISTRATION REMINDER
ALL FIRMS MUST BE LICENSED – including sole proprietors. If you provide architectural services and do not own or 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.
Instructions provided by the Pennsylvania Department of State
There are three steps to registering 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 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 must then 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.