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Continuing Education Information

In order for licensees to renew the NC Landscape Architect license, the licensee must have completed ten (10) contact hours of approved continuing education within the previous renewal period.

The North Carolina Board of Landscape Architects shall approve all continuing education activities.

  • LA CES approved activities having the HSW component are considered Board approved and do not require further review.
  • Activities offered by ASLA or any of its affiliate chapters, having the HSW component, are considered Board-approved and do not require further review.
  • One contact hour shall be defined as sixty (60) minutes of attendance or participation in an approved continuing education activity.
  • Licensees may be able to claim up to 5 hours* of self-directed continuing education each license year. (*Note that contact hours are calculated differently for self-directed CE.)
  • Newly licensed individuals are not required to report continuing education until their second renewal.

There has been established a Continuing Education Advisory Committee (CEAC).  This Committee is charged with reviewing applications for CE and making recommendation to the Board. The CEAC meets 8 times per year. NCBLA meets following the CEAC meetings to review and take final action on each application for CE. The deadline to make application is 8 days prior to CEAC meetings.

    If the activity that you attended is not ASLA (HSW), LA CES (HSW), or NCBLA approved, please use the CE Activity Application button at right to make application. Please complete the application in its entirety, using complete sentences and proper grammar. You should be prepared with an electronic document that can be uploaded during the application process, showing the content and contact hours of the activity. The CEAC will not visit websites to review information.  You must upload a PDF or other electronic document with enough information regarding the activity for the CEAC to make an informed decision.

    Self-Directed Continuing Education

    Licensees can claim up to 5 hours* of self-directed continuing education hours each license year. The Self-Directed Activity category pertains to any activity having a direct relationship to the practice of Landscape Architecture, which occurs outside of the normal classroom setting and involves the individual licensee or a select group of licensees. (*Note that contact hours are calculated differently for self-directed CE.)

    Self-directed activities are:

    a) Unique to the individual applicant and their educational/professional background and are approved only for the individual applicant

    AND/OR

    b) Not formally structured/scheduled and cannot be conventionally documented

    • Webinars accessed via video archives where no documentation is provided (e.g., YouTube) are considered self-directed activities and can be claimed for half credit. (Note: A 250-word essay must be provided in lieu of documentation.)
    • Online activities and webinars which are available to all licensees and where certificates of attendance are provided are NOT considered self-directed.

    Self-directed activities must be submitted for approval. Licensees are required to submit a 250-word essay regarding each self-directed activity when the hours are reported. See the Guidelines for Self-Directed Continuing Education to see types of acceptable activities and how to calculate hours.

    Providers of Continuing Education - Approval of CE Activities

    The NC Board of Landscape Architects does not approve providers of CE.  Each activity sponsored by the provider must be approved individually.  There is no charge for providers to make application for approval of CE activities. Please click link in the sidebar to make application for CE activities relative to landscape architecture and the protection of the public health, safety and welfare.

    NOTE: LA CES (HSW) approved courses are considered pre-approved and do not require further review. LA CES providers may send us a list of all HSW-approved courses to publish to our List of Approved CE.

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