§ 2624. Qualifications
(a) A person shall be eligible for licensure as a landscape architect if the person qualifies
under one of the following provisions:
(1) Comity or endorsement. A person holding a registration or license to engage in the practice of landscape
architecture issued on the basis of an examination administered by the Council of
Landscape Architectural Registration Boards, by the appropriate regulatory authority
of a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia,
or another country based on requirements and qualifications shown by the application
to be equal to or greater than the requirements of this chapter may be examined on
landscape architecture matters peculiar to Vermont and granted a license at the discretion
of the Director. The Director shall accept evidence that an applicant holds a valid
certificate from the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards as proof
of qualification for licensure under this subdivision.
(2) Graduation and examination. An applicant who has graduated, having completed a landscape architecture curriculum
approved by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board, followed by at least
three years of diversified experience in landscape architecture under the supervision
of a licensed, registered, or certified landscape architect and who has passed an
examination administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards
may be granted a license. The Director may accept experience received under the supervision
of a licensed or registered architect, professional engineer, or land surveyor for
one year of the experience required under this subdivision. All applicants shall have
at least two years of experience under the supervision of a licensed, certified, or
registered landscape architect.
(3) Experience and examination. An applicant who has completed nine or more years’ diversified experience in landscape
architecture under the supervision of a licensed, certified, or registered landscape
architect and who has passed an examination administered by the Council of Landscape
Architectural Review Boards may be granted a license. Experience received under the
supervision of a licensed or registered architect, professional engineer, or land
surveyor may be substituted for no more than three years of this requirement. Credits
from a landscape architecture program accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation
Board may be substituted for up to no more than three years of this requirement.
(b) Upon application for licensure, an applicant qualifying for licensure under subdivision
(a)(2) or (3) of this section shall file a report with the Director certifying the
practical experience requirements completed. The Director shall certify that, to the
best of the Director’s knowledge, the report is correct.
(c) An applicant may submit experience accrued for a period of three years in the practice
of landscape architecture, as defined in subdivision 2611(5) of this title, in order to meet the experience requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this
section if the experience was obtained in Vermont on or before December 31, 2011.
Evidence of experience shall be reviewed and approved by the Director.
(d) An applicant qualifying for licensure under subdivision (a)(2) or (3) of this section
shall pass a written examination administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural
Boards on technical and professional subjects as may be prescribed by the Council
of Landscape Architectural Boards. Applicants may apply for examination before completing
the experience requirement as long as the experience requirements will be fulfilled
by the examination date. Notification of the results of examinations shall be mailed
to each candidate within 30 days of the date the results are received by the Director.
A candidate failing to pass the examination may apply for reexamination and may sit
for a regularly scheduled examination as many times as the candidate chooses to do
so. If an applicant does not pass the entire examination, the applicant shall not
be required to retake any section of an examination that the applicant has previously
passed. No license shall be granted to an applicant until he or she passes all sections
of the exam.
(e) Licensing standards and procedures adopted by the Director by rule shall be fair and
reasonable. Those standards and procedures shall be designed and implemented to ensure
that all applicants are admitted to practice unless there is a good reason to believe
that practice by a particular applicant would be inconsistent with the public health,
safety, or welfare. Licensing standards shall not be designed or implemented for the
purpose of limiting the number of licensed landscape architects. (Added 2009, No. 84 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)