Key takeaways
- Look the person up on the Department of Licensing lookup under Architects and the firm under Architect Firms. Confirm the name, that the license is active and the expiration date.
- In Washington, the words architect, architecture and architectural in a title or advertising are reserved to people registered here (RCW 18.08.310). AIA membership and an NCARB certificate are not Washington licenses.
- State law does not require an architect for a residential building of up to four dwelling units, whatever its size (RCW 18.08.410). The check protects you when someone presents as an architect.
- A licensed architect’s seal carries a name, a license number and the words Registered Architect, State of Washington, so a sealed sheet gives you the number to look up.
Short answer: open the Department of Licensing license lookup, choose Architects for a person or Architect Firms for a company, and search the name or license number. You are looking for an exact name match, a status of active and an expiration date that has not passed. Letters after a name or a website do not substitute for that record.
Who this is for: an owner choosing an architect for a remodel or new house of $750,000 or more. I read every source cited below on October 27, 2026. Rules and web pages change, so confirm with the Board for Architects.
Look up the person and the firm
The Department of Licensing (DOL) licenses architects with the Washington State Board for Architects, and DOL runs the public lookup at professions.dol.wa.gov. It has two ways in. One takes a profession and a license number. The profession list shows Architects and Architect Firms as separate entries, beside Engineers and Landscape Architects. The other is an advanced search by name, license type, county and UBI, and its license type list includes Architect. The advanced search can also filter by license status: Active, Inactive, Expired, Suspended, Revoked or Canceled. DOL’s own page says the lookup tells you whether a license has been issued to a person or business, whether it is active and when it expires (DOL lookup page).
The lookup screen also says its data is updated every morning by 6 a.m. and may not show the most current information. If a renewal looks stale, call the architect licensing line at 360 664 1388, open weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Get the number from the architect. Ask for the full name as it appears on the license and the license number, in writing. You can also read it off a sealed drawing. The state’s seal rule says the seal bears the architect’s name, license number and the legend Registered Architect, State of Washington, and that drawings are signed and sealed on each sheet (WAC 308-12-081).
Check the firm as well. Any business offering architecture services in Washington, a sole proprietorship included, must register with the board and receive a certificate of authorization (RCW 18.08.420). The rule requires it to name a designated architect responsible for its architectural work (WAC 308-12-085). So the firm named in your agreement should appear under Architect Firms, and the person who will sign and seal should appear under Architects.
Reading the result
| What you see | What it means | What I would do |
|---|---|---|
| Name does not match | The person may use a different legal name, or you may have the wrong person. | Ask for the name as it is on the license and search again with the license number. |
| Status active, expiration in the future | DOL says licenses run on a two year cycle and can be renewed up to 120 days early. | If the date falls during your project, ask about renewal and put it on the calendar. |
| Any status other than Active (Inactive, Expired, Suspended, Revoked, Canceled) | The lookup screen does not define these. For a license that was not renewed, the rule calls it delinquent and bars the holder from offering or providing architect services until it is reinstated (WAC 308-12-215). | Do not sign. Ask the architect to explain the status and show you the reinstated record, or call DOL. |
| No record under Architects | The person is not licensed in Washington, or the search missed them. | Search by license number and by the legal name. If they are licensed in another state, see the next paragraph. |
| Firm not under Architect Firms | The business may not be registered to offer architecture services here. | Ask which registered firm will sign the agreement and who its designated architect is. |
Licensed in another state. The lookup covers licenses Washington issues, so a license from another state will not appear there. State law lets an architect or firm registered in another recognized jurisdiction offer to practice here only if the offer clearly says they are not registered in Washington, and they must be registered in Washington before they practice or sign a contract for architectural services (RCW 18.08.310(2)). That matters when a designer from out of town is on your shortlist.
Discipline. A status of Suspended or Revoked shows up in the status filter. I did not find a separate disciplinary history search on the Department’s architect pages, so ask the Board office whether anything else is on record. DOL takes complaints about architects and unlicensed activity online (file a complaint).
Free feasibility check
Planning a custom home or a remodel of $750,000 or more?
Send me the address and a few lines about what you want. The first feasibility check is free and usually takes about a day.
What a Washington license means
The statute says registered and DOL says licensed, and I follow DOL. The practice of architecture is defined as services that require architectural education, training and experience in building design for construction, including predesign, schematic design, design development, construction contract documents and administration of the construction contract (RCW 18.08.320). The same section defines administration of the contract as periodic observation of the work for general compliance, and it excludes responsibility for construction methods, site conditions, personnel and safety. That is why I administer construction and do not build.
How someone earns the license. The statute allows two routes: an accredited architecture degree plus a board approved structured training program, or a high school diploma plus at least eight years of practical architectural experience that includes structured training (RCW 18.08.350(3)). A degree is one route and the experience path is the other. Washington requires the Architectural Experience Program, at least 2 years and 3,740 hours, and the Architect Registration Exam, plus a Washington law review (DOL AXP page, DOL exam page). NCARB says the current exam has six divisions and that every U.S. jurisdiction requires passing all of them (NCARB).
How someone keeps it. DOL requires 24 professional development hours each 2 year period, at least 16 on public health, safety and welfare (DOL FAQ).
What the seal adds. A licensed architect must seal and sign drawings filed with a building department, and by sealing becomes the architect of record, responsible as if they had prepared the drawings personally. DOL’s FAQ says this applies even when the project is exempt from licensing. A license says the person is registered, current and answerable to the Board. It says nothing about taste.
Who may use the word architect
RCW 18.08.310(1) makes it unlawful to practice or offer to practice architecture in Washington, or to use or advertise a title or description including the word architect, architecture or architectural, or language implying the person is an architect, unless registered here. Subsection (4) says the section does not affect those words where a person does not practice or offer to practice architecture. Violating the chapter is a misdemeanor and can carry a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per offense (RCW 18.08.460).
- Architectural associate. A person with an accredited architecture degree who is in a board recognized training program and works under the direct supervision of an architect may use this title (RCW 18.08.310(3)). It is a training title, not a license.
- Project titles. DOL says Architect of Record, Designated Architect, Executive Architect, Project Architect, Design Architect and Principal Architect are often used as synonyms in the profession, and that the law does not instruct anyone on how they are used. The record tells you more than a card.
- Employees and interior design. The chapter leaves alone drafters and other employees working under an architect’s direction, and space planning or interior design that does not affect public health or safety (RCW 18.08.410(1) and (2)).
- Landscape architects and engineers. They are licensed under chapters 18.96 and 18.43 RCW, which RCW 18.08.410(1) leaves alone, and each has its own entry in the lookup.
- Designers. The lookup’s profession list has no category for home or building designers. The statute reserves the word architectural, so a title that includes it is a question for the Board. I found no Board ruling on architectural designer, so I will not call any wording a violation. I compare what each kind of professional does in licensed architect vs home designer.
Why a house does not require one
Washington’s architect licensing law does not require an architect to design a house. The chapter does not prevent any person from doing design work, including preparing construction contract documents and administering the construction contract, for a residential building of up to and including four dwelling units, regardless of size, or for a garage, shed or similar structure that serves it (RCW 18.08.410(5)). DOL’s FAQ gives examples: a 5,000 square foot single family house needs no architect’s seal for a building permit, and neither does a 5,000 square foot residence with 3 dwelling units. Other exemptions cover buildings up to a total of 4,000 square feet, and alterations of up to 4,000 square feet in a larger building that do not affect life safety or structural systems (RCW 18.08.410(6) and (7), explained in WAC 308-12-340).
The check therefore matters for other reasons. A person who presents as an architect should be one, and a registered architect and firm answer to the Board. When an architect prepares your drawings, the seal rule applies even on an exempt project.
Two cautions. First, your city can ask for more than the state does: DOL says the building code gives building officials authority to require and define submittals prepared by registered design professionals. My page on the structural engineer for a home remodel covers what Seattle and the Eastside cities publish. Second, where an architect’s seal is required, an engineer’s stamp is not a substitute for it. The Attorney General’s 2021 opinion concludes that an engineer may not stamp architectural drawings for building permits, because the legislature removed the engineer exemptions from RCW 18.08.410 in 2010 (the exemptions that remain still apply) (AGO 2021 No. 2). I cover the split in architect vs engineer.
AIA, NCARB and other letters
The AIA defines its Architect member category as an individual entitled under law to practice architecture and use the title architect in any state of the U.S. That wording does not name Washington, so the license behind the letters could be in Oregon or Texas (AIA). NCARB says its certificate is not a license to practice, that authorization to practice is granted solely by licensing boards, and that a holder must keep at least one active license in a U.S. jurisdiction (NCARB).
| Credential | Issued by | What it tells you | Proves a Washington license? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington architect license | Department of Licensing, Board for Architects | The person may practice architecture and use the title in Washington. The lookup shows status and expiration. | Yes. It is the license. |
| Architect firm certificate of authorization | Department of Licensing | The business may offer architecture services here and has named designated architects. | Not for a person. Check Architects too. |
| NCARB certificate | NCARB | A national credential. The holder keeps at least one active U.S. license. | No. The license may be in another state. |
| AIA after a name | American Institute of Architects | Membership. Architect members are entitled under law to practice in a U.S. state, which need not be Washington. Associate members have no license. | No. |
| License from another state | That state’s board | Authority to practice there. Here, an offer must say the person is not registered in Washington. | No. |
| Designer, drafter, interior designer | No Washington architect license | May work on exempt projects or under an architect. May not use the word architect. | No. |
What to ask before you sign
- Name, number and status. Ask for the name and license number in writing, run the lookup yourself and note the expiration date.
- The firm. Which registered firm signs my agreement, and does it appear under Architect Firms?
- The designated architect and the seal. Who signs and seals the drawings filed with the city, and will every sheet carry the seal?
- Other states. If you are licensed elsewhere, when will you register in Washington? The agreement should wait for it.
- Who prepares which sheets. Which are yours and which belong to engineers or other consultants? Are the engineers registered? The lookup lists Engineers separately.
- A design build company. If a builder offers design, who is the registered architect? DOL’s FAQ says there is no design build exemption: an otherwise exempt project may be designed by a non architect, but only licensed architects and registered firms may offer or advertise architectural services.
- The paper. Will the agreement name the firm and list license numbers? My guide to what to look for in an architecture contract covers the rest.
Where this fits when you hire
Verification takes a few minutes and comes before the fee conversation. The free feasibility check is very quick, about a day. An in-depth analysis is $1,500 and takes 2 to 3 weeks. My fee for design and permit is a fixed fee, about $10,000 to $200,000 depending on project budget and location. Design to permit submission typically takes 2 to 4 months. Piper Cole administers construction and does not build. For questions beyond the license, see how to choose an architect, questions to ask an architect and what an architect does.
I have been an architect since 1996, an AIA member since 1992 and an NCARB member since 1996. The AIA and NCARB items are memberships, and by the table above they are background, not a license. The Carr residence was featured in Above The Lake and Lux magazines.
Before you hire anyone
Send me the address and the questions
Tell me where the lot is and what you want to build or change. The free feasibility check takes about a day, and the in-depth analysis is $1,500 and takes 2 to 3 weeks.
Questions
How do I check if an architect is licensed in Washington?
Use the Department of Licensing license lookup at professions.dol.wa.gov. Search by profession (Architects for a person, Architect Firms for a company) and license number, or use the advanced search by name and license type. DOL says the lookup shows whether a license has been issued, whether it is active and when it expires. Match the name exactly, confirm the status is active and note the expiration date. The data updates each morning, so call DOL’s architect line at 360 664 1388 if something looks stale.
Does Washington require an architect to design a house?
No. RCW 18.08.410(5) says the licensing chapter does not prevent any person from doing design work, including construction contract documents and administering the construction contract, for a residential building of up to four dwelling units regardless of size. DOL’s FAQ confirms that a 5,000 square foot single family house needs no architect’s seal for a building permit. Your city may still ask for an engineer’s calculations or other submittals prepared by a registered design professional.
Is an AIA membership or an NCARB certificate a Washington license?
No. AIA’s Architect member category covers an individual entitled under law to practice and use the title architect in a U.S. state, which need not be Washington, and AIA also has Associate members without a license. NCARB says its certificate is not a license and that authorization to practice comes solely from licensing boards. Both credentials can sit alongside a license issued in a different state. Only the Washington record, found through the DOL lookup, confirms a Washington license.
Can a home designer call themselves an architect in Washington?
No. RCW 18.08.310(1) makes it unlawful to use or advertise a title or description including the word architect, architecture or architectural, or language implying the person is an architect, unless registered in Washington. A designer may work on exempt projects, such as a residence of up to four dwelling units, without being licensed, but the word is reserved. I did not find a Board ruling on the phrase architectural designer, so ask the Board about a specific title.
Where do I find an architect’s license number?
Ask the architect for it in writing. It also appears on the seal that licensed architects place on drawings filed with a building department: the seal bears the architect’s name, license number and the legend Registered Architect, State of Washington (WAC 308-12-081). Once you have the number, enter it in the DOL lookup under Architects. For a firm, use Architect Firms.
What if the architect is licensed in another state?
RCW 18.08.310(2) lets an architect or firm registered in another recognized jurisdiction offer to practice in Washington only if the offer clearly and prominently says they are not registered here. Before practicing or signing a contract to provide architectural services, they must be registered in Washington. Ask when they will register, and have your agreement wait for it.
How often does a Washington architect license renew, and what does it take?
DOL says architect licenses expire every 2 years and can be renewed up to 120 days early. Renewal requires 24 professional development hours in the 2 year period, with at least 16 on public health, safety and welfare. A license that is not renewed is delinquent, and the holder may not offer or provide architect services until it is reinstated (WAC 308-12-215).
Where do I report someone using the title architect without a license?
DOL’s complaint page lets you report unlicensed activity and file a complaint about architects and architect firms online. Include dates, documents and the events in order. I cannot say how the Board will treat a particular title, so describe what you saw.
