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LEED™ AP Exam

This guide will help you determine what you need to do to prepare for the LEED exam.

Download the fact sheet for answers to the following questions and more: 

What study resources are available?

USGBC 2009 Edition Reference Guides:

There is a different Reference Guide for each exam (BD+C, ID+C, O+M), so be sure to order the correct one. The resource for the Green Associate Exam is the “Green Building and LEED Core Concepts Guide.” You can buy the guides from the USGBC Store: http://www.usgbc.org/Stor /PublicationsList_New.aspx?CMSPageID=1518

For other study guides, practice exams, and forums:

http://www.usgbccolorado.com/resources/leed-studyguide.html

http://www.intheleed.com/

What  test prep courses are available?

NEXUS offers free resources including monthly Lunch & LEED introductory sessions and participant-led LEED AP study groups. For more information on these and other events, visit www.nexusboston.org and click on “Events Calendar.” Additional fee-for-service exam prep trainings may be available upon request if not currently listed on the events page.Contact Aaron@greenroundtable.org for more information.

LEED AP Exam Prep Trainings: Held at various times during the year, these courses generally span eight weeks for two hours each week and are designed to help you prepare for the LEED exams and implement the Rating System on LEED projects. These trainings are led by GRT’s Green Building Consultants who have extensive experience teaching the material and implementing it in green building and LEED projects. Sessions tend to fill up quickly. For more information on these and other events, visit www.nexusboston.com/space/events.

Connect with staff, LEED APs, and other candidates by visiting us here at NEXUS, through our Help Desk, or by joining the “NEXUS Green Building Resource Center” group on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.

USGBC LEED Workshops: The USGBC offers various LEED Workshops in Massachusetts and throughout the US for each Rating System as well as other workshops focused on implementing LEED on projects: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2011

What should I study?

  1. The LEED Reference Guide for the rating system you are testing under. Read the guide that correlates to the exam you are taking and study it cover to cover. Spend the majority of your study time on this publication.

  2. Certification Process. You should have an understanding of the process of LEED certification. For instance, what are the different stages during review? When do I apply for a Credit Interpretation request? For more information visit: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1497.

  3. Project Review Costs. Do you know how often you pay when getting a building certified? What is this cost based on? Visit: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=65&.

  4. LEED Templates. The best way to begin learning about project and team coordination is to study the LEED templates for credit submittals. These templates are only provided after you have registered a project at LEED-Online; however the USGBC provides sample templates to the general public at: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1447.

  5.  LEED Online. The coordination and submission of credits goes through the LEED Online website. To access LEED Online you must have a project registered. However, some information on LEED Online is provided at: http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=1108 as well as http://www.usgbc.org/chapters/cascadia/docs/pdf/LOLOverview.pdf.

  6. Synergies. When studying the credits, understand the synergies between various credits and approaches as touched upon in the Reference Guide. Many questions don’t focus on a single credit but rather propose a project and ask how different applications within a project could apply to more than one credit.

What is the test like?

The LEED Green Associate exam is a multiple-choice, computer-based exam comprised of 100 randomly delivered multiple choice questions which must be completed in 2 hours. The exam is scored using a scaled process. Scores range from 125 to 200; candidates must achieve a minimum score of 170 to pass the exam and earn the LEED Green Associate credential. The email must be completed in two hours.

The LEED AP exam is a computer-based exam comprised of two parts. The first part is the LEED Green Associate exam (identical to the exam previously described). The second part is a specialty exam (the exam of your choosing). Each exam contains 100 randomly delivered multiple choice questions, and each must be completed in 2 hours. The exams are scored using a scaled process. Scores for each part range from 125 to 200; candidates must achieve a minimum score of 170 on each part to pass the exam and earn the LEED AP credential. To become a LEED AP, you do not have to take both parts of the exam at the same time. You can take the LEED Green Associate exam, and then the specialty exam at a later date if you so choose.

Study tips

  1.  Review the Candidate Handbooks. The GBCI provides handbooks that overview administrative details every candidate should know from pre- to post-exam. The handbooks can be downloaded for free on the GBCI website: http://www.gbci.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=97

  2. Study time will vary depending on your previous experience with the building industry and with LEED. If you have some experience with LEED, you probably need to study over a 1-2 month period averaging 1-2 hours per night (about an hour per credit). If you have no experience with LEED, you will need to study longer (either more hours a day, or more days total).

  3. Read the appropriate LEED Reference Guide that is available for purchase on the USGBC website. Read it to understand it, and read it cover to cover.

  4. Study each credit. You can do this in study groups or on your own, but you need to dive into the credits and work the calculations. The best way to understand something is to apply it to a project you are working on.

  5. Study the process of LEED. Spend at least a few study sessions on the other topics covered by the exam, such as LEED registration, the LEED certification process, Credit Interpretation Requests, and LEED-Online. This material is often overlooked and is thoroughly covered in the exam.

  6. Reread the LEED Reference Guide. Finally, read the guide again from cover to cover. You will be surprised how much you pick up the second time around. Try your hand at some of the practice questions available from the “Study Resources” header above.

  7. Take an exam prep training. This step is not necessary, but may be helpful for those who learn well in classroom settings or with the structure and accountability of a course. You will need to study in addition to taking a training to reaffirm everything you learn in the classroom.

  8. Practice answering questions and taking full exams to familiarize yourself with the format of the exam.

 

Check out our LEED Trainings and our Events Calendar for upcoming opportunities to prepare for the LEED exam at NEXUS.

For helpful and important information by the Green Building Certification Institute, please visit www.gbci.org/. For more assistance visit NEXUS during our open hours or email the NEXUS Help Desk at nexus@greenroundtable.org.

Thanks to PPI for their generous donation of LEED study materials to NEXUS. Visit NEXUS to study for the LEED Green Associate or LEED AP Specialty Exams. See what upcoming LEED trainings are being offered at NEXUS.