§ 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.)