Frequently Asked Questions: AICP Examination Process

Before contacting staff, please take a minute and review the following information. It's possible that your question will be among those answered below. Click on a header to begin:

AICP Exam Process at a Glance

AICP Exam Application Form

Computer-Based Exam and Testing Windows

Immediate Test Results

Online Application

Submission Deadlines

Faxed Applications

Professional Planning Experience

Prorated and Part-Time Experience

Obtain Credential Without Taking the Exam?

Verification of Employment and Education

Notification of Application Review (Approval/Disapproval)

Exam Preparation Materials

Maintaining AICP Membership

Contact AICP

THE AICP EXAM PROCESS AT A GLANCE

Can you provide a basic outline of the exam process?

1. Be a current APA member. Click here to Join APA if you are not a current member.

2. Complete the AICP application listing your education and professional planning experience as instructed. You will also need to include a letter from each employer listed in your application verifying your work as a professional planner. In addition, we require confirmation that you received your degree. Please see below for further details. Submit the application and appropriate fee to AICP. Upon application approval, you will receive an Authorization to Test (ATT) from Thomson Prometric (formerly The Chauncey Group International) our test administrators. The ATT will include instructions on picking a test center, date, and time.

3. You will need to follow the instructions in the Authorization to Test (ATT) to finalize your appointment (confirming test date, start time, and test center address) to take the exam at more than 300 Prometric test centers in the United States and Canada.

4. Go to your designated test center, bringing the proper photo ID, and take the exam.

AICP EXAM APPLICATION FORM

Has AICP simplified the actual exam application form?

Yes. Beginning with the 2005 exam cycle, AICP is introducing a new application that combines the application and registration steps into one form and one fee. This eliminates the previous two forms and separate fee payments. The intent is to make the application process more customer-friendly and efficient. Education and employment verifications for each degree and job listed in the application will continue to be required in order for your application to be considered complete for review.

If I am an approved applicant, can I use this new form to pay the exam fee?

Yes. Previously approved applicants may come back and use the same new application form to pay for the next exam. Once logged on, the system will recognize the applicant's approved status with prompts to complete only the contact and exam information pages of the form and pay the exam fee.

COMPUTER-BASED EXAM AND TESTING WINDOWS

I understand that since AICP has moved to a computer-based exam, there is more than one testing window. Can you explain this?

Yes. In 2004, AICP moved to a computer-based exam format (CBT) after 25 years of a pen-and-paper exam. This new format allows us to offer the exam at more testing sites (more than 300) in the U.S. and Canada. Also, we now offer the exam in two testing windows each year for 12 days each: May and November.

NOTE: Foreign exam candidates will continue to take the exam in the pen-and-paper format.

IMMEDIATE TEST RESULTS

With the computer-based AICP exam, are candidates able to get immediate test results?

Yes, candidates taking the computer-based AICP exam will learn their results before leaving the test center.

ONLINE APPLICATION

Is there a paper application available?

No. APA has developed a web-based application form that is user friendly and provides a cost benefit to APA and exam applicants.

What if I already have an approved application in the system and only want to "register" for the AICP exam. What do I do?

You will still use the online application. When you completed the online form the first time, your member record was embedded with a code listing you as an applicant. Within the two-year period that your application is active, you will access your application the same way as when you first applied, but be prompted to fill in only the required registration sections, such as your contact and exam information and pay the required fee.

SUBMISSION DEADLINES

Are the deadlines firm?

Yes. The deadlines are very firm with no exceptions. Due to high volume, you are strongly encouraged to submit your form and fee early.

FAXED APPLICATIONS

We used to be able to fax our applications to your office. Can we still do that now?

No, the AICP application is now available only online, and we no longer accept faxes of the old paper application.

PROFESSIONAL PLANNING EXPERIENCE

I will not have the required years of planning experience until the exam. Can I list this experience toward the requirement?

No, we will count only the experience attained up to the time you submit your AICP application — not by the time of the exam.

May I list my internship(s) as professional planning experience?

AICP will accept internships as professional planning experience providing the following stipulations are met: (1) the internship cannot be part of course work for a grade (AICP requires that education and experience remain separate entities), and (2) the work as an intern meets the four criteria for professional planning experience listed in the AICP application.

Will AICP accept planning experience obtained as an elected or appointed official?

While the contributions by members of city councils, boards of commissioners, planning commissions, boards of zoning appeals and citizens advisory boards are indeed invaluable to the advancement of planning, service on such a body, by itself, does not constitute professional planning experience.

May I list professional planning experience obtained outside the United States on the AICP membership application? Will the experience be accepted?

Yes. AICP will accept professional planning experience obtained outside the United States as long as the experience meets the four criteria listed in the membership application.

Can you provide additional information on AICP's professional planning experience criteria?

The following should help clarify AICP's four professional planning experience criteria. We understand that the planning field is very diverse and given to a wide range of job descriptions. Therefore, you must fit your particular experience to the four criteria and provide concrete examples with substantive support (not less than 150 words per criterion). Please note: This summary serves only to offer additional information and does not replace the AICP Professional Planning Experience Definition and Experience Criteria.

Please also click here and read "Professional Planning Experience."

Criterion A: Influencing public decision making in the public interest

Have you, for example:

• Presented planning proposals before an elected/appointed body such as the city council, planning commission/board, citizens' advisory board, state/federal officials?
• Worked on a project, in a significant capacity, that was later presented to such a body?
• Recommended strategies based on research of past/current laws/ordinances or zoning proposals, etc.?

Criterion B: Employing an appropriately comprehensive point of view

Have you:

• Worked on a project, say for downtown development, where you had to review several factors such as: traffic patterns, environmental concerns, economic impact, residential concerns, demographic considerations? or
• Worked on a project such as a proposed transportation system where considerations such as traffic patterns, highway/rail construction, commercial/residential proximity, pollution concerns, noise abatement, cost projections, community input, etc. were investigated?

Criterion C: Applying a planning process appropriate to the situation

Were you directly involved in two or more of the following planning process techniques:

• Public Opinion Surveys (evaluated community services, needs, and desires)?
• Technical Interviews (gathered information from community experts)?
• Inventory and Surveys (land uses, conflicts, traffic patterns, etc.)?
• Citizens Participation (presented plans, conducted "vision" workshops, prepared plan summary handouts)?
• Official Representatives Meetings (group or one-on-one meetings with public and private officials)?
• Draft Plan/Project Review (grassroots/informal feedback from public)?
• Public Hearings (formal feedback with elected officials and public for project/plan approval)?

Criterion D: Involving a professional level of responsibility and resourcefulness

Have you done one or more of the following:

• Supervised a project?
• Presented a proposal/plan before a decision making body?
• Provided significant input in one or more facets of a project (i.e., conducted research, managed staff, given technical expertise in areas such as computer application, strategy development, impact analysis, etc.)?

PRORATED AND PART-TIME EXPERIENCE

What do you mean by "prorated time"?

Prorated and part time are interchangeable terms. AICP requires that you convert your part-time or prorated planning work into a full time equivalent based on what is considered full time in your area.

For prorated/part-time to full-time conversion:

IF 40 hrs per week is full time in your area
THEN 20 hrs per week over 6 months
EQUALS 3 months full time equivalent planning experience

For dual positions part-time to full-time conversions:

IF 40 hrs per week is considered full time and your job is (e.g. Architect/planner)
AND 50 percent of your time over 1 year is spent on planning projects
THEN 20 hrs per week over 1 year
EQUALS 6 months full time equivalent planning experience

The conversion examples listed above may be used in any combination of percent or fraction of time to arrive at the full-time equivalent. Keep in mind that the objective is the total years of professional planning experience AICP requires based on your level of education.

OBTAIN AICP CREDENTIAL WITHOUT TAKING THE EXAM

Can one become an AICP member without taking the exam?

No. Everyone seeking national planner certification through AICP must take and pass the examination. There are no exceptions.

VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION

Do I need to include references or job verification from my employer with my application?

Yes. You will need to include a letter from each employer listed in your application verifying your work as a professional planner. The signed letter, on department/company letterhead, should come from either an immediate supervisor, principal of the firm, or human resource department.

The letter should include your name, position, title, dates of employment and brief summary of duties as a professional planner. The name, title, and phone number of the letter writer should also be noted. We must receive your employer verification letter at the AICP Washington, D.C., office no later than three weeks after you submit your Determination of Eligibility Application.

What form of employer verification must I provide if I own my firm or work as a consultant?

Applicants who own their firms or work as consultants must provide AICP both client and project lists as employer verification.

If I list a degree in my application, must I include my school transcript or some type of verification?

Yes. You must include confirmation that you received your degree. AICP will accept education verification in one of the following three forms:

• Official transcript
• Letter from school dean confirming that degree was received
• Notarized photocopy of diploma

We must receive your education verification at the AICP Washington, D.C., office no later than three weeks after you submit your application.

Where should I send the verifications?

AICP
1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036

NOTIFICATION OF APPLICATION REVIEW (APPROVAL/DISAPPROVAL)

How long will it take for me to notified that my AICP application has been approved or disapproved?

AICP will notify you in about six weeks after receiving the application.

EXAM PREPARATION MATERIALS

When will I receive information on preparing for the exam such as a reading list and/or subject matter outline?

We will send the above information, including your local chapter contact for exam counseling, upon application approval.

Do you offer a tutorial to prepare me for the computer-based exam environment?

Yes. Click here for a short tutorial on the APA website. Exam candidates will also have the opportunity to take an on-screen tutorial at each testing center when they come in to sit for the AICP exam.

Updated AICP Exam Prep Study Notes 1.0
In response to recent changes in the AICP Exam test specifications, APA has released an addendum to the AICP Exam Prep 1.0 Study Notes. New material covers new exam content areas, specifically Spatial Areas of Practice, and includes additional study questions. The addendum is a downloadable PDF and is available free to all exam candidates and individuals who purchased the original study notes.

Click here to download the free addendum to the manual and the CD-ROM

Click here for details on purchasing the manual and the CD-ROM

MAINTAINING AICP MEMBERSHIP

How much are AICP membership dues?

AICP dues are pro-rated and billed to the APA dues cycle for those who pass the AICP exam. Dues must be paid current to AICP and APA in order to maintain the AICP designation. AICP has a salary-based dues structure like that of APA.

Click here for a chart of current AICP and APA dues.

CONTACTING THE AICP OFFICE

American Institute of Certified Planners
1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-872-0611
Fax: 202-872-0643

AICPexam@planning.org

The office is open Monday through Friday (except holidays), 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET).