The official NCARB ARE 5.0 Project Development and Documentation blueprint is divided into 6 domains, led by Project Scope and Requirements (15-20%), Building Code Analysis (15-20%), and Schematic Design Development (20-25%). The full domain-by-domain breakdown is in the syllabus section above — that is the checklist your study plan should follow.

The passing score for the PDD exam is Variable (psychometrically scaled), and registering officially costs $250 USD. That fee buys exactly one attempt — if you fall short, the retake is charged in full again, no discount for a second try. The practical move is to measure yourself first: drill the 102 practice questions at PrepAwayETE under timed conditions until your mock scores clear the bar with room to spare, then book your seat.

You can. PrepAwayETE publishes a free PDF demo of the PDD practice questions — download it, work through it, and decide on evidence rather than promises. Once you own the full product, 365 days of free updates are included, and an expired product can have its update service renewed at a 50% discount from your member zone.

The PDD exam — officially the ARE 5.0 Project Development and Documentation Exam — is how NCARB verifies that you can apply its technologies in real working scenarios, and passing it earns you the Architect Registration Examination certification, a credential at the Intermediate level. Employers recognize it because it is vendor-issued and skills-based. Candidates often continue toward related credentials such as ARE 5.0 (Architect Registration Examination), Licensed Architect once this one is in hand.

You will face 85-100 questions within 225 minutes on the PDD exam. Do the math once and the lesson is clear: dwell too long on a hard item and the clock eats your easy points later. The fix is rehearsal, not luck — take full-length timed mocks in the PrepAwayETE desktop or online test engine until pacing becomes automatic, and learn to flag a question, move on, and return with fresh eyes.

First, delivery: your download is available immediately after payment, and the package also arrives in your email within one minute. If 2 hours pass with nothing in your inbox, check spam and contact support — and feel free to install the software on as many computers as you like, there is no device limit.

Second, the safety net: if you sit the PDD exam within 60 days of purchase and do not pass, the PrepAwayETE money back guarantee entitles you to a full refund. File the claim within 2 days of the exam with a scanned enrollment slip and your official score report (PDF); claims are processed within 7 days. The candidate name must match the payer name, and the guarantee excludes exams taken within 3 days of purchase, purchases never used in an actual exam attempt, free materials, and expired orders. If you would rather keep studying, you can swap the product for two free exam packages of equal value and keep the update service on your original purchase.

None required before taking PDD, but recommended completion of Practice Management (PM) first

Vendor policies shift from time to time, so treat this as your starting point and verify the current criteria on the official NCARB exam page before you schedule anything.