The top design and architectural related companiesin Pennsylvania.
Short answer: Exchange lists 8 architecture firms in Pennsylvania. Architects are licensed by the State Architects Licensure Board under the Architects Licensure Law, and firms must receive the Board's written approval before practicing as a partnership, corporation or LLC, with at least one owner licensed in Pennsylvania. Licenses expire June 30 of odd years. A 2024 amendment made 24 hours of continuing education a renewal condition, though the Board says it is not yet required for 2027. Projects are reviewed under the 2021 ICC codes, effective January 1, 2026.
Licensing board
Pennsylvania architects are licensed by the State Architects Licensure Board in the Department of State's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.
Firm approval
A Pennsylvania architecture partnership, corporation or LLC needs the Board's written approval before practicing, and at least one owner must hold a Pennsylvania license.
Renewal cycle
Pennsylvania architect licenses expire June 30 of every odd-numbered year, with a $100 biennial renewal fee.
Continuing education
Act 144 of 2024 requires 24 hours of health, safety and welfare CE per renewal, but the Board says it is not currently required for the 2027 renewal.
Residential exemption
Pennsylvania law does not require an architect for detached one- or two-family dwellings of not more than three stories.
Building code
Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code adopted nearly all of the 2021 ICC codes, effective January 1, 2026.
Who licenses architects in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania architects are licensed by the State Architects Licensure Board, part of the Department of State's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, under the Architects Licensure Law of 1982 and the Board's regulations at 49 Pa. Code Chapter 9.
The Architects Licensure Law, Act 281 of 1982, was substantially rewritten by Act 144 of 2024, signed October 31, 2024. The amendment reorganized the statute into chapters, added mandatory continuing education for architects, and created a new credential for certified interior designers, so the Board now regulates both the practice of architecture and the provision of interior design services by certified interior designers. The amended law also adds a board seat that must be filled by a certified interior designer. Chapter 7 of the amended law sets out the examination, reciprocity, renewal and document requirements for certified interior designers.
Applications, renewals and firm filings run through the Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS). The Board publishes its fee schedule in 49 Pa. Code Section 9.3, a schedule of civil penalties for violations, and best-practice guidance for applicants. Anyone checking a Pennsylvania architect should confirm two things: that the individual license is active in PALS, and, if the architect practices through a company, that the firm itself has Board approval. Using the title architect, or offering architectural services through an unapproved business entity, is the kind of conduct the Board disciplines, and an owner who relies on drawings from an unlicensed source may face problems at permit review.
How do you qualify for an architect license in Pennsylvania?
In Pennsylvania, most candidates qualify with a NAAB-accredited professional degree, at least three years of experience through NCARB's Architectural Experience Program, and passing every division of the Architect Registration Examination.
Candidates without a NAAB-accredited degree have a longer route. They must obtain the Board's pre-approval to take the ARE, complete three years of AXP experience, and then gain six more years of practical experience before they become eligible for licensure. The initial license fee listed by the Board is $40 for NAAB-degree holders and $70 for others. The Board voted on March 28, 2023 to waive the rolling clock rule in 49 Pa. Code Section 9.46(b) while it writes a regulation to remove it, and it applies NCARB's score validity policy that took effect May 1, 2023, under which passed ARE divisions remain valid based on exam version. Candidates should keep their NCARB record current, since the Board verifies experience and exam results through it.
Architects already licensed elsewhere can use Act 41 of 2019, which lets the Board license active, good-standing practitioners from jurisdictions with substantially equivalent requirements, provided they have no disciplinary history or disqualifying criminal conviction. The Board accepts an NCARB Certificate as sufficient proof that Pennsylvania's requirements are met, and its regulations set the reciprocal license fee at $30 with NCARB certification and $50 without. The Board may also certify architects who have practiced elsewhere for more than ten years and may require a practical examination in those cases. Licensees must report disciplinary actions and criminal convictions to the Board under 49 Pa. Code Section 9.93.
Which licenses, permits and registrations apply in Pennsylvania?
Requirement
Who issues it
When it applies
What it involves
Registered Architect license
State Architects Licensure Board
Practicing architecture or using the title architect in Pennsylvania
NAAB degree, three years of AXP, all ARE divisions; renewal by June 30 of odd years for $100
Architecture firm approval
State Architects Licensure Board
Practicing through a partnership, association, corporation, LLC or LLP
Ownership tests under Section 506 and 49 Pa. Code 9.162, written Board approval, $50 registration fee, architect in firm name
Architect seal
Licensee, under 49 Pa. Code 9.141
Final documents issued to clients or filed with agencies
Seal, signature and date on first page; digital seals allowed since December 17, 2022
Continuing education
Architects Licensure Law Section 503(e)
Each biennial renewal once the Board implements it
24 hours in health, safety and welfare; not currently required for the 2027 renewal
Construction permit and plan review
Municipal code official, third-party agency or Department of Labor and Industry
Most new construction and alterations under the UCC
Review against the 2021 ICC codes adopted by the UCC, effective January 1, 2026
Historic Preservation Tax Credit
DCED, with PHMC plan approval
Rehabilitating a qualified historic structure into income-producing use
Up to 25 percent of qualified costs, 30 percent for workforce housing, $500,000 per taxpayer per fiscal year
How do I check an architect in Pennsylvania before I sign?
7 checks, in order, using the Pennsylvania registers and rules described on this page:
Look up each architect on the Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS) and confirm the license is active and runs through the June 30, 2027 expiration date.
If you are contracting with a company, confirm the firm itself holds State Architects Licensure Board approval under Section 506, not just the individual architect.
Check that the project actually needs an architect: Section 508 exempts detached one- and two-family homes of three stories or less and remodeling without structural or egress changes.
For design-build proposals, require the written Section 508(9) disclosure naming the approved architecture firm and stating that the architect answers to the design-build entity.
Ask which municipal code official or certified third-party agency will review the drawings, and confirm the design follows the 2021 ICC codes adopted by the UCC on January 1, 2026.
If you want a Historic Preservation Tax Credit, ask the firm for prior projects with a PHMC-approved rehabilitation plan meeting the Secretary of the Interior's standards.
Write into the agreement whether the architect will superintend construction, since that decides whether the architect has mechanics lien rights under Pennsylvania's 1963 lien law.
Do architecture firms need to register in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Pennsylvania architecture firms organized as partnerships, professional associations, corporations, LLCs or LLPs must meet ownership rules and receive the Board's written approval before practicing architecture.
Section 506 of the Architects Licensure Law and 49 Pa. Code Section 9.162 set the ownership tests. For a partnership, business corporation or LLC, at least two-thirds of the partners, directors or managers must be licensed in some state to practice architecture, engineering or landscape architecture, at least one-third must be licensed architects, and at least one must hold a Pennsylvania license. A business corporation must also have two-thirds of each class of voting stock owned by architects, engineers or landscape architects and one-third by architects. A professional corporation requires every shareholder to be licensed in one of those three professions. A firm wholly owned by two people may instead qualify if one Pennsylvania licensee owns at least 50 percent.
To get approval under Section 9.163, the firm files the Board's application with its formation documents, proposed letterhead naming the principals and their credentials, and a list of owners with license numbers, states and ownership percentages. The firm name must include the word architect or a derivation, or carry it as a subtitle. Owners must certify they will notify the Board before ownership changes, which also need written approval. The regulations set a $50 firm registration fee and a $100 biennial firm renewal fee. An architect employed by a business that is not practicing architecture, designing buildings for that employer's own use, does not need firm approval but must hold a Pennsylvania license.
When is a licensed architect required for a building in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania requires a licensed architect for most building design, but Section 508 of the Architects Licensure Law exempts detached one- and two-family dwellings of not more than three stories and remodeling without structural or egress changes.
The permitted-practices list in Section 508 also covers drawings for utility or farm structures used with a farm residence, shop drawings and construction management by people customarily engaged in construction, and architectural work by licensed professional engineers that is incidental to their engineering. Outside those exemptions, drawings and specifications for buildings in Pennsylvania must come from a licensed architect or someone working under an architect's personal supervision. Design-build entities that are not themselves approved architecture firms may offer design-build only if an approved firm contracts with them, the client receives a written disclosure that the architect is responsible to the design-build entity rather than the client, and the contract names that firm.
Sealing rules are set in 49 Pa. Code Section 9.141. The seal must carry the architect's name, license number and the legend Registered Architect with a reference to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. An architect may seal only work prepared by the architect or under the architect's personal supervision, direction and control. Final documents issued to clients or submitted to agencies must show the seal, signature and issue date on the first page, with facsimile or digital seals on later pages. Digital seals and signatures have been expressly permitted since December 17, 2022.
Which building code applies to projects designed in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania projects are reviewed under the Uniform Construction Code, which adopted nearly all provisions of the 2021 International Code Council codes effective January 1, 2026, replacing the 2018 I-codes that had applied since February 14, 2022.
The update was Regulation 12-125 from the Department of Labor and Industry, amending 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401 and 403. The Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved it on October 16, 2025 and it was published as final on November 8, 2025. Unlike many states, Pennsylvania adopts model codes through its UCC Review and Advisory Council, which reviews each section and recommends which provisions to include. The Council has reopened comments on the 2024 codes, with submissions due February 2, 2027, so architects who want to influence the next cycle have a defined window.
Who reviews the drawings depends on the municipality. The Department of Labor and Industry reports that more than 90 percent of Pennsylvania's 2,562 municipalities administer the UCC locally, using their own staff or certified third-party agencies. In municipalities that opted out, L&I handles all commercial plan review and inspection, while owners hire certified third-party agencies for residential work. L&I keeps sole jurisdiction over elevators and state-owned buildings statewide, and steps in on accessibility review where a municipality lacks a certified Accessibility Inspector or Plans Examiner. Architects should confirm the code official before submitting.
What continuing education do Pennsylvania architects need?
Pennsylvania law now requires 24 hours of health, safety and welfare continuing education per biennial renewal, but the Board says CE is not currently required for renewing active licenses in 2027.
Section 503(e) of the Architects Licensure Law, added by Act 144 of 2024, makes documented completion of at least 24 hours of continuing education in health, safety and welfare subjects a condition of biennial renewal. The Board's renewal page notes the law change took effect December 30, 2024. The statute exempts first-time licensees during their initial license period, allows the Board to waive hours for illness, emergency, hardship or active military service, bars credit for office management or practice-building courses, and lets architects whose primary practice is in another jurisdiction satisfy the rule with that jurisdiction's CE.
For now, the Board states that continuing education is not currently required for active license renewals in 2027 or for reactivations, while it develops implementing regulations. Pennsylvania licenses expire June 30 of every odd-numbered year, so the next deadline is June 30, 2027, and the Board emails renewal notices about two months ahead to the address on file; paper renewals are not available. The renewal fee is $100. Firms that let their approval lapse use the PALS reactivation application, and must also file a Firm Amendment Application if the name, entity type or ownership has changed. Architects should keep CE records anyway, since the requirement is already in the statute.
Can architects file a mechanics lien in Pennsylvania?
Only in limited cases. Under the Pennsylvania Mechanics Lien Law of 1963, an architect is treated as a contractor only when hired by the owner to both prepare the design and superintend or supervise construction.
The 2006 omnibus amendments, Act 52 of 2006, wrote this into the definition of contractor in Section 201: the term includes an architect or engineer who, by contract with the owner, in addition to preparing drawings, specifications and contract documents, also superintends or supervises the erection, construction, alteration or repair. The same definitions exclude from subcontractor status an architect or engineer who contracts with a contractor or subcontractor. In practice, an architect providing design only, or working as a consultant to a design-build contractor, generally relies on contract remedies rather than a lien.
Where lien rights exist, the deadlines are strict. Section 502 requires the claimant to file the claim with the prothonotary within six months after completing the work, serve written notice of the filing on the owner within one month after filing, and file an affidavit of service within 20 days after service. Missing any of those steps is grounds to strike the claim. Architects who also provide construction administration should therefore be clear in the owner agreement about whether they are superintending the work, and should track their last day of service as the start of the six-month window.
How does the Pennsylvania historic tax credit shape architecture work?
Pennsylvania's Historic Preservation Tax Credit pays up to 25 percent of qualified rehabilitation costs for income-producing historic buildings, which makes preservation architecture a steady part of the state's design market.
The program is run by the Department of Community and Economic Development, with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approving each project's rehabilitation plan as consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. Credits may rise to 30 percent for workforce housing projects. A single qualified taxpayer may receive no more than $500,000 in credits in a fiscal year, and the Commonwealth may issue no more than $20 million per fiscal year, distributed across regions. Applications are reviewed first-come, first-served through DCED's online grants system, with a $100 application fee.
That structure puts the architect at the center of the application. The rehabilitation plan, existing-conditions documentation and proposed treatments are architectural work products, and PHMC's approval depends on how well the design follows the Secretary's standards. Because the per-taxpayer cap is fixed at $500,000 a year and the statewide pool is limited, the timing and completeness of the application matter, and owners look for firms with documented experience in historic structures. When reviewing the architecture firms listed below, owners planning an adaptive reuse project should ask which completed projects went through PHMC review.
Where can I verify a license and check the source in Pennsylvania?
Every figure and rule on this page can be checked against the primary source. These are the offices that publish them. Confirm current requirements directly before you rely on any of them:
How long does a Pennsylvania architect license last?
Pennsylvania architect licenses are renewed biennially and expire June 30 of every odd-numbered year, so the next expiration is June 30, 2027. The Board emails renewal notices about two months before expiration to the email address on file, renewals are done online through PALS with no paper option, and the renewal fee is $100.
Can an out-of-state architect get licensed in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Under Act 41 of 2019, the Board can license architects who are active and in good standing in a jurisdiction with substantially equivalent requirements and who have no disciplinary history or disqualifying conviction. The Board accepts an NCARB Certificate as proof of meeting Pennsylvania's requirements, and the reciprocal license fee is $30 with NCARB certification or $50 without.
Do I need an architect to design a house in Pennsylvania?
Not under the licensing law. Section 508 of the Architects Licensure Law allows anyone to prepare drawings for detached one- or two-family dwellings of not more than three stories and their accessory structures. The house still needs a permit and must meet the Uniform Construction Code, and some owners hire an architect anyway for design quality, code coordination and construction administration.
Can an engineering firm provide architectural services in Pennsylvania?
Licensed professional engineers may perform architectural services that are incidental to their engineering work. A combined firm can also be approved to practice architecture if it meets the ownership tests, for example two-thirds of owners licensed in architecture, engineering or landscape architecture and one-third licensed as architects, with at least one Pennsylvania-licensed architect among them.
What changed for Pennsylvania architects with Act 144 of 2024?
Act 144, signed October 31, 2024, reorganized the Architects Licensure Law, made 24 hours of health, safety and welfare continuing education a condition of renewal, and created certification for interior designers regulated by the same Board. The Board says CE is not yet required for the 2027 renewal while implementing rules are developed.
Who reviews architectural plans in Pennsylvania?
Usually the municipality. More than 90 percent of Pennsylvania's 2,562 municipalities administer the Uniform Construction Code themselves or through certified third-party agencies. Where a municipality has opted out, the Department of Labor and Industry reviews commercial projects, and L&I always has jurisdiction over elevators and state-owned buildings.
Can a design-build contractor offer architecture in Pennsylvania?
Yes, with conditions. A design-build entity that is not an approved architecture firm must contract independently with an approved firm that takes responsibility for the architecture, give the client a written disclosure that the architect answers to the design-build entity rather than the client, ensure direct architect supervision, and name the architecture firm in the contract.
