ARE 5.0 division
Construction & Evaluation
New members: $99/month (previously $199/month; plus applicable tax) for all six ARE divisions and the California CSE. Free CE sample questions, no account needed; the free sample lesson is PcM only.
The architect's role once construction begins: bidding and preconstruction, site observation, submittals and RFIs, payment applications, change orders, and closing out and evaluating the project.
01Exam facts
- Number of items
- 75
- Total appointment time
- 3 hr 40 min
| Preconstruction Activities | 17–23% |
| Construction Observation | 32–38% |
| Administrative Procedures & Protocols | 32–38% |
| Project Closeout & Evaluation | 7–13% |
NCARB states these ranges represent a typical form of the division; the form you take may vary slightly. Source: NCARB (ARE 5.0), checked October 1, 2026. Always confirm with the official source before your exam.
02Who it's for
- Candidates who rarely visit the job site in their current role
- Office-based designers who want construction administration to feel concrete
- Professionals who handle submittals but haven't seen the full CA sequence
03Learning approach
- 1
Follow the paperwork
Lessons track a project's documents — bids, submittals, RFIs, pay apps, change orders — in the order they appear.
- 2
Stand on site
Practice puts you in a field-observation situation and asks what you are, and are not, responsible for.
- 3
Close the loop
Review connects closeout and evaluation back to decisions made earlier in the project.
04Curriculum
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05Decisions you'll practice
- How to respond to a submittal that deviates from the specified product
- What to do when you observe work that doesn't conform to the documents
- Whether a contractor's payment application should be certified as submitted
- Which steps must happen before substantial completion can be confirmed
Examples of the kinds of decisions covered. Not actual exam questions.
06Published now
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07Sample
No free sample is approved yet. The curriculum outline above lists every published section; How It Works explains the study flow.
08Questions
Start with CE.
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