About the LEED Green Associate V4 Exam

LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE EXAM CONTENT

The LEED® Green Associate exam contains 100 randomly delivered multiple choice questions that must be completed in 2 hours. In order to pass all the LEED Professional exams, candidates must score 170 points out of 200 possible points. 125 is the minimum score in all the LEED Professional exams.

The LEED Green Associate exam is intended to test knowledge of Task Domains and Knowledge Domains.

Task domains include the tasks necessary to perform LEED effectively, such as team coordination, certification process, LEED Online, and more. Knowledge Domains include the LEED process, LEED rating systems, credit categories, and more.

Below is the breakdown of the exam questions:

• LEED process
• Integrative strategies
• Location and transportation
• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency
• Energy and atmosphere
• Materials and resources
• Indoor environmental quality
• Project surroundings and public outreach

Project surroundings and public outreach contains questions about values of sustainable design, regional design, environmental impacts and necessity of green buildings, triple bottom line, and more.

In the exam there will be both scored and unscored questions. Unscored questions are used to collect performance data for USGBC. Test-takers will not know if a question will be scored or unscored. As there are both scored and unscored questions in the exam, and the questions are also scaled, there’s no way to know how many correct answers you need in order to pass the exam.

LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE EXAM FORMAT

All the LEED credentialing exams are computer based. Exam questions and answer options will be displayed on screen.

Most of the exam questions are multiple choice questions that ask to choose the correct answer out of the displayed choices. However, some questions will have more than one answer, and those questions ask to choose 2 out of 4 choices, or 3 out of 5. And there will be no partial credit for choosing only one correct answer.

Test-takers can leave a question unanswered, flag questions for later review, and change the answer of any test question before the completion of the exam. If you have extra time at the end of your exam, it’s highly recommended that you review all the questions.

On the exam answer every single question since leaving it blank will not result in any points. And if you’re unsure about the answer, mark the question and come back to review it later.

During the exam, if you forget something, some questions or answer choices can make you remember the answer of another question.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE EXAM?

1. If you have an existing USGBC site user account, log in to your credentials account to register for the exam at usgbc.org/credentials or create a new account if you don’t have one.
2. Make sure that the name you enter exactly matches the name on the ID you will present at the test center. If it does not match, update your name on the website’s user account “settings.”
3. Review the address in the profile. (The certificate will be mailed to that address.)
4. Select the credential exam you wish to apply for and follow the instructions to complete the application.
5. You will be redirected to prometric.com/gbci to schedule your exam date and location.
6. When the exam is scheduled, you will receive a confirmation number onscreen and an email through Prometric.
7. Print and keep your confirmation number. You will need this confirmation number to confirm, cancel, or reschedule your appointment through Prometric’s website, which is prometric.com/gbci.  

WHERE TO TAKE THE LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE EXAM?

The LEED Green Associate exam is administered by Prometric testing centers throughout the world. Now due to the pandemic, it is also possible to take the LEED exam from home with online proctoring. Click here to learn more about that.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE TEST CENTER

It is recommended that the test-takers arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled exam appointment. Test-takers who arrive later than their scheduled exam time will lose their seat.

Test center staff will escort the test-taker to a workstation, and the test-taker should remain seated during the exam unless authorized to leave by test center staff. In case there is a problem with the computer, or you need to take a break, raise your hand to notify the test center staff. However, the exam will not pause if you take a break.

All the test-takers should also obey Prometric’s security rules while at the test center.

AFTER THE LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE EXAM

After the exam, your exam score will be displayed on screen, and the test center staff will provide a printed report of your results.

As soon as you have passed the exam, you can use the title “LEED Green Associate™” and/or the logo. Please remember that the LEED GA abbreviation is disapproved by USGBC and cannot be used under any circumstances.

Your exam results will be processed within 3 days and, once processed, the certificate can be requested. The certificate will be available as a PDF softcopy that can be downloaded at any time for free, and as a hard copy that can be requested from USGBC’s website for a fee.

If a LEED AP credential is earned after becoming a LEED Green Associate, your LEED Green Associate credential will be replaced by the LEED AP.

HOW TO MAINTAIN LEED CREDENTIALS

All the LEED Green Associates must earn 15 continuing education (CE) hours within 2 years of earning their credential while all the LEED APs will need to earn 30 continuing education (CE) hours within 2 years of earning their credential.