Can you pass the Architecture (ALE) board exam with self-review? What the law says, the passing rate, review center costs, and what you need.
Mariano Luiz King
Published November 9, 2026
Yes. You can take the Architecture (ALE) Board Exam, the Licensure Examination for Architects, without a review center, and no law requires one for your first attempt. Whether self-review works for you depends on your discipline and on a few things specific to the ALE exam. This post covers the law, the passing rate, what review centers cost, and what you'd need to do it alone, as of November 2026.
After reading this, you can decide whether to self-review for the ALE exam, and what you need if you do.
The rules come from RA 9266 and PRC's documents. The passing rates come from PRC's results, which I collected in board exam passing rates. Review center prices are from the centers' own sites. I checked all of them on November 9, 2026.
To pass, you need a 70% weighted average, with no subject below 50% (RA 9266).
RA 9266 has no rule for retaking only some subjects, and no refresher or waiting rule. Plan to retake the full exam if you fail.
The full retake rules for 10 boards are in what happens if you fail the board exam.
The ALE passing rate was 85.1% in June 2026 (82.1% in January 2026).
That's everyone who took the exam, with or without a review center. PRC doesn't publish separate rates for self-reviewers, so this number can't tell you which method works better. It only tells you how hard the exam is overall.
I couldn't find an architecture review center that publishes its fee amounts. ATLAS-CDC posts its discounts (for example, 30% to 50% off for retakers) but not its base price. Ask for a written quote.
I built prepPH, so I'm biased. It has ALE practice questions with explanations, organized by subject, with spaced repetition built in. That covers the practice part of a self-review. It doesn't replace live teaching, and it won't count as a refresher course if your law ever requires one.
Self-review can work for the ALE, and the passing rate is high. The hard part is the design subject at 40%. If you self-review, practice full design and site planning sets under time, and know the Building Code cold.
Yes, it's allowed. No law requires a review center for your first attempt. Whether it works depends on your discipline and your practice.
No. RA 9266 has no refresher course requirement for repeaters.
It was 85.1% in June 2026 (82.1% in January 2026), based on PRC's results.
Ready to test yourself? Try the free ALE board exam reviewer. For the general comparison, see review center vs self-review.
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