LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE EXAM PREP COURSE

LEED Green Associate is the entry-level credential certifying foundational knowledge of the LEED certification. Has no requirements, anyone can take the exam and become accredited. It is commonly held by Architects, Engineers, contractors, interior designers, facility managers, consultants, and students.

LEED Green Associate is a credential rather than a certification, but the path is the same: pass the LEED Green Associate exam. Register and pay on USGBC, schedule on Prometric at a test center or online, then score 170 or higher out of 200. You keep the credential by earning 15 continuing education hours every two years.

The exam draws from the LEED v5 rating system’s credit categories: LEED process, integrative strategies, location and transportation, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. Focusing on the 3 impact areas in v5: decarbonization, quality of life and ecological conservation and restoration.

The LEED Green Associate exam is made up of 100 multiple-choice questions,  no essays or fill-in-the-blanks. Most questions have 1 correct answer, but a few clearly ask you to choose 2 or 3 correct answers.

Of the 100 questions, 85 are scored across 8 knowledge domains and 15 are unscored pretest questions, per the LEED GA v5 candidate handbook:

The standard fee is $250, reduced to $200 for employees of USGBC member companies and $100 for full-time students. Veterans can sit the exam free. The fee covers one attempt, a retake requires paying in full again.

You get 2 hours to answer 100 multiple-choice questions, plus optional 20 minutes for the intro tutorial and post-exam survey.

No. All LEED exams, including the Green Associate exam, are closed-book. You won’t be able to reference notes, the candidate handbook, or any outside material during the test, whether you’re testing at a Prometric center or remotely.

Yes. You can take it either in person at a Prometric testing center or remotely from home through Prometric’s ProProctor online proctoring platform. Both count equally toward the credential, testing online just requires a quiet, private space, a working webcam, and a system that meets Prometric’s technical setup requirements.

It’s manageable with the right preparation but can catch candidates off guard if they’re new to green building, since questions test applied understanding rather than memorized facts. Structured practice, timed mock exams and review of weak knowledge areas is what separates a comfortable pass from a stressful one.

Most candidates study for 2 months, but with the Archiroots LEED GA course you should be able to take the exam in 2 weeks or less. 

Though reference books, study guides are good resources. A simplified LEED Green Associate training with credible practice exams have been proven to be the best and most efficient way to study for the exam.

Ideally the best method for LEED GA exam prep is to take the first week to learn the material through the simplified training (30 minutes per day). The second week, take 1 practice exam a day until you pass all practice exams, while reviewing through the flashcards.

There are not enough free resources to fully prepare, most candidates find free content leaves gaps, since it rarely maps cleanly to LEED v5’s exact credit weighting. A structured course built around the current exam objectives typically shortens study time and lowers the odds of needing a paid retake.

Among Archiroots students who reported their results, everyone who scored 80% or higher on the practice exams before booking passed on the first attempt. These are Archiroots student results and are separate from any official GBCI statistic. The students who fail are usually the ones who skip lessons and book early.

The course has 4 hours of video across 9 modules and 54 lessons. With practice exams and flashcard review, LEED GA preparation takes most students 10 to 20 hours in total, usually spread over two weeks.

Yes. The lessons, practice questions and flashcards are all written for the LEED v5 exam.

A bootcamp is a live class that covers the exam material in one or two days on fixed dates. This course covers the same material in a self-paced format that most students finish in two weeks, with live calls with the instructor on request.

Buildings earn LEED certification and people earn LEED credentials, so what most people call a LEED certification course, class or program is exam prep for a credential. This one prepares you for the LEED Green Associate, the first credential and a prerequisite for every LEED AP. It is fully online. If you already hold the LEED Green Associate, see the LEED AP BD+C exam prep course.

Yes. Written questions are answered the same day, and you can schedule live calls with the instructor as often as you need.

You get a certificate of completion from Archiroots. The LEED Green Associate certificate itself is issued by GBCI after you pass the exam.

The credential needs to be maintained, you’ll need 15 continuing education hours every 2 years to keep it active or upgrade to the LEED AP to gain extra 2 years of credential maintenance.

LEED Green Associate certifies general knowledge of green building and the LEED rating system, with no prerequisites to sit the exam. LEED AP with specialty (BD+C, O+M, ID+C, and others) goes deeper into a specific project type and requires you to already hold, or earn simultaneously the LEED Green Associate credential.

LEED Green Associate comes first. It is a required prerequisite for every LEED AP with specialty credential. Most candidates study for and pass the LEED Green Associate first, then move on to a specialty once they have settled on which one fits their work. Learn more about the difference between LEED GA and LEED AP.