The LEED Green Associate™ credential demonstrates foundational knowledge of green building principles and the LEED® rating system. The exam is administered by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI®) and is designed for people who want to understand sustainable building practices and how LEED projects are planned, evaluated, and certified.
What Is the LEED Green Associate Credential?
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and used to evaluate sustainable buildings and other projects.
The LEED Green Associate is a professional credential for individuals. It is different from LEED certification for buildings.
LEED Green Associate
A credential earned by an individual who demonstrates foundational knowledge of LEED and green building concepts.
LEED Certification
A certification earned by a building, interior, neighborhood, or other eligible project that satisfies the applicable LEED requirements.
GBCI administers LEED professional credential examinations and the certification process for LEED projects.
Who Is Eligible for the LEED Green Associate Exam?
The LEED Green Associate exam is open to everyone. You do not need a college degree, professional license, previous LEED project experience, or a specific number of years working in green building.
GBCI recommends having some exposure to LEED and sustainable building concepts before testing. That experience can come through:
- Educational courses
- Work experience
- Volunteering
- Participation in green building or sustainability projects
- Independent study of the LEED rating system
Candidates under age 18 can also pursue the credential, but a parent or guardian must complete GBCI’s required parental consent process.
LEED v5 Exam
The current LEED Green Associate exam is based on LEED v5. The previous LEED v4 Green Associate exam was retired in April 2026.
Do not study from an old LEED v4 outline. LEED v5 places increased emphasis on subjects such as decarbonization, ecological conservation and restoration, quality of life, embodied carbon, electrification, equitable development, resilience, and integrative planning.
How Is the LEED Green Associate Exam Structured?
The exam contains 100 multiple-choice questions and gives you 2 hours to answer them.
| Exam Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Questions | 100 |
| Question Format | Multiple choice, one correct answer |
| Testing Time | 2 hours |
| Total Appointment | Plan for about 2 hours, 20 minutes |
| Delivery | Computer-based |
| Open Book? | No |
The exam includes both scored and unscored questions. The unscored questions are being evaluated for possible use on future exams and are mixed throughout the test. You will not be told which questions are unscored.
You can skip questions, change answers, and flag questions for review before submitting the exam.
What Is on the LEED Green Associate Exam?
The LEED v5 Green Associate blueprint contains eight knowledge domains. The published domain counts account for 85 questions, with additional unscored questions included in the 100-question exam.
| Knowledge Domain | Questions |
|---|---|
| LEED Process | 15 |
| Integrative Process Planning and Assessments | 6 |
| Location and Transportation | 9 |
| Sustainable Sites | 8 |
| Water Efficiency | 10 |
| Energy and Atmosphere | 15 |
| Materials and Resources | 11 |
| Indoor Environmental Quality | 11 |
1. LEED Process
This is one of the two largest exam domains, with 15 questions. It covers how LEED works and how projects move through the certification process.
Important topics include:
- The roles of USGBC and GBCI
- LEED rating-system structure
- Prerequisites and credits
- Minimum Program Requirements
- Choosing an appropriate LEED rating system
- Benefits of LEED certification
- LEED development and updates
- LEED Interpretations and addenda
- Documentation and certification reviews
- Regional and international considerations
LEED v5 also organizes its goals around three major impact areas:
- Decarbonization
- Quality of Life
- Ecological Conservation and Restoration
2. Integrative Process Planning and Assessments
This domain contains 6 questions and focuses on making sustainability decisions early in the planning and design process.
Topics include:
- Early project assessment
- Systems thinking
- Life-cycle cost analysis
- Integrative design
- Project-team collaboration
- The roles of owners, architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, facility managers, landscape architects, and community stakeholders
3. Location and Transportation
This section contains 9 questions related to where a project is located and how occupants travel to and from it.
Topics include:
- Site selection
- Avoiding sensitive habitats
- Previously developed sites and brownfields
- Access to existing infrastructure
- Active transportation
- Alternative transportation
- Alternative-fuel vehicles
- Ridesharing
- Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
- Parking-footprint reduction
- Equitable and connected development
4. Sustainable Sites
This domain contains 8 questions about reducing the environmental effects associated with a project’s site.
Topics include:
- Environmental site assessments
- Construction-site compliance
- Open space
- Habitat conservation and restoration
- Heat-island reduction
- Light-pollution reduction
- Rainwater management
- Site resilience
- Reducing disturbance to natural areas
5. Water Efficiency
This section contains 10 questions covering strategies for reducing and managing water use.
Topics include:
- Indoor water-use reduction
- Outdoor water-use reduction
- Low-flow and waterless fixtures
- Water-efficient appliances
- Native and adaptive landscaping
- Smart irrigation
- Rainwater and graywater
- Cooling towers
- Leak detection
- Water metering and submetering
- Water-quality management
6. Energy and Atmosphere
Energy and Atmosphere is tied for the largest domain, with 15 questions.
Topics include:
- Building energy loads
- Building-envelope efficiency
- Heating and cooling systems
- Energy modeling
- Passive design
- Renewable energy
- Energy storage
- Reduced peak loads
- Energy metering and benchmarking
- Building automation
- Commissioning
- Greenhouse gases
- Electrification and decarbonization
- Refrigerant management
- Global warming potential
7. Materials and Resources
This section contains 11 questions concerning the environmental effects of building materials and waste.
Topics include:
- Life-cycle assessment
- Embodied carbon
- Material sourcing
- Product declarations
- Volatile organic compounds
- Building and material reuse
- Recycling and repurposing
- Construction and demolition waste
- Operational waste
- Waste-diversion strategies
8. Indoor Environmental Quality
The final domain contains 11 questions related to creating healthy, comfortable, and inclusive indoor environments.
Topics include:
- Indoor air quality
- Ventilation
- Air filtration
- Low-emitting materials
- Green cleaning
- Daylighting
- Glare and lighting controls
- Acoustics and noise control
- Thermal comfort
- Biophilic design
- Views
- Accessibility and inclusive design
What Types of Questions Are on the Exam?
The LEED Green Associate exam tests knowledge at three different cognitive levels:
Recall
Remembering facts, terminology, processes, and concepts described in the exam references.
Application
Applying familiar LEED principles and procedures to a new situation or project scenario.
Analysis
Breaking down a situation, recognizing relationships among project factors, and selecting an appropriate solution.
This means memorizing LEED terminology by itself is not enough. You also need to understand how sustainable strategies interact and how LEED concepts are applied to actual projects.
How Much Does the LEED Green Associate Exam Cost?
| Candidate | Exam Fee |
|---|---|
| Standard candidate | $250 |
| Employee of a USGBC member organization | $200 |
| Eligible student | $100 |
Students enrolled in college courses either full-time or part-time can qualify for the student rate. You will need to provide information such as your school, student ID number, and expected graduation date during registration.
Your registration fee covers one exam attempt.
How Do I Register for the LEED Green Associate Exam?
Registration is handled through your USGBC Credentials account.
- Create or sign in to your USGBC account.
- Open the Credentials section.
- Select the LEED Green Associate exam.
- Complete the registration process and pay the examination fee.
- Receive your eligibility ID.
- Schedule your examination through Prometric.
After registering, you have 12 months to schedule and take the examination. If you do not test during that period, your registration expires and you must register and pay again.
Where Can I Take the LEED Green Associate Exam?
You have two testing options:
- In person at a Prometric testing center
- Online using Prometric’s remotely proctored ProProctor system
Both versions use the same computer-based examination.
Remote-testing rule: Breaks are not permitted during the remotely proctored exam. You must remain in your seat and visible to the remote proctor throughout the testing session. At an in-person testing center, you may request a break, but your exam clock continues running.
What Should I Expect on Test Day?
Plan to arrive at your Prometric testing center—or begin your online check-in—approximately 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment.
You will need acceptable government-issued identification. The first and last names on your identification must exactly match the names used when you registered.
The exam is closed book. Personal notes, books, phones, and other study materials cannot be used during testing.
For online testing, you will need a compatible computer, webcam, microphone, stable internet connection, and an acceptable private testing environment.
How Is the LEED Green Associate Exam Scored?
Scores are reported on a scale from 125 to 200. You need a score of 170 or higher to pass.
The exam includes both scored and unscored questions. Unscored questions do not affect your final result.
The examination is not graded based on how other candidates perform. You must meet GBCI’s established passing standard.
2026 transition note: LEED Green Associate moved from v4 to v5 during 2026. Score reporting for candidates participating in the v5 beta process can differ from normal exam administration. Check your current GBCI testing information if you are testing during the transition period.
What Happens If I Don’t Pass?
If you do not pass, you can register and pay for another attempt.
If you have three unsuccessful attempts within a 12-month period, you must wait 90 calendar days after your third failed attempt before submitting another exam registration.
Each attempt requires a separate registration fee.
How to Prepare for the LEED Green Associate Exam
The current v5 blueprint gives you a clear way to prioritize your preparation. Treating all sustainability topics equally is inefficient because the exam does not weight them equally.
- Start with LEED Process. At 15 questions, it is tied for the largest domain. Make sure you understand how LEED is structured, how projects are certified, and the roles of USGBC and GBCI.
- Spend substantial time on Energy and Atmosphere. It also accounts for 15 questions and includes energy efficiency, commissioning, electrification, renewable energy, refrigerants, and decarbonization.
- Learn the three LEED v5 impact areas. Be comfortable with decarbonization, quality of life, and ecological conservation and restoration.
- Understand relationships between strategies. LEED questions can require you to recognize how decisions about location, water, energy, materials, and indoor environmental quality affect one another.
- Practice scenario-based questions. The exam includes application and analysis questions, not just factual recall.
- Study from v5 materials. Older LEED v4 study materials contain terminology, priorities, and exam categories that no longer match the current blueprint.
- Practice under a two-hour limit. You have an average of about 72 seconds per question across the 100-question exam.
LEED Green Associate Study Resources
How Do I Maintain the LEED Green Associate Credential?
The LEED Green Associate credential must be maintained in two-year reporting cycles.
During each two-year period, you must earn and report at least:
- 15 total continuing-education hours
- At least 3 LEED-specific CE hours
The other 12 hours can be either general green-building education or additional LEED-specific education.
Eligible continuing-education activities can include education, LEED project experience, authorship, and volunteering. Limits and specific rules apply to some categories.
Once you have completed your CE requirements, you must renew your credential. The current early-renewal fee is $85. Higher fees apply if you wait until after your active reporting period ends.
If the credential remains unrenewed through the entire inactive period and expires, you must retake the LEED Green Associate exam to regain the credential.
Bottom line: The LEED Green Associate exam now focuses on LEED v5. Build your preparation around the eight current knowledge domains, prioritize LEED Process and Energy and Atmosphere, and make sure the study materials you use reflect the new v5 concepts rather than the retired LEED v4 exam.