I am registered

As a registered architect, you are legally obliged to follow at least 16 hours of continuing education per year. This obligation applies per registration

The titles interior architect, architect, landscape architect, and urban planner are legally protected. This means that only someone who is registered in the Architects' Register may use this title, or abbreviations and word combinations of or with this title. More and more clients recognize the added value of these statutory titles. For example, in architect selections, it is often seen that participation is reserved for registered architects.

A firm may use a title in or alongside the firm's name if at least half of the management is registered under that title in the Architects' Register. A firm may only attach the title to a person's name if that person is registered under the relevant title in the Architects' Register. The rights and obligations for the use of titles can be found in the Wet op de architectentitel (NL).

Rights & Obligations

The legal titles interior architect, architect, landscape architect, and urban planner may only be used professionally if the architect is registered in the architects' register. As a registered professional, you have an exclusive title right that unregistered professionals do not have. In practice, the legal titles act as a quality mark. A legal title represents craftsmanship, knowledge, and quality.

However, along with the exclusive title right, there are also obligations. As a registered architect, you must pay the annually approved contribution by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) to maintain your registration. You must also use your exclusive title right correctly. You may only use the title under which you are registered in the architects' register. If the title is also used in or alongside the firm's name, at least half of the directors must be registered under the relevant discipline. Additionally, there are obligations under the Architects' Title Act:

You are required to spend a minimum of 16 hours annually on continuing professional development activiteits.

You have an obligation to provide information to clients about:

• the expertise and competence of the architect, including the completed continuing professional development activities

• available coverage for the work to be performed under professional liability insurance

• rights and obligations and their assurance towards the client

• rights and obligations towards third parties, if the assignment relates to a work designed by those third parties or if certain activities are resumed that were previously discontinued by those third parties