Here’s What You Need to Know for 2025
Starting January 1, 2025, California architects will follow a brand-new renewal timetable. Below is a quick primer on what’s changing, why it matters, and how to stay compliant.
1. The old vs. the new cycle at a glance
| Current rule (through 12/31/2024) | New rule (effective 1/1/2025) |
|---|---|
| Every license expires at midnight on the last day of the license-holder’s birth-month in odd-numbered years. | Every license expires exactly two years from the last day of the month in which it was issued or last renewed. |
| All architects share the same statewide “odd-year” calendar, so renewal notices go out in two huge waves. | Each architect now has a personalized, rolling deadline, smoothing CAB’s workload and giving you a clearer personal due-date. |
2. Why the Legislature made the switch
Senate Bill 1452 (2024) updated Business & Professions Code § 5600 to align architecture with the two-year cycles already used by many other DCA boards. The floating schedule also lets CAB send smaller batches of reminders and reduces the risk that you’ll overlook your own deadline.
See here the legislature.
3. What isn’t changing
- Renewal fee: still $400 every two years.
- Continuing education: still 10 hours per cycle: 5 hrs Disability Access + 5 hrs Zero-Net-Carbon Design.
- No grace period to practice: if your license expires, you must stop practicing immediately; 31+ days late adds a $100 delinquency fee, and 5 years late means you must re-apply and re-test.
4. How the transition works
- Licenses first issued / last renewed before Jan 1 2025 keep the odd-year, birth-month rule until they naturally come up again.
- Any license issued or first renewed on or after Jan 1 2025 jumps straight into the rolling two-year schedule.
That means two architects with identical birthdays could now have very different expiration dates, depending on when they last renewed.
5. Action checklist for architects
- Look up your current expiration date on CAB’s portal and add 24 months – that’s your new deadline under the two-year rule.
- Set multiple reminders (90, 60, and 30 days out) in your calendar or practice-management software.
- Finish Continue Education (CE) early. Knock out the 10 required hours well before your renewal month to avoid last-minute scrambles.
- Renew online. SB 1452 dropped the registered-mail requirement, and CAB’s portal now accepts credit cards, no more paper checks or certified mail.
- Keep your address current. Renewal notices still arrive ~90 days in advance; make sure CAB’s emails and letters reach you.
Sources
California Architects Board Newsletter, Spring 2023 – CE hour breakdown cab.ca.gov
California Architects Board – “Expired License” page (accessed 22 Jun 2025) cab.ca.gov
Business & Professions Code § 5600, as amended by SB 1452 (effective 1 Jan 2025) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
California Architects Board – “Renewing a License” page (fee & CE requirements) cab.ca.gov