A. Except as otherwise provided in the State Architectural and Registered Interior Designers Act, no license shall be issued to any person to practice landscape architecture in this state unless the person:

1. Is twenty-one (21) years of age or older;

2. Holds a degree from an accredited landscape architecture program and has such practical training as this act and the Board's rules deem appropriate;

3. Has passed the examinations prescribed by the Board including the Oklahoma Plant Materials Exam; and

4. Has paid all applicable fees.

B. If the Board determines the interest of the public will be served and the person is deemed by the Board to be qualified and competent by equivalent standards as the Board sets by rule or in compliance with the Post-Military Service Occupation, Education and Credentialing Act, the application shall be approved by the Board after the person has fulfilled all requirements of this act and rules of the Board.

C. Examinations may be administered by an electronic method and shall be held not less than once each year. Notices of the time and place for the holding of examinations shall be given in the manner and form as prescribed by the Board. All landscape architects are required to take and pass the Oklahoma Plant Materials Exam.

D. The Board shall establish rules for examination of landscape architects and may elect to follow the recommendations of the Council of Landscape Architects Registration Board (CLARB) or its successor. The examinations shall be designed to determine the qualifications of the applicant to practice landscape architecture. The examination shall cover such technical, professional and practical subjects as relate to the practice of the profession of landscape architecture. The examination shall also cover the basic arts and sciences and knowledge of material which is necessary to the proper understanding, application and qualification for practice of the profession of landscape architecture. The minimum passing grade in all subjects of the examination shall be as established by the Board. An applicant receiving a passing grade on a subject included in the examination will be given credit, subject to CLARB's provisions and subject to the rules of the Board. Applicants for readmittance to the examination shall pay the application fee.

Upon passage of the examination, completion of the Board's requirements as prescribed by this act and rules, and the payment of all applicable fees prescribed by the rules of the Board, the Board shall issue to the applicant a license which shall authorize the person to engage in the practice of landscape architecture in this state.

E. Pursuant to such rules as it may have adopted, the Board shall have the power to issue licenses without requiring an examination to persons who have been licensed to practice landscape architecture in states other than the State of Oklahoma, in a territory of the United States, in the District of Columbia, or in a country other than the United States provided that the state, territory, district or country has a similar reciprocal provision to authorize the issuance of licenses to persons who have been licensed in this state. If a person who has been licensed in a state other than the State of Oklahoma, in a territory of the United States, in the District of Columbia, or in a country other than the United States complies with this act and rules of the Board, the secretary-treasurer, in the exercise of his or her discretion, or upon the order of the Board and upon the receipt of all applicable fees prescribed by the Board, shall issue to the person a license to practice landscape architecture in this state.

F. The Board has the authority to issue temporary licenses while qualifying the applicant in compliance with Section 4100 et seq. of this title or with any declared state of emergency.

G. The following shall govern design competitions in the state:

1. Nothing in this act shall prohibit a person or firm from participating in a landscape architectural design competition involving only programming, planning, schematic design or design development information provided to a sponsor; and

2. The competition winner, prior to seeking the commission for services on the proposed project, shall apply for licensing in this state within ten (10) days of notification of winning the competition and complete the process within thirty (30) days.

Added by Laws 1980, c. 314, § 19, eff. July 1, 1980. Amended by Laws 1986, c. 154, § 14, eff. July 1, 1986; Laws 1986, c. 287, § 21, operative July 1, 1986. Renumbered from § 45.32 of this title by Laws 1986, c. 287, § 32, operative July 1, 1986. Amended by Laws 1998, c. 220, § 17, eff. July 1, 1998; Laws 2006, c. 163, § 23, eff. July 1, 2006; Laws 2006, c. 193, § 8, eff. July 1, 2006; Laws 2009, c. 184, § 19, eff. July 1, 2009; Laws 2014, c. 234, § 20, eff. July 1, 2014; Laws 2019, c. 363, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.