The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) recently announced changes to the Landscape Industry Certified – Technician Exterior program.

Q. Does this mean the Landscape Industry Certified Technician (LICT) certification designation is going away?

A. The LICT certification designation is not going away. What is changing is the way that the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), the owner of the certification exam, will be testing and granting LICT status. What is changing is how the exam is given and what questions are asked.

Q. What does this change mean for exam candidates?

A. The current exam will expire on Dec. 31, 2019. Candidates will have to complete the program and pass all sections (the whole exam) before this date. Otherwise, they will have to take the new exam in full in order to become Landscape Industry Certified.

Q. Will I be able to “carry over” modules of the current exam that I have passed and apply that to the new exam?

A. Per NALP, no.

Q. Will the questions from the current exam be used for the new exam?

A. NALP states they are reviewing all the exam questions and may or may not choose to use current questions for the new exam.

Q. What happens if I do not complete my certification before the deadline?

A. If you do not pass both the written and hands-on exams by Dec. 31, 2019, you will have to take the new exam in full in order to become Landscape Industry Certified.

Q. Can I get a refund for exams that I have already taken?

A. No refunds are being issued for tests that have already been taken. We encourage you to re-take any portions you need to (both written and hands-on exams) by Dec. 31, 2019.

Q. What will the new exam be?

A. Per NALP, the new exam will be an online exam that will be administered through remote proctoring.

Q. How will my employees demonstrate hands-on skill proficiency without a hands-on component of the test?

A. ALCC strongly believes in the importance of hands-on skills for the landscape technician profession. We are exploring options to incorporate hands-on training in our offerings.

Q. What are the upcoming exam dates?

A. View the 2019 test dates here.

Q. Can I take the exam in another state that offers it?

A. If you wish, you may take the exam outside of Colorado via the other states who also offer it. A full list of those out-of-state exam opportunities can be found on the NALP web site.

Q. Who is eligible to test before the deadline?

A. ALCC is accepting both first time and retest candidates for 2019 test dates. In our experience, few exam applicants pass the tests on their first try, however, there are some that do, and ALCC wants to give those individuals an opportunity to become certified in the current process. First time candidates are cautioned that if they start the testing process, they will need to pass all required tests in their chosen module to obtain certification. If candidates are not able to pass all required tests before Dec. 31, 2019, they will need to take and pass the new, online exam in order to obtain certification.

Q. What happens if I already have my LICT certification?

A. If you already are certified, congratulations! No changes to how you recertify have been announced by NALP. You will still submit your CEUs and gain recertification through NALP as you do now.

Q. How will CEUs work going forward?

A. NALP has not announced any changes to how CEUs are submitted or applied when you renew your existing certification.

Q. What happens after Dec, 31, 2019?

A. As of January 1, 2020, your candidate information will be handed over to NALP (the owner of the certification exam), who will be administering the program from that point forward. They will be in touch with further instructions for how to take the new exam in 2020.

Q. Will ALCC be involved with the new exam?

A. Currently, NALP is in the process of creating the new exam. Until ALCC can do a thorough review of the new exam process and content, we cannot predict if or how ALCC will be involved.

Q. Where can I find more information on this change?

A. You can read more information about this change on NALP's web site.