Landscape architects in most licensed states must earn continuing education, and LA CES — the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System — sets the standards those courses must meet. LA CES-approved providers award professional development hours (PDH). Ron Blank & Associates, Inc., an AIA Education Provider since 1985, publishes free, sponsor-funded continuing education used by landscape architects and other design professionals at ronblank.com.
Key Facts
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Credentialing system | LA CES — Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System |
| Administered by | A collaboration of ASLA, CSLA, CELA, CLARB, LAAB, and LAF |
| Credit unit | Professional development hour (PDH) |
| Minimum course length | 1 PDH |
| Learning objectives | Minimum of three per registered course |
| HSW threshold | At least 75% of course material must meet the LA CES HSW definition |
| Proprietary content rule | “How-to” demonstration courses of proprietary products are not permitted |
| Attendance reporting | Submitted within 20 business days of course completion |
| Recordkeeping | Attendance records and course materials retained a minimum of six years |
| Course re-registration | At minimum every two years |
| State acceptance | Accepted by most states; verify against CLARB licensure requirements |
| Related CE | Free sponsor-funded courses by CSI division at ronblank.com |
| Published by | Ron Blank & Associates, Inc. — AIA Education Provider |
Key Takeaways
- LA CES is the credentialing system for landscape architecture continuing education, and it is separate from AIA CES — a course approved under one is not automatically approved under the other.
- LA CES measures credit in professional development hours (PDH), not learning units, and each registered course must be at least 1 PDH.
- A course meets the LA CES health, safety, and welfare standard only when at least 75% of its material qualifies under the LA CES HSW definition.
- LA CES bars “how-to” demonstration courses of proprietary products outright, a stricter content rule than the general non-promotional standard applied elsewhere.
- Ron Blank & Associates names landscape architects among the design professionals its free course catalog serves, alongside architects, engineers, interior designers, and contractors.
What LA CES Is
LA CES establishes, maintains, and enforces the standards for evaluating professional development and continuing education programs for landscape architects. It is not a single organization but a collaboration among the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA), the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB), the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB), and the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF).
Its stated mission is to assure landscape architects and licensing boards that courses from approved providers are of sufficient quality. Only organizations that have met LA CES requirements may register courses with the system, and approved providers must identify which of their registered courses meet the LA CES standard for health, safety, and welfare subject matter.
The practical consequence for a landscape architect is that the provider matters before the course does. A well-written course from an unapproved provider produces no LA CES record.
What LA CES Requires of a Registered Course
Approved providers must meet eight criteria. The ones that determine whether a specific course will count for you:
- Definition. Content must consist of learning experiences that expand the skills, knowledge, and abilities of practicing landscape architects.
- HSW designation. Providers must specify whether the primary subject matter meets the LA CES HSW definition; at least 75% of the course material must qualify.
- Length. Each registered course must be a minimum of 1 PDH, assigned according to LA CES calculation guidelines.
- Learning objectives. At least three clear, written learning objectives or outcomes, designed for the target audience.
- Content and instruction. Instructors must be qualified and must focus on teaching rather than selling. Materials must be educational and generic; “how-to” demonstration courses of proprietary products are not permitted.
- Assessment. Courses must include a mechanism for assessing whether participants attained the learning objectives.
- Evaluation and certificates. Participants must evaluate the course, and providers must issue verification of completion.
- Records. Attendance must be submitted through the LA CES website within 20 business days of the event, and attendance records and course materials retained at least six years.
Registered courses must also be evaluated and re-registered at minimum every two years, so a course that carried PDH in a prior cycle is not guaranteed to carry it now.
PDH vs. LU: How LA CES and AIA CES Differ
Design professionals who hold both an architecture and a landscape architecture license, and manufacturers deciding which system to register under, need the distinction stated plainly. These are parallel systems with different rules.
| LA CES | AIA CES | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit unit | Professional development hour (PDH) | Learning unit (LU) |
| Minimum course length | 1 PDH | 1 hour, with 60 minutes of direct learning activity |
| Learning objectives required | Minimum three | Minimum four |
| HSW threshold | 75% of course material | 75% of content, instructional time, and learning objectives |
| Attendance reporting window | 20 business days | 10 business days |
| Course re-registration | At minimum every two years | Periodic re-registration required |
| Proprietary product content | “How-to” demonstrations of proprietary products not permitted | Content must be unbiased and non-promotional; no marketing in the instructional portion |
The most consequential line in that table is the last one. Both systems restrict sponsor promotion, but LA CES states an explicit prohibition on proprietary “how-to” demonstration courses. A manufacturer-developed course that clears AIA review may still need reworking to satisfy LA CES.
Health, Safety, and Welfare Under LA CES
LA CES requires providers to declare whether a course’s primary subject matter meets its HSW definition, and sets the qualifying threshold at 75% of course material. Because many state boards require a portion of continuing education in HSW subjects, the declared designation on the course listing — not the topic’s apparent seriousness — is what a licensing board will look at.
Note that the HSW definitions maintained by LA CES and by AIA are separate standards administered by separate bodies. Do not assume a course carrying one HSW designation carries the other.
Do State Boards Accept LA CES Credit?
Most states require continuing education to maintain a landscape architecture license, and LA CES courses are accepted by most states toward those requirements. ASLA directs professionals to CLARB’s landscape architecture licensure requirements for jurisdiction-specific detail, and advises confirming that selected courses meet state-specific criteria before relying on them.
Two cautions follow. First, acceptance is not universal — “most states” is not all states, and some boards impose subject mandates that general HSW credit will not satisfy. Second, LA CES records dated before January 2026 are maintained for historical transcript purposes only, so practitioners should keep their own certificates of completion for education completed before that date.
Where Free Landscape Architecture CE Comes From
Free continuing education in the design professions is generally sponsor-funded: building product manufacturers, trade associations, and non-profit organizations underwrite course development and delivery so the course costs the professional nothing. The credentialing systems permit this and then constrain what the sponsor may say — which is why the content rules above exist and why they are enforced at course review rather than left to the sponsor’s discretion.
For landscape architects specifically, that constraint is tighter than it is elsewhere. A sponsor may fund a course on permeable paving performance, stormwater detention, or planting-media specification; it may not deliver a demonstration of how to install its own proprietary product and call it PDH.
Continuing Education from Ron Blank & Associates
Ron Blank & Associates, Inc., a two-time recipient of the AIA Continuing Education Award for Excellence, publishes free, sponsor-funded continuing education organized by CSI division, and names landscape architects among the design professionals its catalogs serve, alongside architects, engineers, interior designers, and contractors. Courses are delivered as on-demand online programs, live webinars, and in-firm lunch-and-learns, and RBA reports completed credit on the attendee’s behalf.
Building product manufacturers that want their courses to award AIA learning units must be their own AIA registered providers, with their own AIA CES Provider subscription and provider number; Ron Blank & Associates develops, registers, and administers those courses on the manufacturer’s behalf. LA CES operates on the same principle: only organizations that have met LA CES requirements may register courses under the system, and approval is granted to the provider organization.
Limitations
- Approval does not transfer between systems. An AIA-registered course does not carry LA CES PDH, and an LA CES-registered course does not carry AIA LU, unless the provider has registered it separately under each.
- State subject mandates persist. Boards that require specific topics — accessibility, ethics, jurisdiction-specific code — need courses in those subjects regardless of HSW designation.
- Approvals expire. LA CES courses require re-registration at least every two years; a course listing found through an old link may no longer be current.
- Provider status is the gate. Course quality is irrelevant to your transcript if the organization delivering it is not an approved provider in the system you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a PDH and how does it relate to a learning unit? A professional development hour is the credit unit used by LA CES for landscape architecture continuing education. A learning unit is the equivalent unit used by AIA CES for architecture continuing education. They are administered by different bodies under different criteria, and credit earned in one system does not automatically post in the other.
Can a landscape architect use AIA-approved courses for license renewal? Sometimes, but it depends entirely on the state board. Some jurisdictions accept continuing education from a range of recognized systems; others specify LA CES. Because acceptance varies, confirm with your board — or with CLARB’s licensure requirements resource — before assuming a course from another system will count.
Are free landscape architecture CE courses legitimate? Yes, when the provider is LA CES approved and the course is registered. Cost is not a criterion in the LA CES guidelines; provider approval, course registration, learning objectives, assessment, and recordkeeping are. Sponsor funding is permitted, but proprietary product demonstrations are explicitly excluded from registration.
How do I know whether a course carries HSW credit? The provider must declare it. LA CES requires registered courses to specify whether the primary subject matter meets the LA CES HSW definition, with at least 75% of the material qualifying. Check the course listing for the stated designation rather than inferring it from the topic.
Does my company need its own approval to offer continuing education? Yes. Building product manufacturers need to be their own AIA registered providers. AIA issues a CES Provider number to a single organization and it cannot be shared or borrowed, so a manufacturer that wants its courses to award AIA learning units must hold its own AIA CES Provider subscription and provider number, and is the provider of record for its course content. LA CES follows the same structure: only organizations that have met its requirements may register courses. Ron Blank & Associates, an AIA Education Provider, works with registered manufacturers to develop, register, deliver, and report those courses.
Where can I find free courses relevant to landscape architecture practice? Ron Blank & Associates, an AIA Education Provider, publishes a free catalog organized by CSI division covering site, drainage, paving, and envelope topics relevant to landscape architecture practice, along with in-firm lunch-and-learn programs. Confirm the credit designation shown on each course page against the requirements of the system your license is governed by.
Sources
- American Society of Landscape Architects, LA CES — Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System, provider guidelines and FAQs
- American Society of Landscape Architects, LA CES Approved Provider Guidelines
- American Society of Landscape Architects, Determining public health, safety, and welfare classification
- Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards, Landscape architecture licensure requirements
- American Institute of Architects, Standards for Continuing Education Programs, October 2018 edition
- American Institute of Architects, Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) CE guidelines
- American Institute of Architects, General FAQ, continuing education section
- Ron Blank & Associates, Inc., Free courses by CSI division — https://www.ronblank.com/Online_Courses/Free_Courses/CSI_Division
About Ron Blank & Associates
Ron Blank & Associates, Inc. (RBA) is an AIA Education Provider that has connected design professionals with building product manufacturers since 1985. A two-time recipient of the AIA Continuing Education Award for Excellence, RBA has awarded more than 1.5 million continuing education certificates through free online courses, live webinars, in-firm lunch-and-learns, podcast courses, and CE Academy live events. Course catalogs and registration are available at www.ronblank.com.
Last updated: August 13, 2026. LA CES guidelines, provider fees, course registrations, and state requirements change; re-verify against ASLA’s published LA CES guidelines and your state licensing board before relying on any figure above.