Do I need a CLARB record?

[Wei Qi]

Hi, guys, what do you think about CLARB council record? It costs $275 to apply and $140 to renew every year. I feel It is expensive since I currently don’t practice in landscape design.

I currently registered in a state but will move to NY/ NJ area soon. Since the market is so bad and I don’t know when I will find a new job, hesitate to transfer my current license to NJ, since the CE requirement is tough. At the same time, I don’t want to maintain my current license any more. I have to pay $300 each year and CE requirement too.

If I let my current license lapse, any influence on my future registration in other states? I heard the rumor that LARE score will expire if you don’t register after a certain of years. Anyone have idea about it?

So I am thinking to get a CLARB council record to keep all my professional records. tired to request reference letters again and again. Is it necessary? any comments are welcome.

Thanks

[Brett Lord]

While I am not registered and working on the LARE, I find CLARB to be a great help now and in the forseeable future. I have in the past let my CLARB record lapse. When reinstated it was to the tune of $500 + the yearly fee. Since I an currently unemployed I do find it difficult to keep up on the cost associated with membership. For now as I am testing it is necessary and I do save a little on the associated cost. Once registered (I forsee this happening in my current state of Texas) I see the value in having a CLARB record as I have no idea what state I may end up in and have heard from piers it is a great help in get the liscence established in that state. So while it is expensive and annoying esp. if you are one of the many unemployed out there, the cost of not having CLARB on your side could be greater in the end. Good luck.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

Look up any state’s reciprocity requirements that you might be going to. Most accept direct reciprocity with any other state that has similar requirements for licensure, although New York does not play well with others with reciprocity, from what I was told.

[Jonathan J. Bob]

First I’m a dinosaur, I took the UNE (precurser to the LARE) in 1986 in NJ. THis was before the advent of the CLARB (I think). But I believe to obtain licensure through reciprocity you will need to have a current, active license in another state. I obtained my original license in NJ, got my PA license via reciprocity (fairly easy at the time) and my NY license also through reciprocity but had to prove 2 years working under another licensed LA. That may not normally be an issue but I had been working on my own for 15 years and was now in competition with my previous employer. Delayed for a few years in asking to fill out the paper work but it turned out not to be an issue. If a CLARB record would allow you to avoid some hassles, keep it. Regarding CE requirements in NJ, NY is no better, and in fact you have to sign in at every lecture session and sign out at the end and pick up an education certificate (at least for education sessions approved by NY in the NJASLA annual meeting). Additionally most sessions at the NJASLA annual meeting are generally approved by NJ,NY and PA. Attending the full meeting and attending the sessions fullfills your yearly requirements.

[Brad Theurer]

From my understanding you need to contact your original state licensing committee since each state licensing requirements differ. I believe that some allow you to suspend it until you start working as an LA again however some require you to pay back fees so double check.

Also Clarb is an awesome way to maintain your records and well worth your time. For example I worked with an LA who had been out of the profession for many years and was asked to get his license active for reciprocity purposes and it took him months getting old contacts, employment, etc and paying fees to take make up CE hours.

Again call your local state licensing committee and contact Clarb to make sure that you are covered so that you aren’t in a mess if you decide to work as an LA in the future.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

I got reciprocity from Idaho to Massachusetts. I know that reinstatement for Idaho was a different rate than renewal.

I would recommend finding a state with low registration fees and no education credits and maintain a license in that state (Massachusetts, believe it or not, is currently a good option for that – no ed credits and under a hundred for license renewal, they are trying to make u for budget problems, though.

[Wei Qi]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Boilerplater]

One of the reasons I let my NJ license lapse was because of the CE requirements and I’m now living far from that state. As others have suggested, it is easier to get reciprocity in another state when you have an active license. I now have a NV license, and they don’t have any CE requirements. I also had a CA license that I allowed to lapse. Yes, I was so broke I couldn’t even afford the $200 or whatever it was at the time! I plan to bring it to active status as soon as I can afford to. So, keeping one (cheap) state active is cheaper than the CLARB deal.

[A.Corry]

So if I understand this correctly, the CLARB record actually doesn’t benefit the reciprocity if you have a current license? I ask because I’m hoping to be licensed soon (one test left) and my supervisor has a CLARB record for reciprocity reasons, so I was assuming I needed to do that as well in the event we picked up jobs in other states and needed to obtain a license. Am I missing something here?

[A.Corry]

Sorry if my wording was confusing, but I am waiting on the results for my last test. No, I am not currently licensed. My question however was whether or not I should be considering getting a CLARB record once I do (hopefully soon) get my license.

If having a current license in one state makes it just as easy to get reciprocity in another state, why would you spend the money on a CLARB record?

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