LEED® Green Associate Exam Overview

A good place to start is by downloading the FREE LEED GA Handbook.

Exam Timing
While you are permitted up to 2 hours to complete the LEED Green Associate, be prepared to commit 2 hours and 20 minutes to the entire process. Total exam time is broken out as follows: an optional 10 minute tutorial, the 2 hour exam, and an optional 10 minute exit survey.
Specifications
The specifications for each section of the LEED Green Associate exam are organized to include a list of domains and their corresponding knowledge areas. This structure provides the volunteer Subject Matter Experts with a framework to guide the development of exam items to assess whether a candidate is capable of performing specific tasks and services.

The following outline provides a general description of exam content areas for the LEED Green Associate exam:
I. Synergistic Opportunities and LEED Application Process
A. Project Requirements (e.g., site; program; budget; schedule)
B. Costs (e.g., hard costs; soft costs; life-cycle)
C. Green Resources (e.g., USGBC; Environmental Building News)
D. Standards that support LEED Credit (e.g., American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning
Engineers [ASHRAE]; Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association [SMACNA]
guidelines; Green Seal)
E. Credit Interactions (e.g., energy and IEQ; waste management)
F. Credit Interpretation Rulings/Requests and precedents that lead to exemplary performance credits
G. Components of LEED Online and Project Registration
H. Components of LEED Score Card
I. Components of Letter Templates (e.g., project calculations; supplementary documentation)
J. Strategies to Achieve Credit
K. Project Boundary; LEED Boundary; Property Boundary
L. Prerequisites and/or Minimum Program Requirements for LEED Certification
M. Preliminary Rating (target certification level)
N. Multiple Certifications for Same Building (e.g., Operations & Maintenance for certified building new
construction; core and shell and commercial interior; certified building in neighborhood development)
O. Occupancy Requirements (e.g., existing building--building must be fully occupied for 12 continuous
months as described in minimum program requirements)
P. USGBC Policies (e.g., trademark usage; logo usage)
Q. Requirements to Earn LEED AP Credit


II. Project Site Factors
A. Community Connectivity
1. Transportation (e.g., public transportation; bike storage; fuel efficient vehicle parking; parking capacity;
car pool parking; car share membership [e.g. Zipcar™]; shuttles; carts)
2. Pedestrian Access (e.g., circulation and accessibility such as cross walks; ramps; and trails)
B. Zoning Requirements (e.g., density components such as calculations -site area and floor area ratio; construction limits; open space; building footprint; development footprint; specific landscaping restrictions)
C. Development
1. Heat Islands (e.g., non-roof; roof; Solar Reflectance Index [SRI]; emissivity; albedo; heat island effect;
green roofs)
III. Water Management
A. Types and Quality of Water (e.g., potable; graywater; blackwater; stormwater)
B. Water Management (e.g., water use reduction through fixtures such as water closets; urinals; sinks; lavatory
faucets; showers; harvesting; baseline water demand; calculations of Full Time Equivalent; irrigation)
IV. Project Systems and Energy Impacts
A. Environmental Concerns (e.g., chlorofluorocarbon [CFC] reduction, no refrigerant option, ozone depletion,
fire suppressions without halons or CFC’s, phase-out plan, Hydrochlorofluorocarbons [HCFC])
B. Green Power (e.g., off-site generated, renewable energy certificates, Green-e providers)
V. Acquisition, Installation, and Management of Project Materials
A. Recycled Materials (e.g., pre-consumer, post-consumer, collection requirements, commingled)
B. Locally (regionally) Harvested and Manufactured Materials
C. Construction Waste Management (e.g., written plan; accounted by weight or volume; reduction strategies;
polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) removal and Asbestos-containing materials (ACM) management)
VI. Stakeholder Involvement in Innovation
A. Integrated Project Team Criteria (architect, heating-ventilation-air-conditioning [HVAC] engineer, landscape
architect, civil engineer, contractor, Facility Manager)
B. Durability Planning and Management (e.g., material lifecycle, building re-use)
C. Innovative and Regional Design (regional green design and construction measures as appropriate andestablished requirements)
VII. Project Surroundings and Public Outreach
A. Codes (e.g., building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, fire protection)