Upon acceptance, the Certification Board will send you a letter outlining the requirements for your 'Part 1 - Upgrading' program. This will consist of additional learning and/or work experience.

When you have completed your 'Part 1 - Upgrading' program, you will be invited to attend 'Part 2 - Lecture Series' and 'Part 3 - Certification Examinations', which are offered twice annually each Spring and Fall. There is a cost associated with this.

You will also need to attend the AATO Admissions Lecture, which is offered at no cost to the new "intern" members. It's an introduction to the AATO (its history, the Act, governance, policies etc..) plus a general overview of the Ontario Building Code and BCIN process. There is a quiz at the end of the lecture. After attending the Admissions Lecture, those who are Canadian Citizens or Canadian Permanent Residents will have their membership reclassified as our protected title 'Registered Building Technician' and be able to use our letters M.A.A.T.O. in conjunction with their designation title. The Admissions Lecture is held virtually on a Saturday morning; twice a year at present

The Lecture Series is open only to "interns and Registered Building Technician" members who have completed Part 1 of the certification process (known as their Upgrading Program). The Lecture Series is a two-day virtual weekend event that includes presentations from an AATO past president, Lawyers, Accountants and Insurance Specialists.

The Certification Examinations are typically held 4 to 6 weeks thereafter at head office. Remote proctoring is available for eligible members. This is where, upon successful completion of the applicable exam(s), the member would be reclassified as either Registered Building Technologist, Architectural Technician or Architectural Technologist.

The AATO has two accreditation exams:

• If you pass the Technical Knowledge exam, you will be reclassified as our protected title 'Architectural Technician' or 'Architecte-Technicien'.
• If you pass the Professional Practice exam, you will be reclassified as our protected title 'Registered Building Technologist'.
• If you pass BOTH exams, you will be reclassified as our protected title 'Architectural Technologist' or 'Architecte-Technologue'.

The Professional Practice exam is an open book exam based on the material presented during the Lecture Series and the Ontario Building Code. Candidates pursuing the protected designation of 'Architectural Technologist' (or its French equivalent) or 'Registered Building Technologist' would be required to take this exam.

The Technical Knowledge exam is a closed book exam. Candidates are expected to draw from their general knowledge of the Ontario Building Code, along with construction materials, methods and building science. Candidates pursuing the protected designations of 'Architectural Technologist' or 'Architectural Technician' (or their French equivalents) would be required to take this exam.