If you design or build interior spaces and want to prove you can lead a LEED certification effort, the LEED Accredited Professional with Interior Design and Construction specialty (LEED AP ID+C) is the credential built for you. It is awarded by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), the credentialing arm of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the exam format, every knowledge domain and its question count, the v5 transition dates, the official resources worth using, and the questions candidates ask most.

What Is the LEED AP ID+C Exam?

The LEED AP ID+C exam tests whether you can apply the LEED v5 Interior Design and Construction rating system to real tenant fit-outs and interior projects. Think office build-outs, retail stores, and hospitality interiors.

As a specialty exam, it assumes you already know the LEED fundamentals covered by the LEED Green Associate. Instead of asking what LEED is, it asks you to choose the right credit path, spot trade-offs, and interpret requirements.

What Is the LEED AP ID+C Exam Format?

Here is the exam at a glance, based on the LEED AP with Specialty Candidate Handbook and USGBC’s exam results page:

  • Questions: 100 multiple-choice questions.
  • Scored vs. unscored: The exam mixes scored and unscored questions at random, and you won’t know which is which. The published domain counts total 85 questions.
  • Time: 2 hours, or 2 hours and 10 minutes if you take the optional tutorial.
  • Cognitive levels: Recall, application, and analysis.
  • Delivery: Computer-based through Prometric, at a test center or remotely proctored online with ProProctor.
  • Scoring: Scaled scores range from 125 to 200, and you need 170 or higher to pass.
  • Results: On the final v5 exam, your score appears immediately, and you’ll receive an emailed report within 24 hours. Beta results are delayed (see below).

Which LEED AP ID+C Exam Version Applies to You?

The current exam is LEED AP ID+C (v5), based on the LEED AP with Specialty Candidate Handbook released in February 2026 and the LEED v5 Interior Design and Construction rating system. According to USGBC’s LEED v5 exam information page, here is how the transition works:

  • LEED v4 exam: The last day to test on the v4 version of the LEED AP with specialty exams was June 28, 2026.
  • Beta data collection phase: Testing runs June 30 through October 27, 2026. The registration deadline for this phase is October 21, 2026.
  • Beta testing-only phase: The beta exam will remain available from late October or November 2026 through January 2027, but those responses won’t be used in GBCI’s data analysis.
  • Final v5 exam: Scheduled to launch in February 2027, with results available immediately.

Beta candidates won’t get a score at the testing center; GBCI tentatively expects to release beta scores in February 2027. In exchange, they receive 50% off the exam registration fee, 50% off a second attempt if needed, and continuing education (CE) hours toward credential maintenance once they pass. USGBC notes these dates are estimates.

What Is on the LEED AP ID+C Exam?

The LEED AP ID+C v5 exam specifications organize the exam into seven knowledge domains. Here is how the 85 counted questions break down:

  • LEED Process and Project Priorities: 7 questions
  • Integrative Process, Planning, and Assessments: 9 questions
  • Location and Transportation: 8 questions
  • Water Efficiency: 10 questions
  • Energy and Atmosphere: 17 questions
  • Materials and Resources: 17 questions
  • Indoor Environmental Quality: 17 questions

Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality account for 51 of those 85 questions, about 60%. There is also no separate Innovation or Regional Priority domain anymore. Those topics now live inside LEED Process and Project Priorities, which mirrors the new Project Priorities category in the LEED v5 rating system.

LEED Process and Project Priorities (7 Questions)

This domain covers how a LEED project gets certified, from eligibility to review.

  • Minimum requirements for certification and Platinum requirements, including program requirements and prerequisites.
  • LEED interpretations and addenda, plus synergies and tradeoffs between credits.
  • The LEED project boundary and how requirements vary by project type (commercial, institutional, retail, healthcare) and base building conditions.
  • Project administration: documentation, Arc, the review process, and appeals.
  • Project priorities: regional priority, project-type credits, exemplary performance, pilot credits, and innovative strategies.

Study tip: Know the v5 certification thresholds (Certified 40 to 49 points, Silver 50 to 59, Gold 60 to 79, Platinum 80 and above) and that Platinum in v5 also requires minimum achievement in certain decarbonization credits.

Integrative Process, Planning, and Assessments (9 Questions)

In LEED v5, this category is where a project starts. It has three prerequisites: the Climate Resilience Assessment, the Human Impact Assessment, and the Carbon Assessment, plus a credit for the integrative design process.

  • Climate resilience, including site-specific natural hazards.
  • Human use, health impact, and social context, such as cultural and heritage awareness and community engagement.
  • Carbon assessment across operational, embodied, transportation, and refrigerant emissions.
  • The integrative design process: timing, interdisciplinary collaboration, design charrettes, discovery, and LEED goal setting.

What questions look like: The category is worth only 1 point in the rating system, but it gets 9 exam questions. Expect scenarios asking what the team should assess or decide early, before design choices lock in.

Location and Transportation (8 Questions)

For interiors, this domain focuses on choosing a well-connected location and managing how occupants get there.

  • Compact and connected development: walkability, intersection density, floor area ratio (FAR), density, and access to transit.
  • Transportation demand management: parking capacity and management, bicycle storage, showers, bicycle maintenance, and base building facilities.
  • Electric vehicles: EV parking and EV supply equipment specifications.

Study tip: Know what a tenant can count from the base building, such as shared bike storage.

Water Efficiency (10 Questions)

Water Efficiency on an interiors project centers on fixtures and equipment used by tenant occupants.

  • Fixtures and fittings, including prescriptive versus performance paths for toilets, urinals, faucets, and showerheads.
  • Appliance and process water, such as cooling towers, washing machines, and commercial kitchen equipment.
  • Water types and reuse, metering and submetering, and leak detection.

Study tip: Practice baseline-versus-design water calculations, and remember that fixtures outside the tenant space count if project occupants use them.

Energy and Atmosphere (17 Questions)

The largest point category in the rating system (31 of 110 points), EA reflects v5’s push toward decarbonization.

  • Energy performance: referenced standards, prescriptive and performance (energy modeling) paths, plug and process loads, and the 10-year operational carbon projection.
  • Electrification and limiting on-site combustion.
  • Renewable energy supply, including on-site and off-site sources and Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs).
  • Refrigerants: Global Warming Potential (GWP) benchmarks and leakage.
  • Commissioning: owner’s project requirements (OPR), basis of design (BOD), the commissioning provider (CxP), and monitoring-based commissioning.
  • Energy metering, emergency and future-proofing, and grid-interactive strategies such as demand response and load shifting.

What questions look like: Commissioning sequence questions are common. Know who writes the OPR (the owner) versus the BOD (the design team), and when each is due.

Materials and Resources (17 Questions)

Finishes, furniture, and fit-out make up much of what an interiors team controls, so this domain is heavy on embodied carbon.

  • Interiors life-cycle assessment, including life-cycle stages and modules, and quantifying GWP impacts.
  • Low-embodied carbon procurement using environmental product declarations (EPDs).
  • Material reuse (walls, doors, ceilings, furniture) and stewardship, such as design for disassembly.
  • Low-emitting materials, ingredient reporting, and multi-attribute products.
  • Construction and demolition waste management and ongoing operational waste, including storage for recyclables, batteries, and mercury-containing lamps.

Study tip: Be clear on the difference between an EPD (environmental impacts, including GWP) and ingredient disclosure (what’s in the product and its health hazards). The exam likes to swap them.

Indoor Environmental Quality (17 Questions)

EQ covers what occupants experience inside the space.

  • Thermal, sound, and lighting environments, including glare, color rendering, spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA), and Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE).
  • Biophilic design, quality views, accessibility, and inclusion.
  • Construction management: HVAC protection, source control, pathway interruption, and housekeeping.
  • Ventilation, air quality management, and risk-event modes (wildfire, respiratory infection, power outages).

What questions look like: Two options may both improve comfort, but only one meets the stated requirement.

How Should You Use the LEED AP ID+C Blueprint to Build a Study Plan?

Let the question counts shape your time:

  1. Start with the three 17-question domains. EA, MR, and EQ deserve roughly 60% of your study time.
  2. Take a mixed baseline early. It shows your real weak spots.
  3. Tag every miss to an outline bullet, such as “refrigerant GWP,” not just “EA.”
  4. Learn v5, not v4. If you studied older materials, relearn the changed structure, especially the IP prerequisites, embodied carbon, and Project Priorities.
  5. Don’t skip small domains. The 7 LEED Process questions are easy to learn.

What Official Resources Should You Use?

  • LEED AP with Specialty Candidate Handbook: Eligibility, policies, ID requirements, and the full ID+C v5 exam specifications.
  • LEED v5 exam information: Beta dates, registration windows, and score release timing.
  • LEED v5 Reference Guide for Interior Design and Construction (February 2026 Edition): USGBC names this as the primary reference for the exam.
  • LEED v5 Interior Design and Construction rating system (February 2026 Edition): The credit-by-credit requirements in a shorter format.

Frequently Asked Questions About the LEED AP ID+C Exam

What score do I need to pass?
You need a scaled score of 170 or higher on a scale of 125 to 200. GBCI doesn’t publish how many questions you must answer correctly.

Do I need the LEED Green Associate first?
Yes. You must hold an active LEED Green Associate (or LEED AP with specialty) credential when you register. The combined Green Associate and specialty exam is not offered in beta format.

What if I don’t pass?
Each attempt requires a new registration fee. After three unsuccessful attempts within 12 months, you must wait 90 calendar days before registering again.

How do I keep the credential?
You renew every two years by earning 30 CE hours, including 6 LEED-specific hours related to ID+C.

Is the exam open book?
No. All LEED exams are closed book.

Start Preparing for the LEED AP ID+C Exam With Pocket Prep

Pocket Prep’s LEED AP ID+C exam prep gives you 300 practice questions aligned to the v5 exam, each with a detailed explanation of why the right answer is right and the others aren’t. Start with a Quick 10, then use Weakest Subject and Missed Questions to target gaps. With a clear plan and steady practice, you can walk into the testing center ready.