There are two methods of becoming a certified Passive House Designer or Consultant: through submission of a certified Passive House project, or by passing the standardized international exam.  Examination dates are fixed by the Passive House Institute (PHI) and offered by Passive House Canada in cooperation with PHI. Certified Designers and Consultants will be listed on our website, as well as the international database. For information on certification via project design and documentation please see PHI’s Project Qualification page.

The exam is thorough and time-limited, and it is not recommended that you attempt the exam without first taking courses 120A, 120B and 120C offered by Passive House Canada.

Exam details

The exam is three hours in length and must be written in person. Participants must supply a valid PHPP registration number in order to write the exam. PHPP can be purchased on our website here. Please allow at least 1 week for shipping. 

Information on examination regulations and detailed learning targets can be found on the PHI website. Briefly, the exam will include material on:

• Passive House definition
• Passive House criteria
• Thermally insulating envelope
• Airtight building envelope
• Transparent exterior components
• Passive House ventilation
• Heat supply system
• Hot water generation
• Summer comfort and space cooling
• Electrical energy
• Energy balancing
• Economic efficiency calculation
• Invitation to tender, construction management and quality assurance
• Building user information and support
• Retrofitting with Passive House components (EnerPHit)
• Calculations, quantities, units

The written examination is marked by Passive House Canada and then sent to PHI for second review. Participants are notified via email approximately 8 weeks after the exam of whether they passed or failed.

PHI will issue either a Passive House Designer certificate or Passive House Consultant certificate to successful participants, depending on educational qualifications. To acquire the Passive House Designer certificate a substantiated educational qualification is required, which allows the applicant to independently design buildings or technical building systems. A copy of a document providing evidence of this qualification (degree, master craftsman’s certificate or similar documents, translated into German or English if applicable) must be provided to Passive House Canada at the time of writing the exam; we will forward this proof to PHI. Examination participants whose qualifications do not meet the specified requirements, or who do not provide any proof of their qualification, will receive the Passive House Consultant certificate. For more information on the distinction between “Designer” and “Consultant”, please visit the PHI webpage Certified Passive House Designer vs. Consultant.

Recommended for

• Anyone pursuing the Certified Passive House Designer/Consultant designation

Prerequisites / required knowledge and equipment

• 120A: Passive House Design and Construction, or equivalent
• 120B: Understanding and Working with the Passive House Planning Package, or equivalent
• It is highly recommended that participants take an exam preparation course (120C online or in-class)
• Calculator (cell phones are not permitted, calculators must be non-programmable, ie no graphing calculators), pens, ruler, government-issued photo ID (eg. Driver’s licence), professional qualifications (if applying for “Designer” designation)
• Examinees are required to supply a valid PHPP registration number in order to write the exam. If you do not yet own a copy of PHPP, one can be purchased from our website here. Please allow at least one week for delivery.