Architects near you

The prohibition is on practising or carrying on business under any name, style or title containing the word architect unless you are a registered person. The Act names its own exceptions in the same section: naval architect, landscape architect and golf-course architect may be used without restriction, because those are different occupations that happen to share the word. Being employed by somebody else does not by itself count as practising for the purposes of the section.

Companies, firms and partnerships are dealt with separately. A business may use architect in its name where the architecture work is under the control and management of a registered person who does not hold a similar position in another such business, and where every place of business at which architecture work is done is either run by or under the regular supervision of a registered person. So a limited company can legitimately be called something-architects even though a company cannot itself be registered.

Section 21 supplies the teeth. Contravening section 20(1) is an offence, tried summarily, with a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale. Unusually, prosecutors get two years rather than the normal six months to bring a case, because the Act modifies the ordinary time limits in the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 and the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. The Act is UK-wide, so this is one of the few rules in this catalogue that does not change when you cross a border.

Every registered architect is bound by the Architects Code: Standards of Conduct and Practice. The 2025 edition is built around six standards — honesty and integrity, public interest, competence, professional practice, communication and collaboration, and respect — with separate published guidance sitting underneath on professional indemnity insurance, terms of engagement, dealing with complaints, conflicts of interest and building safety. ARB says the Code applies to every architect on the Register regardless of where they are based or what kind of work they do.

Two practical consequences follow for a homeowner. ARB tells the public that registered architects hold professional indemnity insurance, which is the cover that responds if a design error costs you money later; and it says the level of fees must be agreed in writing in advance for any work. A verbal fee arrangement with an architect is therefore already a departure from what the regulator expects, and it is worth treating as a warning sign rather than a convenience.

Ask for the terms of engagement before any drawing is produced, and read what they say about the scope, what is excluded, who deals with the local authority and what happens if you stop the project part way. Fee disputes on domestic jobs almost always trace back to a scope that was never written down.

Registration confirms that a person met ARB's requirements for entry and is subject to the Code. It says nothing about whether they have done a project like yours, whether they are any good at householder extensions specifically, or whether they have the capacity to start this year. Large-practice experience does not automatically transfer to a terraced house in a conservation area, and the reverse is equally true.

Registration also does not make the architect responsible for the builder's workmanship unless you have appointed them to administer the contract and inspect. Where you engage an architect for drawings only and then run the build yourself, the gap between design and execution is yours. Be explicit about which side of that line each service sits on.

Finally, the protected title covers the word architect and nothing adjacent. ARB has confirmed that it is unable to investigate the use of related terms such as architecture or architectural, because the Act does not cover them. Somebody offering an architectural service is not making an unlawful claim, and the next guide in this set is about how to judge them.

Architectural fees on a house move with the scope you buy rather than the square metres alone. A drawings-only appointment for a rear extension is a different product from a full service that runs from feasibility through planning, building control, tender and site inspection. The other variables are the condition and complexity of the existing building, whether a measured survey is needed, whether the site is listed or in a conservation area, how many design options you want to see, and whether the practice will also coordinate the structural engineer and the building control submission. Fees may be a percentage of construction cost, a lump sum per stage or an hourly rate, and the three are not comparable until you have the scope written down.

LokalMatch handles the introduction and nothing else. You describe the project once with your postcode, and architects and practices covering your area get in touch with you directly. Homeowners pay nothing to use the site; professionals pay for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does not carry out the work, does not set prices and does not vet, rank or recommend anyone — which is exactly why the ARB Register check described above is yours to do.