Architect CV: the title you may use, a project table and the portfolio

Check the title you may print before anything else

In most of the countries a Turkish or British architect applies to, “architect” is a protected word. Using it on a CV where you are not registered can be an offence, not just a style error. So the first job is to decide, country by country, which words go under your name.

1. Write down where you are registered today, with the number: the Chamber of Architects (Mimarlar Odası) sicil number in Türkiye, the ARB number in the UK, a Land chamber list entry in Germany.
2. For each country you will apply to, look up whether the title is protected there and what an unregistered person may call themselves.
3. Write your degree as the degree (“BArch, Istanbul Technical University”), separately from any title.
4. Keep one sentence ready that explains your status, for example that you are registered in Türkiye and applying for UK registration.

Türkiye: the law, the Chamber and the office registration

Law No. 3458 on Engineering and Architecture requires a diploma or a recognised foreign diploma (ruhsatname) to practise under the title. Article 7 says people without one cannot be employed under the title of engineer or architect, cannot practise by signing, and cannot sign or give opinions using the title. Article 8 sets six months to two years in prison and a judicial fine, and applies the same penalty to those who employ unqualified people under the title.

Law No. 6235 on the Union of Chambers (TMMOB), Article 33, requires members of the profession to register with the chamber for their field to do work that requires the profession; architects employed permanently in public bodies may join voluntarily. The Chamber of Architects’ main regulation (Official Gazette, 18 December 2004, Article 7) makes membership compulsory for architects with a Turkish degree or a foreign degree recognised by YÖK, and says membership rests on the bachelor’s diploma.

What this means on the CV

Put the sicil number next to the title: “Architect, Chamber of Architects of Türkiye, reg. no. 00000”. Because membership is compulsory for practice, the number is the quickest proof that you may practise in Türkiye.

Freelance work and the büro tescil belgesi

The Chamber’s membership pages, citing its regulation on freelance architectural services, say that architectural design, survey, restitution and restoration work, planning, professional supervision and fenni mesuliyet (technical responsibility) are services that need a yearly office registration certificate. An architect employed by a company may serve only that company’s own buildings without one and cannot take technical responsibility. If you held the certificate, say so with the years; it tells a reader you signed projects under your own name.

UK: ARB, section 20 and the word on your CV

Section 20(1) of the Architects Act 1997 says a person shall not practise or carry on business under any name, style or title containing the word “architect” unless registered. ARB, the regulator, says a breach could include using the title on a CV, social media or a business card to secure work or build a reputation. Its title policy adds that terms such as “Part 2 architect” or “[name] RIBA” should be avoided by unregistered people, while “Architectural Assistant” and “Architecture Student” are less likely to be a problem.

ARB treats “software architect” in IT as unlikely to mislead, judged case by case, so that title is not your concern here.

Parts 1, 2 and 3, and the overseas route

The National Careers Service describes UK training as Part 1 (an ARB-recognised degree, then a year of practical experience), Part 2 (two more years of study, then another practical year) and Part 3 (a final exam), followed by ARB registration. People with qualifications from outside the EU, or with non-recognised UK qualifications, sit ARB’s Prescribed Examination. ARB says the Part 1 Prescribed Examination will be discontinued after its final sittings in 2026, and that degrees not mainly in architecture, such as interior architecture, are unlikely to be eligible.

On a UK CV, an architect qualified in Türkiye who is not yet on the ARB register writes the degree, the Turkish registration and the UK status in words: “Registered architect in Türkiye; ARB Prescribed Examination at Part 2 level, 2026.” Under the name, use a term ARB considers less likely to mislead, such as “Architectural Assistant”, until registration.

Title wording by country

This table is about wording only. Recognition steps and visa rules differ by country and change; check the linked official page before you apply.

Example CV section: project architect, eight years (invented)

Example only. Selin Arslan, the practices and the projects are invented; sizes and dates are set to look normal for an architect eight years after graduation.

Selin Arslan, Architect. Chamber of Architects of Türkiye, reg. no. 00000. BArch, 2017; MSc in Architectural Design, 2019. Portfolio PDF, 14 pages, 8 MB, link in the cover email.

Selected projects

Experience

• Project Architect, a 25-person practice, Istanbul, 2021 to present: runs 2 to 3 public and residential projects at a time; coordinates structural and MEP consultants; prepares permit sets for municipal submission.
• Architect, a 9-person studio, Izmir, 2017 to 2021: construction drawings and details in Revit; produced competition boards and physical models.

Why a table and not bullet points

A reviewer compares architects by the kind and size of building and by how far through the work they went. A table puts those in columns. For UK readers, name the RIBA Plan of Work stages instead of the Turkish ones; the 2020 edition organises projects into eight stages.

Interior architecture as its own section

Interior architecture is a separate degree and, in Türkiye, a separate chamber. The Chamber of Interior Architects says graduates titled içmimar, or içmimar and environmental designer, must join within one month of graduation to practise, and that foreign diplomas need YÖK equivalence. Its website lets anyone verify a membership with the sicil number, date of birth and ID number together.

• If you are an interior architect, write that title and the interior architects’ chamber number, not the Chamber of Architects.
• If you are an architect who did fit-out work, put it in the project table as interior projects, without claiming the interior architect title.
• Abroad, the title is often protected too: the Dutch register lists interieurarchitect, and Saxony’s law protects Innenarchitekt.
• ARB says interior architecture degrees are unlikely to qualify for its examination route unless transitional arrangements apply; check those before planning a UK architect route.

Software and skills table

O*NET’s technology list for architects (17-1011.00) includes Revit, SketchUp Pro, Rhinoceros 3D, MicroStation and Adobe’s layout and image tools. Its first listed task is preparing scale drawings or designs with computer-aided design or other tools.

Portfolio: what goes in the PDF

Send a short portfolio with the application and keep the long one for the interview. The National Careers Service notes that applicants to architecture degrees bring sketches, photographs and models. For a job, add technical drawings that show you can deliver a building, not only an idea.

1. Four to six projects, the one closest to the job first.
2. For each: one line on the brief, your role, the stage you covered, and whether it was built.
3. At least one set of technical drawings or details, not only renders.
4. Photographs of built work, with the photographer credited.
5. A file size the employer’s email will accept; a link if it is larger.

Sources read on 13 October 2026

• Law No. 3458 on Engineering and Architecture, Articles 1, 7 and 8 (mevzuat.gov.tr).
• Law No. 6235 on TMMOB, Article 33 (mevzuat.gov.tr).
• Chamber of Architects main regulation, Official Gazette of 18 December 2004, Articles 7 and 8; the Chamber’s own pages on registration documents and the office registration certificate (mo.org.tr).
• Architects Act 1997, section 20 (legislation.gov.uk), and ARB’s title protection policy and overseas qualifications page.
• National Careers Service, architect profile; BLS, Architects, with a median annual wage of $99,280 in May 2025; O*NET 17-1011.00.
• Architectenregister (Netherlands); Sächsisches Architektengesetz § 2; Chamber of Interior Architects membership page; RIBA Plan of Work page.

Limits of this guide

It does not cover recognition procedures step by step, landscape architects or urban planners, or the fee rules of any chamber. Structural and site engineering roles are in the civil engineer guide.

Abroad and next steps

For degree recognition wording on the CV, see the guide on showing a recognised degree; for British format and right-to-work lines, the UK guide for international applicants; for German conventions, the Germany CV format guide. If you want the project table written in English or German from your own notes, CitedCV can build the CV from the facts you enter and ask for any size or date you left out.

1. Decide the title line for each country you apply to.
2. Fill the project table with type, size, stage, role and status.
3. Cut the portfolio to the projects closest to the job.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi, Law No. 3458 on Engineering and Architecturewww.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.3.3458.pdf
2. Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi, Law No. 6235 on the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architectswww.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.3.6235.pdf
3. legislation.gov.uk, Architects Act 1997, section 20www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/22/section/20
4. Architects Registration Board, Title protection policyarb.org.uk/about-arb/regulate-use-title-architect/title-protection-policy/
5. Architects Registration Board, I hold overseas or non-recognised UK qualificationsarb.org.uk/architect-information/applying-for-registration-for-the-first-time/i-hold-overseas-non-recognised-uk-qualifications
6. National Careers Service, Architect job profilenationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/architect
7. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Architectswww.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/architects.htm
8. O*NET OnLine, 17-1011.00 Architects, Except Landscape and Navalwww.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-1011.00
9. Architectenregister, Wet op de architectentitelwww.architectenregister.nl/
10. Sächsisches Architektengesetz (SächsArchG)www.recht.sachsen.de/vorschrift_gesamt/4190/30962.pdf
11. TMMOB İçmimarlar Odası, Asıl üyelikwww.icmimarlarodasi.org.tr/odamiz/asil-uyelik
12. RIBA, Plan of Workwww.riba.org/knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/riba-plan-of-work