Diversified Architectural Experience (DEA) Logbook: Complete Guide
How to actually fill out DT Forms 001 and 002, choose a mentor, and avoid the mistakes that get logbooks rejected, covering the 3,840-hour requirement in detail.
Diversified Architectural Experience (DEA) is a legal prerequisite to sit the ALE, not a formality: 2 years, or a minimum of 3,840 hours, certified by a Registered and Licensed Architect (RLA) and logged across six distinct fields of practice. Most confusion about DEA isn't about the hour count; it's about how those hours have to be distributed, and what actually gets a logbook rejected. This guide covers both.
The Six Fields of Practice You Must Cover
Per UAP Doc. 210, your 3,840 hours must be distributed across six fields of practice, each with its own minimum share. Critically, excess hours in one field do not count toward a shortfall in another; you have to hit the minimum in every category.
- A. Architectural design/drafting, structural conceptualization, planning: 30% (1,152 hrs)
- B. Contract documents, specifications, cost estimates, bidding documents: 25% (960 hrs)
- C. Field superintendence, project management, administration: 15% (576 hrs)
- D. Feasibility studies, project promotion, pre-design: 10% (384 hrs)
- E. Architectural layout of mechanical, electrical, electronic, sanitary, plumbing, and communications systems; lighting; acoustics: 10% (384 hrs)
- F. Interiors, space planning, restoration/preservation: 10% (384 hrs)
Filling Out DT Form 002 and DT Form 001
The logbook has two parts, and they serve different purposes, so don't confuse them.
- DT Form 002 ("Log Sheet") is completed per mentor, per project: project title/location, the inclusive dates you worked on it, and how many hours went into each field of practice (A-F)
- Your mentor signs DT Form 002, affixes their architect's dry seal, and fills in their PRC registration number and IAPOA number with issue/expiry dates, plus their PTR number and date issued
- DT Form 001 ("Summary") is where you total all your DT Form 002 sheets, from every mentor, against the required minimum per field of practice; your totals must meet or exceed 3,840 hours overall, with every field at its minimum
- You submit DT Form 001, all DT Form 002 sheets, and a notarized Architect-Mentor Affidavit together with your other PRC application documents
Choosing Your Mentor
Your mentor doesn't have to be your employer. The requirement is direct supervision of your work, not a formal reporting line.
- UAP Doc. 210 explicitly allows a graduate to train with a "Mentor/s of his/her choice"; the relationship is about supervision, not employment
- Multiple mentors are allowed and expected if you move firms or projects. DT Form 002 is designed per mentor, and DT Form 001 consolidates all of them
- A mentor can only certify hours for work they actually supervised; they can't sign off on projects they weren't involved in
- Your mentor must be a Registered and Licensed Architect (RLA) with a currently valid PRC registration, IAPOA number, and PTR at the time they sign
Working Overseas? What OFWs Need to Know
Architecture review sources indicate diversified experience gained abroad can still count, but with an important restriction worth confirming directly with PRC before you rely on it.
- Only a Filipino Registered and Licensed Architect can certify your logbook; a foreign-licensed supervisor cannot sign your DT Forms directly
- If your actual day-to-day supervisor abroad wasn't a Filipino RLA, a special affidavit variant is reportedly used, where a Filipino RLA attests that your foreign experience meets Philippine training standards
- Don't confuse this with PRC's Special Professional Licensure Board Exam program, which is about administering the exam itself overseas, not about certifying DEA hours
Common Mistakes That Get Logbooks Rejected
Review centers consistently flag the same handful of issues:
- Erasures or alterations in logbook entries, which can stall processing entirely
- A mentor signing for projects they didn't actually supervise
- Falling short of the minimum hours in one specific field of practice, even if your total hours exceed 3,840
- Submitting with an expired mentor credential (PRC registration, IAPOA certificate, or PTR)
- Paying a mentor for their certification, or for their license renewal. This is treated as serious misconduct, not a shortcut
When Can You Start Logging Hours?
DEA is officially defined as post-baccalaureate experience, but PRC Board Resolution No. 09, s. 2008 changed how that's applied in practice.
- Start logging from your first day of relevant work, under a qualified RLA mentor, and keep records as you go rather than reconstructing them later
- Per PRC Board Resolution No. 09, s. 2008, work experience from December 24, 2008 onward can count toward your DEA hours even if you're still enrolled, as long as it's properly logged under a qualified mentor. That's distinct from your school's mandatory curricular OJT, which isn't independently mentor-certified in the same way and generally doesn't count on its own
- A Master's degree in Architecture from a government-recognized institution earns you a 1-year credit toward the 2-year requirement
Key Takeaways
The DEA logbook rewards people who treat it as an ongoing habit, not a form to fill out right before applying. Log your hours as you go, confirm your mentor's credentials are current before they sign, and make sure your hours are actually distributed across all six fields of practice, not just piled into the design work you enjoy most. Get this right early, and it's one less thing standing between you and sitting the ALE.
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