HKIA/ARB PA Paper 3

The HKIA website carries the assessment material: the Handbook, eligibility, assessment components, registration, the e-Self Service, Case Study, Examiners' Report, Lecture & Seminar Series, Study Guide and Sample Questions, the open book list and the list of advisors. The ARB site carries the legal side: the Architects Registration Ordinance (Cap. 408), the Code of Professional Conduct, the Register and complaints. Read both.

Start with the HKIA/ARB Professional Assessment Handbook, which sits under Before Enrollment alongside Eligibility, Assessment Components and Registration. It tells you what is assessed and how to enrol. Only after that should you move to the Preparation pages: Case Study, Examiners' Report, Lecture & Seminar Series, Study Guide and Sample Questions, and the open book list.

The Examiners' Report. It is published by HKIA specifically as preparation material and shows how previous candidates performed. Reading it before you draft anything tells you what examiners reward and what they penalise, which is more efficient than working through sample questions cold. Pair it with the Case Study material, since the report comments on candidate work.

Build the legal and practice foundation first: the Architects Registration Ordinance (Cap. 408) and the ARB Code of Professional Conduct, both published on the ARB site. Then contracts and project management, then building design and technology, then case study technique. Case study rewards candidates who can already apply rules and contract principles to a scenario, so leave it until the underpinning is solid.

HKIA publishes a Publication and Open book list as part of the Preparation material, so check it and confirm the current arrangements with HKIA rather than assuming. An open book list is a reading guide as much as an exam permission: the listed publications indicate the scope examiners draw on. Know the material well enough to locate and apply it quickly, not to read it fresh.

Yes. HKIA publishes a List of Professional Assessment Advisors under Preparation. These are practitioners who have volunteered to advise candidates. Use them for guidance on study approach and on understanding what the assessment expects, not to obtain answers. Approach them early, since advisors have limited time and are busiest close to assessment dates.

Two recur. First, weak legal and contractual grounding: candidates cannot apply the Architects Registration Ordinance (Cap. 408) or the Code of Professional Conduct to a concrete situation. Second, poor case study structure: analysis without a clear recommendation, or a recommendation unsupported by the facts given. Both are fixed by practising applied answers against the Examiners' Report rather than rereading notes.

Registration sits under Before Enrollment on the HKIA site, and HKIA/ARB e-Self Service is the listed channel for self-service. Confirm eligibility and assessment components first, then register. Note that the ARB website states its site, RA login area and registration system are now fully operational after a cyberattack, with a forensic expert engaged; if a portal misbehaves, check official notices before assuming your submission failed.

Only on the official sites. The ARB publishes Fees & Forms, New Application, Renewal and Re-Application pages, and its homepage currently flags that 2026 renewal registration has started. The ARB also issues numbered circulars for announcements, including appointments to the Board for 2026-2028 and a statement on the HKIA/ARB Professional Interview incident. Read the circulars; they carry changes that pages lag behind.

The ARB lists telephone +852 3155 0420, email [email protected], and address 19th Floor, One Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Office hours are Monday to Friday 9:00AM to 6:00PM and Saturday 9:00AM to 12:00NN; counter service runs to 6:30PM on weekdays. This page is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by HKIA or the ARB.