What You Need to Know About the Different QCP Licenses
December 2, 2019
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QCP currently offers 35 separate licenses. Each of these licenses relates to the fabrication, finishing, or installation of a particular product category covered by the AWI Standards. In order for a project to be certified, the woodworking firm must hold the relevant QCP license for the type of work they are contracted to do on that project.
What are the 35 QCP licenses?
The overall categories for QCP licenses include:
- Factory finishing
- Trim, frames, exterior windows and screens, interior shutters and blinds, and ornamental work
- Stairwork and rails
- Wall paneling
- Wall surfacing
- Architectural doors
- Casework
- Countertops
- Historic restoration
Most of these categories are broken down into around five sub-categories, each of which is a separate license. For example, the wall paneling category includes separate licenses for wood veneered, stile and rail wood, HPDL, solid surface, and phenolic wall paneling. There is an additional license for the installation of wall paneling.
How to know which license to choose
An architectural woodworking firm seeking QCP licensing should decide which combination of these licenses most accurately reflects the products and services it provides and which could be subject to certification. A registered QCP project is not eligible for certification unless the woodworking firm holds all licenses necessary to cover items specified for QCP certification.
QCP licensing eligibility
It is a woodworking firm, as opposed to an individual woodworker, who is eligible for QCP licensing. All applicants must:
- Own or lease a manufacturing facility and woodworking equipment
- Employ woodworkers who manufacture, fabricate, assemble, finish, or install architectural woodwork
- Actively seek and conduct business with the general public
- Have complete responsibility for the quality of its products
License application guidelines
Woodworking firms should follow these rules when applying for a QCP license – no matter the type of license they are applying for:
- Specify either a Custom or Premium Grade quality level for any license sought (a Premium Grade license allows certification of both Custom and Premium work)
- Complete the licensing process within one year of initial application (otherwise you will have to re-apply and pay another application fee)
- Pay a non-refundable application fee
How much is a QCP license?
There are two different tiers of license fees. If your firm is a member of the Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI), the application for a QCP license costs $2,000 with an annual renewal participation of $1,250.
For non-members, the application costs $3,500 and the annual renewal participation costs $2,650.
How to apply for a QCP license
To apply for a QCP license, woodworking firms need to complete an online application and submit their fee. There are then four more steps to becoming QCP licensed:
- Complete and pass two tests:
- A 75-question, multiple-choice, open-book test on the latest edition of the AWI Standards
- A 50-question, multiple-choice, open-book test on the latest edition of the QCP Policies
- Submit ten trade references: A minimum of two from general contractors, two from design professionals, and two from project owners. If this exact combination isn’t possible, QCP will explore whether an alternate combination is acceptable
- Complete sample shop drawings: Shop drawings illustrating samples corresponding to the QCP licenses you are applying for must meet the AWI Standards
- Licensing inspection: Once the previous steps and the required fabrication are complete, a QCP representative will contact you to arrange a visit to your facility. They will assess the licensing samples you have fabricated per the Minimum Sample Criteria (MSC), and visit two projects completed within the last two years. Those projects are inspected for general workmanship rather than compliance with the Standards and to verify that your company transacts business with the public
Applying for additional licenses
If you already hold a QCP license and need to apply for another one in order to meet the requirements of an awarded project, it’s quick and easy process to add licenses at any time:
- Undergo a work sample inspection and evaluation by a QCP representative.
- Samples provided by the licensee for this purpose must:
- Either be factory manufactured or “in-place” work
- Conform to the current AWI Standards
- Conform to QCP’s minimum sample criteria
When the sample inspection is complete, QCP will issue a written licensing report and the new sections licensed will be added to the list of the woodworking firm’s current licenses.
Much of what is required for initial licensing (the application fee, providing business references, passing written tests, etc.) is not included in the process of qualifying for additional licenses.
