A study deck built directly from the official USGBC LEED AP with Specialty candidate handbook — live before the v5 beta opens. Every card cites its source. Every practice question maps to the handbook's eight knowledge domains.
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Everything in the deck — plus the timed practice exams and full study guide PDF.
The beta window is the cheap, low-competition way in: 30% off exam registration · the data-collection window runs June 30 – August 31, 2026 · beta candidates sit the same content that becomes the final exam. After the beta closes, the discount goes with it.
The AP BD+C is the specialty credential for building design and construction professionals. v5 rewrites the content around impact-area thinking — decarbonization, quality of life, and ecological conservation — with the integrative process moved to the front of every project.
Beta exam opens. Data-collection window runs through August 31, 2026. Results delayed while USGBC calibrates the cut score from beta-cohort performance.
U.S. Green Building Council writes the rating system; Green Building Certification Institute administers the credential.
Beta candidates pay a discounted registration fee — confirm the current amount at USGBC before scheduling.
170 of 200 scaled score to pass. 85 of 100 delivered items are scored; the remaining 15 are unscored pretest items placed randomly.
Energy & Atmosphere is weighted heaviest at 18 of 85 scored items — plan your study time against the blueprint, not evenly.
USGBC exam info page — cited on every product page on this site.
USGBC sets the official passing score after the beta period and does not publish a historical AP BD+C pass rate. We will not publish a pass-rate figure we cannot cite.
Scored-item distribution from the USGBC LEED AP with Specialty Candidate Handbook (85 scored + 15 unscored of 100 delivered). The deck and practice exams mirror these weights.
Format: 100 multiple-choice questions · 2-hour period · 170/200 scaled passing score · Source: USGBC candidate handbook
Scenario-based, same format as the real exam. Explanations on every answer, with the source domain cited. No email required to play — we only ask at the end if you want the free key-concepts sheet.
10 scenario-based questions grounded in the LEED v5 BD+C rating system and the official USGBC candidate handbook. About 6 minutes. Full explanations on every answer. No email required to play.
You saw 10 questions. The full Exam Relay LEED v5 AP BD+C deck has 548 source-cited cards weighted to the handbook's eight-domain blueprint — scenario-based, explanation on every answer, citation on every source.
We're the newest AP BD+C prep on the market — and the only one built v5-native from day one. Here's an honest side-by-side.
| Exam Relay $37 deck · $47 bundle |
GBES $125–$275 · v4 |
LeadingGreen $300 · v5 "coming July" |
Green Training USA $825 combo · 90-day |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| v5-native content | Yes — built against v5 from day one | No — v4 | No — v5 not yet live | No — v4-era combo |
| Practice exams weighted to the v5 8-domain blueprint | Yes — 3 × 100 questions (bundle) | No | No | No |
| One-time price (no subscription) | Yes — $37 / $47 once | One-time, $125+ | One-time, $300 | One-time, $825 |
| Source citation on every card | Yes — USGBC handbook + v5 rating system | No | No | No |
| Fail-the-exam refund | Yes — with GBCI fail proof | 21-day refund window | Conditional pass guarantee | Satisfaction guarantee |
| Access period | Lifetime · free updates through 2026 | 1 year | 1 year support | 90 days |
Competitor pricing and features verified June 2026 from each vendor's public pricing page (GBES, LeadingGreen, Green Training USA). GBES AP BD+C material was v4 with v5 pending as of that check; LeadingGreen lists v5 availability for July 2026. We recommend using more than one prep source; we do not claim to be a full study replacement.
Source-cited flashcards with spaced repetition, bookmarks, and a growing-grove progress tracker. Weighted to the v5 BD+C domain distribution — heaviest on Energy & Atmosphere, exactly like the exam.
Three 100-question timed, scored exams domain-weighted to the handbook blueprint, with rationales on every answer and a per-domain score breakdown.
Printable reference covering every domain in long-form prose — for reading away from the screen. Directly cross-referenced to the deck.
When USGBC finalizes the v5 exam after the beta (including the official passing score), the deck updates and you keep access at no extra charge.
The candidates who pass aren't the ones who read the rating system the most. They're the ones who practiced retrieval under exam conditions, early and often.
Use the free 10-question quiz above. Score it honestly. The domains where you scored worst are exactly where you start — not where you finish. Most candidates over-study the categories they already know.
Energy & Atmosphere carries 18 of 85 scored items — more than twice LEED Process. Materials & Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality follow at 13 each. Spend your hours where the points are.
Every card cites its source in the v5 rating system or the handbook. When you miss one, open the source — read the surrounding context, not just the answer. The exam tests reasoning, not memorization.
The $47 bundle includes three 100-question timed practice exams aligned to the handbook's 8-domain blueprint — sit each untimed first to read explanations, then re-take strict-timed (120 minutes) to simulate the real exam.
v5 front-loads the carbon, climate-resilience, and human-impact assessments and ties every credit back to decarbonization, quality of life, and ecology. Candidates who think in v4 credit checklists will miss the framing the scenario questions reward.
One-time payment. No subscription. Free updates through 2026. Fail-the-exam refund — GBCI fail-result proof required.
Just the flashcard deck. Skip the practice exams & study guide.
Everything in the deck — plus the timed practice exams and full study guide.
Beta refund policy: sit the LEED v5 AP BD+C beta during the 2026 beta window and, if your official GBCI result is a fail, forward the result notification email within 30 days of receiving it — full refund, regardless of how long score release takes. The clock starts when GBCI tells you, not when you buy. Beta results are tentatively expected by December 2026, so your claim window waits for them. Requires the official GBCI result notification email — we cannot refund without it. USGBC does not publish a historical pass rate, and we won't claim one we can't cite — so we put the refund policy in writing instead.
Drop your email — we'll send you the free LEED v5 key-concepts PDF right now (it covers the v5 fundamentals the AP exam builds on), plus the Exam Watch newsletter on Fridays. Unsubscribe in one click.
New to LEED · beta live now
The Green Associate is the foundational LEED credential and the typical first step before an AP specialty. Our LEED v5 GA deck ($27 deck / $37 bundle) covers the full v5 rating system with the same source-citation standard — and its beta exam is live now.
See the Green Associate deck →Read the free v5 AP BD+C exam guide · v4 vs v5 — what changed