This LEED Green Associate cheat sheet distills the LEED v4 candidate handbook into a printable rundown of the facts GBCI tests most. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free LEED GA toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
LEED Green Associate exam at a glance
- Questions: 100 multiple-choice (85 scored + 15 unscored pilot)
- Time: 2 hours (about 2 hr 20 min for the full appointment)
- Passing score: 170 on a scaled 125–200 range
- Cost: $250 non-member / $200 USGBC member / $100 student (verify at USGBC.org)
- Administered by: GBCI for USGBC, at Prometric centers or online proctoring; based on LEED v4
What’s on the LEED Green Associate cheat sheet
- LEED Process (16 scored Qs) — USGBC vs. GBCI roles, rating systems, MPRs, prerequisites vs. credits, and the four certification levels — the single heaviest domain.
- Project Surroundings & Public Outreach (11) + Integrative Strategies (8) — the integrative process and charrette, Innovation, Regional Priority, and the LEED AP team point.
- Energy & Atmosphere (10) + Water Efficiency (9) — commissioning levels, minimum energy performance, RECs and refrigerants, and outdoor/indoor/process water vs. baseline.
- Materials & Resources (9) + Indoor Environmental Quality (8) — EPDs and HPDs, life-cycle assessment, construction waste diversion, low-emitting materials, and daylight and thermal comfort.
- Location & Transportation (7) + Sustainable Sites (7) — infill and brownfields, transit and reduced parking, erosion control, heat-island SRI, stormwater, and light pollution.
How to use it in your final week
- Memorize the certification thresholds cold — Certified 40–49, Silver 50–59, Gold 60–79, Platinum 80+ out of 110 points (100 base + 6 Innovation + 4 Regional Priority). These are among the most-tested facts.
- Front-load LEED Process (16 scored questions) and Project Surroundings & Public Outreach (11) — together nearly a third of the scored exam. If you master anything from the sheet, make it these.
- Lock the recurring patterns: USGBC writes the rules while GBCI administers exams and certifies projects; prerequisites are mandatory and worth zero points while credits are optional and earn them; every reduction is measured as design case vs. baseline.
- Do a timed practice pass beside each review — 100 questions in 2 hours is roughly 72 seconds each, so rehearse that pace instead of cramming facts in isolation.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your LEED Green Associate practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
LEED Green Associate cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the LEED Green Associate cheat sheet is a free PDF download with no sign-up or account required. It sits alongside Career Employer's free LEED GA practice test, study guide, and flashcards so you can cram and drill in one place.
It condenses the highest-yield LEED v4 facts into a quick reference: the nine knowledge domains and their scored-question weights, the four certification levels and point thresholds, prerequisites vs. credits, the integrative process, and the water and energy strategies examiners return to most.
It's built from the current GBCI LEED Green Associate candidate handbook and the LEED v4 rating system, and we review it against USGBC's published materials regularly. Always confirm the current exam fee at USGBC.org, since pricing changes.
No — the sheet is a review and last-week cram layer, not a full course. You need a scaled score of 170 (on the 125–200 scale) to pass, so use the sheet to lock in facts and the practice test to confirm you're scoring above 170 before you book.
Click the download button or the preview card at the top of this page to open the PDF instantly. Bookmark the page so you can pull the sheet back up during your final week of review.
References
- 1.U.S. Green Building Council. “LEED Green Associate Credential.” USGBC.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). “LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook.” USGBC.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.U.S. Green Building Council. “About the LEED Green Associate exam.” USGBC.org Help Center, 2026. ↑
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