WELL certification is a performance-based rating system for buildings and spaces designed to improve the health and well-being of the people inside them. Developed by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the standard draws on over 7,000 scientific citations to connect building design, operations, and organizational policies to measurable health outcomes. Unlike environmental certifications that focus on a building’s ecological footprint, WELL centers entirely on the human experience of a space.
How WELL Differs From LEED
The easiest way to understand WELL is to compare it with LEED, the most widely used green building certification in the world. LEED evaluates a building’s impact on the environment: energy performance, carbon emissions, water conservation, pollution prevention. WELL evaluates a building’s impact on the people who use it: indoor air quality, water purity, access to daylight, noise levels, even policies around nutrition and mental health support.
The two certifications complement each other, and many projects pursue both. But they ask fundamentally different questions. LEED asks, “Is this building good for the planet?” WELL asks, “Is this building good for the people inside it?”
The 10 Concepts of the WELL Standard
WELL v2 organizes its requirements across ten broad categories, each targeting a different dimension of occupant health. The standard contains a library of over 500 individual strategies spanning design choices, operational procedures, and workplace policies. Those strategies fall under these ten concepts:
- Air: Indoor air quality standards, ventilation requirements, and pollutant thresholds.
- Water: Drinking water quality testing and treatment protocols.
- Nourishment: Access to healthy food options, nutritional transparency, and food preparation standards.
- Light: Daylight exposure, electric lighting design, and circadian rhythm support.
- Movement: Building features that encourage physical activity, from stairwell design to fitness amenities.
- Thermal Comfort: Temperature control, humidity management, and individual comfort adjustments.
- Sound: Acoustic performance, background noise control, and sound privacy.
- Materials: Restrictions on hazardous building materials and volatile chemical emissions.
- Mind: Policies and design features supporting mental health, stress reduction, and restorative spaces.
- Community: Social equity, civic engagement, and health-promoting community policies.
Each concept contains both preconditions (mandatory requirements) and optimizations (optional strategies that earn additional points). This structure lets project teams tailor their approach while still meeting baseline health standards.
Certification Levels and Point Thresholds
Projects earn points by implementing strategies across the ten concepts, and the total determines the certification level. There are four tiers:
- Bronze: 40 points, with no minimum per concept.
- Silver: 50 points, with at least 1 point in every concept.
- Gold: 60 points, with at least 2 points per concept.
- Platinum: 80 points, with at least 3 points per concept.
The minimum-per-concept requirements at higher levels prevent a project from loading up points in one or two categories while ignoring others. A Platinum building can’t, for example, ace air quality and lighting while neglecting sound or mental health. This pushes teams toward a holistic approach as they aim higher.
The Certification Process
Earning WELL certification involves several sequential steps, beginning well before construction finishes and continuing after occupancy.
First, the project team registers with IWBI, paying an enrollment fee and selecting which strategies they plan to pursue. During design and construction, the team collects documentation proving each strategy has been implemented. This includes Letters of Assurance from architects, engineers, and other professionals confirming that specific features meet the standard’s requirements.
Once the building is occupied, a WELL Performance Testing Agent visits the site to take physical measurements. These on-site tests verify real-world conditions, not just design intent. The agent measures indoor air quality across multiple parameters, tests drinking water for contaminants, checks humidity levels, and evaluates other environmental conditions. Visual spot checks confirm that design features like stairwell access, signage, and fitness amenities are actually in place and functioning.
After the documentation review and performance testing are both complete, IWBI issues a WELL Report and awards the appropriate certification level.
Maintaining Certification Over Time
WELL certification is not a one-time award. It remains valid for three years, after which the project must go through recertification. This includes updated documentation and a fresh round of on-site performance testing. The idea is that a building should continue to perform well for its occupants, not just meet standards on opening day.
Between recertification cycles, projects submit annual reports to demonstrate ongoing compliance. At the six-year mark (the second recertification), projects are required to upgrade to the most current version of the WELL standard. This keeps certified buildings aligned with evolving health research rather than locked into outdated requirements.
What It Costs
WELL certification fees are based on the size of the project. Every project starts with a $3,000 enrollment fee. From there, the program fee is $0.16 per square foot for full WELL certification, with a floor of $8,000 and a cap of $98,000. Industrial locations pay a reduced rate of $0.08 per square foot.
Projects pursuing WELL Core, which certifies only the base building and shared spaces rather than the entire interior, pay $0.08 per square foot (or $0.05 for industrial spaces), with the same $8,000 minimum and $98,000 cap.
On-site performance testing is a separate cost, starting at $15,000 and varying depending on the project’s size and complexity. This fee goes to the external testing provider, not IWBI.
IWBI offers a 25% discount for projects in emerging markets or certain sectors, and members can save up to 15% on enrollment, documentation review, and recertification fees. Even so, the total investment is significant, which is why WELL certification is most common in commercial office buildings, healthcare facilities, and large residential developments where the health benefits scale across many occupants.
Who Pursues WELL Certification
WELL certification applies to a wide range of building types: offices, multifamily residential, retail, restaurants, educational facilities, and healthcare spaces. The standard also offers pathways for entire portfolios of buildings and community-scale developments.
For building owners and employers, the certification signals a measurable commitment to occupant health. In commercial real estate, WELL-certified spaces can command higher rents and attract tenants who prioritize employee wellness. For organizations, the standard provides a framework for translating vague wellness goals into concrete building features and workplace policies, with third-party verification that those features actually perform as intended.
IWBI announced that 2026 will bring the launch of “One WELL,” described as the next generation of the standard, designed to accelerate global adoption and make the platform more accessible at scale. Projects considering certification should check whether their timeline aligns with the current v2 standard or the upcoming evolution.