
Become qualified as a Chartered Member (MRICS) if you have a bachelor’s degree or approved professional qualification.
We have made the decision to hold all future final assessment interviews via a digital platform
The Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) ensures that candidates are competent and meet the high standards of professionalism required to become a chartered surveyor.
These are a mix of technical and professional practice, interpersonal, business and management skills.
If your career has progressed based on seniority, specialisation or through academia, we have assessment routes to match your experience:
Find out more about senior professional, specialist or academic assessment
If you already have professional qualifications, or are a member of another professional body, you may be exempt from some of our entry criteria and be eligible for direct entry.
To apply to be Chartered through direct entry, you’ll need:
Combine 5 or more years of relevant work experience with any degree, or with an RICS-approved professional body membership qualification, and you may be able to progress to a final APC assessment following a preliminary review.
Qualifications approved for APC preliminary review
You can enrol on APC Prelim at any time, but must have 12 months of experience post degree or membership qualification when you submit at the preliminary review stage.
If you hold an RICS accredited degree, there are a number of entry points available to you depending on your relevant work experience.
Find out if you have an RICS accredited degree
Your entry route will depend on how much relevant work experience you have and therefore if you need to undertake structured training. See 'Structured training' below.
If you are undertaking a work placement as part of an RICS accredited degree, completing the steps below can further your progress towards an RICS qualification
If you are not an RICS student member then join now
Sector pathway
Review the sector pathways available, then email us to advise us to start recording your experience.
Find out more about our sector pathways
Guidance/support
Obtain guidance/support from employer and counsellor (a professional member MRICS or FRICS). If your employer/counsellor requires additional support they can contact an RICS Mentor.
Competencies
Obtain sign off of the sector pathway competencies achieved, by a professional member, in order to be able to use this experience towards the minimum of 400 days/2 years APC requirement.
After you've graduated
Enrol onto APC when employed and pay the full APC application fee plus current year's subscription.
Work placement details
Email our enrolments team a letter to from your counsellor confirming when your work placement started and finished and that you were working towards APC requirements.
Structured training
Complete a minimum of 1 year of structured training, post-graduation of your degree.
Apply for final assessment
After recording a minimum 23 months of APC your counsellor will decide when you are ready to apply for final APC assessment.
Whilst you can enrol at any time there are specific enrolment dates that will affect when you will potentially be able to sit final assessment.
The final assessment dates are split into two sessions; Session 1 (May/June) and Session 2 (October/November).
Surveying is a very broad profession covering disciplines as varied as building surveying, geomatics and valuation.
When you join RICS you must choose a sector pathway related to your surveying experience. During your assessment process you will have to demonstrate your skills and knowledge related to this pathway.
For Chartered membership, you can choose from 22 different Sector Pathways.
It is your responsibility to seek out a counsellor who can support you with your journey towards your MRICS. Below are some tips to help you in this pursuit.
Some ideas to help you find a counsellor:
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the systematic updating and enhancement of skills, knowledge and competence that takes place throughout your working life.
It should be closely linked to your current work.
CPD can be taken from various sources including attending conferences, meetings or seminars, completing an academic course or informal reading.
Having met any specific CPD requirements to qualify, all RICS professionals must complete at least 20 hours of CPD activities each year.
You will be required to undertake some level of structured training if you have less than 10 years of relevant work experience.
Structured training enables you to demonstrate how you have gained the skills and abilities needed to perform specific tasks or functions and therefore the required experience to achieve the competencies for your pathway.
The length of structured training required depends on your previous experience:-
Structured training is either undertaken by you or provided by an employer.
You will not be able to apply for the final assessment interview until your counsellor (and supervisor) certifies that, in their opinion, you have reached the level of competence required and have fulfilled the minimum training period.
The formal assessment process is the same for all APC candidates.
Written submissions
You will need to submit the following written summaries for formal assessment:
CPD record
You must have completed 48 hours of CPD training during the last 12 months. Or 96 hours of CPD undertaken during the last 24 months, if you are undertaking 24 months structured training.
RICS online ethics course
You’ll also need to complete the RICS online ethics course, before you can attend an assessment interview
60 minute assessment interview
Following a 10-minute presentation by you on your case study, the panel of trained RICS assessors will ask questions on your presentation and your selected competencies.
You can back date your APC application (APC structured training only) by up to 1 month if your application is accompanied by a covering letter from your employer or counsellor. This can be emailed to enrolmentsuk@rics.org after you have enrolled online.
Fees and subscriptions are to be paid in full. They are not paid pro-rata.
These are made up of a one-off enrolment fee and ongoing candidate subscription fees.
Enrolment fee: £663 (+ £97 for preliminary review)
The enrolment fee covers your candidate registration, online ethics course and final assessment.
The candidate subscription fee covers support materials and access to our Assessment Resource Centre (ARC) and is payable each year up to the point you become qualified.
Find the ongoing annual candidate fees for your location
NOTE:
These are made up of a one-off election fee and ongoing subscription fees.
Election fee: £670 (reduced rate of £485 for 24-month structured training candidates)
The election fee covers your member registration and award pack and includes your first-year annual subscription fee that provides access to all RICS professional services.
Any candidate subscription fee paid (see above) for the same calendar year will be deducted from the election fee.
Subscription fee:
RICS subscription is due every year on 01 January
NOTE:
Find the ongoing annual candidate fees for your location
All fees are non-refundable unless you withdraw your application within a cooling off period of 14 days (10 working days) from the date your enrolment is processed by RICS. If you decide to withdraw your application please contact us on the details above.
Excluding any required periods of employment, the formal assessment process can take between six and twelve months to complete.
You have a maximum of six years from your date of enrolment to achieve the MRICS qualification.
If you haven't already got an online account, you'll need to create one.
If you need to enrol more than one person from your company, call our Membership team on 02475 095337 or email qualificationcheck@rics.org.
Select the entry point to APC qualification that best suits your experience below:
If you qualify for a preliminary review:
Studying for a part-time RICS accredited degree AND in full-time employment:
or
already have an RICS accredited degree AND less than 10 years of relevant work experience:
apply for the APC with structured training
Have more than 10 years of relevant work experience AND an RICS accredited degree:
Verification
Once you have made an application we will check it to confirm that you have chosen the best route to membership for you.
Support materials
We'll then email you more detailed information about the process, guidance notes for your counsellor and information about how to use our Assessment Resource Centre (ARC) website.
If you have any questions about joining RICS or our qualifications, please call 02476 868 555, email join@rics.org or complete an enquiries form.