You can enrol at any time in your career, but you must meet one of our eligibility requirements before applying for assessment:

  • 1 year of relevant experience and a relevant bachelor’s degree*
  • 2 years of relevant experience and a relevant higher/advanced/foundation qualification*
  • 4 years of relevant experience (no qualifications required).

* Any qualifications must be directly related to your selected pathway. See sector pathways below.

Before you apply

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. However, you must pass the RICS Professionalism module to join through direct entry.

To apply to be an Associate Member through direct entry, you’ll need:

  • a proposer who is a Chartered Member (MRICS) or a Fellow (FRICS)
  • a record of your recent CPD
  • a letter from the professional body confirming your membership.

Surveying is a very broad profession covering disciplines as varied as building surveying, geomatics and valuation. Because of this, 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 Associate membership, you can choose from 13 different Sector Pathways.

> Find out more about our Sector Pathways

You must appoint an RICS-qualified counsellor to support and guide you through your application and assessment process. Your counsellor must be either an RICS Fellow (FRICS), Chartered Member (MRICS) or an Associate Member (AssocRICS).

If you don’t know an RICS member who can be your counsellor, you can find further support here. Please email your region's candidate support team to find out how we can help you.

 

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 need to submit a written summary of your professional experience, a case study, and a record of your continuing professional development (CPD), as well as completing the RICS Professionalism Module. Depending on your experience, it takes between 6-12 months to complete the assessment process.

RICS Professionalism Module

All candidates must complete and pass the RICS Professionalism Module. If you initially fail this course, you can retake it.

Written submissions

  • Summary of experience: a total of 3,000 words showing your experience related to aspects of your chosen sector pathway.
  • Case study: 2,500 words on a recent project that shows your technical abilities. The project should not be older than 24 months.
  • CPD record: 48 hours of training undertaken during the last 12 months.

Submission for assessment

Once you have passed the RICS Professionalism Module, your counsellor will confirm when you are ready for your written submissions to be sent to us for assessment.

Find out more about Join Fees for all membership routes
 

Now you are ready to start your application

If you haven't already got an online account, you'll need to create one.

Create an online account now

Then you can apply, for which you'll need the following:

  • your course title, institution name and start year (if still in education)
  • your employer details (if in work)
  • your counsellor’s RICS number (if you have identified one)

What happens next?

Verification

Prior to your assessment interview, checks will take place to ensure you have provided the correct eligibility evidence.

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 Platform.

Company enrolments

If you need to enrol more than one person from your company, call our Membership team on 02475 095337 or email join@rics.org.

Joining enquiries

If you still have any questions about joining RICS or our qualifications, please call 02476 868 555, email join@rics.org or complete an enquiries form.

Or join one of our Enrolment Drop In Sessions.

The regulatory functions of RICS relating to entry and admission to the profession are led and overseen by Standards and Regulation Board (SRB).