Following the 2008 AGM Privy Council has approved changes to the Royal Charter and a new set of Bye-Laws to establish a new governance model for RICS. Governing Council has also approved new Regulations to support the Bye-Laws.

The updated versions of the Charter, Bye-Laws and Regulations can be downloaded from the PDF Downloads column to the right of this page.

RICS is incorporated by Royal Charter, which sets out the objects of the Institution and requires it to:

"maintain and promote the usefulness of the profession for the public advantage."

In practice, the Charter means that important changes to the RICS constitution – its Bye-Laws - have to be ratified by the UK government, through the Privy Council, even after they have been approved by a majority of RICS members voting at a General Meeting.

The continued demand for Royal Charters, which may seem an antiquated concept, shows that they retain their cachet in the modern professional world as a "gold standard" of excellence and integrity.