Be a Counsellor

As a counsellor, you will have a crucial role in helping RICS to maintain the high professional standards expected of qualified professionals.

A candidate cannot apply for assessment (including the APC preliminary review stage) until the counsellor has confirmed that, in their opinion, the candidate has reached the required level of competence. This verification is mandatory for all candidates.

Express your interest

Requirements

Be MRICS or FRICS to act as a counsellor for Chartered assessment candidates.
Be AssocRICS, MRICS or FRICS to act as a counsellor for Associate assessment candidates.
Complete the mandatory online Counsellor Training via the Assessment Platform and read the Counsellor Guide. This counts as one hour of structured CPD.
Be familiar with the Candidate Guide and relevant Pathway Guide for the candidate’s assessment route. This counts as one hour of unstructured CPD.
Have no active regulatory sanctions, including interim measures or open investigations, on your membership record. If you become subject to a regulatory investigation while acting as a counsellor, you may be required to suspend the role until the investigation has concluded. This will depend on the nature of the investigation, and you should contact RICS for advice.

Nomination

When a candidate nominates you as their counsellor, RICS will email you to accept or decline the role in your Assessment Platform.

If you choose to accept, you’ll be asked to confirm that you:

Agree to act as the candidate’s counsellor.
Have read and accepted the Counsellor Commitment Statement.
Will complete the mandatory Counsellor Training via the Assessment Platform.

Please respond as soon as possible to help the candidate move forward with your guidance and support. If you can’t find the email, check your junk or spam folder. You can also log in to your Assessment Platform and accept the role without the email.

Before accepting the role, read the Counsellor Guide and Counsellor Commitment Statement to understand your responsibilities.

Counsellor Guide (PDF 1.48MB)

Published date: 10 August 2026

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Counsellor Committment Statement (PDF 0.23MB)

Published date: 10 August 2026

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Your declaration

As a counsellor, you’ll be asked to confirm:

Through careful enquiry of the candidate’s experience and your knowledge of the RICS assessment requirements, you consider the candidate has met the minimum competency levels and is ready for assessment.
The content of their submission is a true representation of the candidate’s own work, that agentic and generative AI was not used in the production of their submission, and that their submission complies with the requirements stated in the candidate guide, including maximum word count.
That you have not received payment from the candidate or any third-party to declare the candidate has met the minimum competency levels and is ready for assessment.

You must not make a declaration for a candidate that you have had no personal experience or prior knowledge of, and you must consider whether you have spent an appropriate amount of time getting to know the candidate and their work.

Your declaration is in your capacity as an RICS professional. It must be carefully considered and with reference to the RICS Rules of Conduct.

Time commitment

The number of candidates a counsellor chooses to support is a matter of personal judgement. However, RICS recommends counselling no more than five candidates at any one time. This is an advisory limit, and RICS recognises there may be circumstances where counsellors support more candidates.

Counsellors must carefully consider the time commitment involved and their duty of care to candidates.

Benefits

Being a counsellor is an opportunity to support the next generation of surveying professionals while developing your own skills and experience.

Make a difference by guiding and mentoring candidates throughout their qualification journey.
Support the profession by helping RICS uphold professional standards and develop future Associate members and Chartered Surveyors.
Develop your skills in coaching, communication and leadership, while broadening your professional experience.
Stay up to date with industry practice, professional standards and developments across the surveying profession.
Expand your network by connecting with candidates, other counsellors, assessors and industry professionals.
Experience personal satisfaction by helping candidates achieve their professional goals.
Gain professional recognition by contributing to the profession. Acting as a counsellor fulfils the Service to RICS characteristic when applying for Fellowship (FRICS).

Apply to become a Counsellor

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

For information about the role and requirements, visit Be a Counsellor.

When a candidate nominates you as their counsellor, RICS will email you asking you to accept or decline the role.

If you choose to accept, you’ll be asked to confirm that you:

Agree to act as the candidate’s counsellor.
Will complete the mandatory Counsellor Training via the Assessment Platform.
Have read and accepted the Counsellor Commitment Statement.

If you need help, contact the Candidate Support Hub at candidatesupport@rics.org.

The counsellor’s primary role is to verify that:

Through careful enquiry of the candidate’s experience and their knowledge of the RICS assessment requirements, the counsellor considers the candidate has met the minimum competency levels and is ready for assessment.
The content of their submission is a true representation of the candidate’s own work, that agentic and generative AI was not used in the production of their submission, and that their submission complies with the requirements stated in the candidate guide, including maximum word count.

As a counsellor, responsibilities include:

Acting as an unbiased, critical friend
Providing input into the candidate’s professional and personal development in relation to the achievement of the competency standard
Having direct knowledge of the candidate’s relevant work experience and the competencies evidenced
Having direct knowledge and experience of local legislation that applies to the candidate’s job and tasks
Having detailed knowledge of the RICS assessment requirements and verifying that the submission complies
Where applicable, engaging with the candidate’s supervisor to support the candidate’s development.

You should expect to spend around 2 hours a month supporting each candidate during their training. The time commitment usually increases as they move closer to assessment, particularly when guiding them on content for their submission, reviewing their submission and, for Chartered candidates, taking part in mock interviews.

The number of candidates a counsellor chooses to support is a matter of personal judgement. However, RICS recommends counselling no more than five candidates at any one time. This is an advisory limit, and RICS recognises there may be circumstances where counsellors support more candidates.

Counsellors must carefully consider the time commitment involved and their duty of care to candidates. This will vary from candidate to candidate based on their level of experience.

Some counsellors provide “paid-for” services to candidates. In these cases, payment must be for support and training only. Payment cannot be received for signing off a candidate as ready for assessment.

An appropriate contract for services must be in place between the counsellor and candidate, making this explicitly clear.

Any declaration is made in the counsellor’s capacity as an RICS professional and must be carefully considered with reference to the RICS Rules of Conduct.

Please contact candidatesupport@rics.org and RICS staff will be able to action this if the candidate has not already updated their record.