Assessment dates- Sub-Saharan Africa

As part of our continuous improvements to the Assessment Platform, we will be introducing the following updates from mid July 2025 to assist candidates at the submission stage:

• Clear guidance on the minimum employment history required for all candidates, based on the specific requirements of their application route.
• Clarification of the Summary of Experience (for APC and Associate routes only) and Case Study sections, outlining what applicants are required to provide.
• Streamlined status banners for the Final Assessment stage.
• Improved navigation on the Final Assessment page to enhance user experience.

Candidates are required to apply for the RICS assessment in the country they are primarily based and working in. They must be assessed within the context of the law and legislation in the country/jurisdiction of the assessment.

There may be instances where a candidate enrols in one country, begins work towards their assessment, and then relocates to another country. For their submission, if the candidate chooses to include experience gained prior to moving, their assessment must reflect the law and legislation of both countries.

There is no minimum period that a candidate must be practising in the country they have moved to before they can apply for assessment.

It is for you as the candidate, with the support of your counsellor, to determine if you have met the minimum competency requirements, including on law and legislation.

Candidates will be asked to add their word count into the summary of experience upload page on the Assessment Platform. This page will also display which competencies that have been selected for candidates to check and confirm that the competencies in their Summary of Experience match those selected on the platform.

Candidates will be asked to add the word count and date of the project used in their case study into the Assessment Platform.

If the word count entered for either the Summary of Experience or case studies exceeds the maximum requirement then the candidate will not be able to proceed.

This will be displayed on the home page along with other key information such as pathway and counsellor

As part of our ongoing improvements to the Assessment Platform, we will be introducing the following updates from mid July 2025 to help Counsellors more effectively support candidates during the submission stage:

• Counsellors will be required to download the documentations (case study and or Summary of experience) submitted by the candidate before providing feedback or approval to review the documentation before it can be submitted for assessment.
• A new notification banner will alert Counsellors to actions required, including pending requests to act as a Counsellor and approvals needed for candidate submissions.

Effective from 1 July 2025 the New Counsellor Training Module will be available via the Assessment Platform. Please note from 1 September 2025 Counsellors who have not completed this mandatory training will no longer able to approve candidate submissions on the Assessment Platform until the training is Completed.

Once you have submitted and you submission has been confirmed , if you wish to defer your assessment, you must inform RICS by email to aemaassessmentdelivery@rics.org It is your responsibility to confirm this to RICS in writing, we cannot accept notification from a third party or over the phone.

RICS grant a 14-day cooling off period from the date that you apply and submit for assessment within which you can defer without charge. If you defer after the 14-day cooling off period, a South Africa ZAR 1450.00, Africa US$ 100.00 deferral fee is payable when you next apply and submit for assessment.

While we do all that we can to avoid this, there are instances where assessments may need to be re-scheduled if assessors become unavailable. In the event this occurs the Assessment Delivery Team will contact you as soon possible to schedule a new date.

Unsuccessful candidates will receive a referral report via email within 21 days from the date of their result.

Successful candidates will receive an Award Pack by post. This is ordered on the first day of the next month following receipt of the result and can take 6-8 weeks to be delivered.

Please note that successful candidates will be required to pay an upgrade fee and any increase in annual subscription* upon qualification and can be paid online at rics.org/renew. An email will also be sent alerting newly qualified members to this updated online invoice.

* For qualifications after October, the subscription invoice will cover the following year rather than the current year.

Candidates who are referred will be required to pay as resit fee of South Africa ZAR 1450.00, Africa US$ 100.00 for APC/SPA/SPE or South Africa ZAR 1450.00, Africa US$100.00 for Assoc for every additional assessment. This payment will be requested via Assessment Platform at the next application.