Assessment process

• Getting approval

  When you are ready to apply for assessment you must gain approval from your counsellor and referees (RICS-qualified professionals acting as proposers or seconders).

  Download the appropriate form for your application.

  Chartered Proposer template (0.20MB)

  Associate Proposer template (0.19MB)

• View deadlines for submission and assessment

  Chartered assessment interview (APC/SPA)

  RICS runs two interview sessions each year. These are held in May/June (Session 1) and October/November (Session 2).

  Pathway	Session 1 submission deadline	Session 2 submission deadline
  Antiques & fine arts	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Building control	15 – 31 March	15 – 30 September
  Building surveying	15 – 31 March	15 – 30 September
  Built infrastructure / Infrastructure	15 – 31 March	15 – 30 September
  Commercial property practice / Commercial real estate	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Corporate real estate	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Environment	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Facilities management	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Geomatics (including hydrographic)	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Land & Resources	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Management consultancy	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Minerals & waste management	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Planning & development	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Project management	15 – 31 March	15 – 30 September
  Property finance & investment	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Quantity surveying & construction	15 – 31 March	15 – 30 September
  Residential	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Rural	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Taxation allowances	15 – 31 March	15 – 30 September
  Valuation	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August
  Valuation of businesses & intangible assets	15 – 28 February	15 – 31 August

  Session 2 interview dates

  Date	Venue	Pathway
  15th October	John Smith Stadium, Huddersfield	COM, RES, VAL, FM, PFI RP, MWM
  16th October	John Smith Stadium, Huddersfield	COM, RES, VAL, FM, PFI
  16th October	Resolution Centre, Belfast	All Land and Property pathways where required
  18th October	Principality Stadium (Millilumen stadium), Cardiff	COM, RES, VAL, FM, PFI, RP
  22nd October	Hampden Park, Glasgow	COM, CRE, RES, VAL, FM, PFI, GEO, RP, LR, PD
  23rd October	Hampden Park, Glasgow	COM, CRE, RES, VAL, FM, PFI, GEO, RP, LR, PD
  24th October	Aston Villa Stadium, Birmingham	COM, RES, VAL, FM, PFI, RP
  25th October	Aston Villa Stadium, Birmingham	COM, RES, VAL, FM, PFI, RP
  5th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	COM, CRE, RES, VAL, FM, PFI GEO, RP, LR
  6th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	COM, CRE, RES, VAL, FM, PFI GEO, RP, LR
  7th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	COM, CRE, RES, VAL, FM, PFI GEO, RP, LR
  12th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	COM, RES, VAL, FM, PFI, MC, P&D
  13th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	COM, RES, VAL, FM, PFI, MC, P&D
  14th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	COM, RES, VAL, FM, PFI, P&D
  14th November	Resolution Centre, Belfast	All Built Environment pathways where required
  19th November	John Smith Stadium, Huddersfield	QS, BS, BC
  20th November	John Smith Stadium, Huddersfield	QS, BS, BC
  21st November	Aston Villa Stadium, Birmingham	QS, BINF BS
  22nd November	Aston Villa Stadium, Birmingham	QS, BINF BS
  26th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	QS, TAX, BINF
  27th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	QS, TAX, BINF, PRM
  28th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	QS, BC, BS, PRM
  29th November	Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow	QS, BC, BS
  3rd December	Hampden Park, Glasgow	QS, BINF, BS, BC, PRM
  4th December	Hampden Park, Glasgow	QS, BINF, BS, BC, PRM
  6th December	Principality Stadium (Millilumen stadium), Cardiff	QS, BINF, BS

  APC Preliminary review

  Pathway	Deadline	Potential Interview	Deadline	Potential Interview
  Antiques & Fine Arts	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Building Control	15 - 31 October	Session 1	15 - 30 April	Session 2
  Building Surveying	15 - 31 October	Session 1	15 - 30 April	Session 2
  Built Infrastructure	15 - 31 October	Session 1	15 - 30 April	Session 2
  Commercial property practice / Commercial real estate	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Corporate real estate	15 - 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Environment	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Facilities Management	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Geomatics (including hydrographic)	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Land and resources	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Management Consultancy	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Minerals & Waste Management	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Planning & Development	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Project Management	15 - 31 October	Session 1	15 - 30 April	Session 2
  Property Finance & Investment	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Quantity Surveying & Construction	15 - 31 October	Session 1	15 - 30 April	Session 2
  Residential	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Rural	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Taxation Allowances	15 - 31 October	Session 1	15 - 30 April	Session 2
  Valuation	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2
  Valuation of Business & Intangible Assets	15 – 30 September	Session 1	15 - 31 March	Session 2

  Associate Assessment

   

  Submission	Assessment
  1st-8th Feb	February
  1st-8th July	July
  1st-8th Oct	October

  If you wish to sit final assessment in the UK you need to submit via ARC during the specified time periods detailed below. The dates differ depending on your pathway.

• Pathway specialisms

  Some pathways require you to select a specialist area when you apply for final assessment. View the document for more information.

  Pathways and their related specialisms

  You will be required to declare your chosen specialist area in Assessment Resource Centre (ARC).

• Interview assessments

  Confirmation of date and time

  Confirmation of your interview date and time will be emailed to you 3 weeks prior to your assessment.

  Once your assessment date has been set, it will not be possible to change unless there are extenuating circumstances. Sometimes due to circumstances beyond RICS' control, interview dates and times may change. If this happens you will be contacted, and we will follow the rescheduling procedure as laid out below.

  Rescheduling APC interviews

  We aim to ensure any previously referred candidates see a new panel at their next assessment. Sometimes, due to the chosen specialist area, assessor availability or other conflicts of interest this is not possible and therefore a referred candidate may see one member of a previous panel at a subsequent assessment.

  Assessors are trained to assess each candidate as if it was their first time based on the submission and performance of the current assessment. Candidates should not be alarmed if they see a panel member who has assessed them before on entering the assessment room.

  If you have submitted your application for final assessment, and then wish to defer, you must inform RICS Membership Operations by email. It is your responsibility to notify RICS if you wish to defer, RICS will not accept notification from a third party.

  RICS will grant a 14 day cooling off period from the date you submit for assessment within which you can defer without charge, after this point a £275.00 deferral fee will be payable when you next apply.

  Arrival at venue

  You will need to register at the RICS desk 15 minutes prior to your interview. It is recommended that you leave enough time to park and locate the RICS desk within the venue. Parking requirements vary at each venue however please note if you are undertaking your assessment at Park Inn Heathrow, you will be required to provide your car registration details to main reception on arrival.

  Please note that any fees for car parking are payable by yourself.

  You do not need to bring any identification or proof of interview time with you.  You will be formally signed in 15 minutes prior to the interview start time and asked to take a seat in the waiting area (bags and coats can be left in this room whilst you are being interviewed). RICS staff will read a short briefing before taking you to your interview rooms.

  After the interview

  Once your interview is finished, it is important that you return to the RICS desk to sign out.

  If you are late

  If for any reason you are not going to make it to the assessment venue on time, it is important that you notify RICS as soon as possible using the mobile number provided on your candidate interview notification email.

  Please note: RICS cannot guarantee that your interview will go ahead if you are late arriving.

  For candidates sitting in Northern Ireland please be aware that due to the volume of candidates, the registration process on the day may differ slightly to those detailed here. For further information please contact ricsni@rics.org

• Receiving your result

  Candidate questionnaire

  A few days after your interview you will receive a questionnaire from RICS about your experience; RICS would appreciate you completing this as your feedback is important to us.

  Receiving your result

  Chartered assessment: The result will be available within 5 working days after your interview and display on your homepage of ARC.

  (Please note that due to how the results are processed, they will appear on ARC shortly before they are released on email. Please refrain from contacting RICS immediately if you see the result on ARC but have not yet received a confirmation email as it may take some time to reach you. If you have not received your result by 17:00 hours on the due date, then please do get in touch on apc@rics.org. RICS disregard bank holidays so you will not have to wait longer for your result if there is a bank holiday close to your assessment date.)

  APC Preliminary Review: The results will be available approximately 8 weeks after the end of the application period, on the last working day of the month (i.e. apply 15-31 March, result issued last working day of May)

  Associate assessment: The result will be available the last working day of the month after the submission date and display on your homepage of ARC.

  All assessments: You will have access to this by 17.00. Please ensure your preferred email address is registered on www.rics.org; failure to do this may mean you do not receive a reminder that your result is available for you to view.

  If you have not received your result by 17.00 please contact RICS.

  RICS website

  The successful candidates will have their names added to the Global Members Directory within 24 hours of the result being issued and a full pass list will be added to the Assessment Results within a few days of receiving your result.

  Referral reports and award packs

  Unsuccessful candidates will receive a referral report which will be available within ARC 21 days from the date of their result. An email will be sent to you indicating when this is ready and available for viewing. You must save a copy of this report from ARC before your account becomes unlocked and you can continue to record your experience.

  Successful candidates will receive an Award Pack by post which will contain a copy of their diploma and a membership card. 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 and a membership card is send once the annual subscription has been paid.

  Candidates who are referred will be required to pay as resit fee of £275.00 for every additional assessment. This payment will be requested via ARC at the next application.

• Appeals

  Candidates who are referred have the right to appeal.

  You cannot appeal simply because you disagree with the assessors’ decision about your competence. The appeal panel does not question the merits of the assessors’ decision. It looks at the way the final assessment was conducted, and will allow the appeal only if, on the balance of probabilities, there was fault in the process.

  It does not reach any conclusion about the candidate’s competence to practise: it considers only administrative or procedural matters.

  Appeal panel

  Appeals are considered by an RICS appeal panel of three chartered surveyors who have no connection with you or your employer, and no previous knowledge of your final assessment interview.

  The appeal panel has no powers to admit a candidate to RICS membership: if an appeal is approved, the original final assessment interview is disregarded and you will be given a fresh interview.

  Associate Candidate Appeal Form (0.20MB)

  How to appeal                                                 

  You have 21 days in which to appeal. This is taken from the date on which your referral report is issued.

  • Complete the APC candidate appeal form (download it from this page) and submit the required appeal fee (no third party may appeal on your behalf).
  • Detail, in no more than 1,000 words, the reasons for the appeal. No further supporting documentation is permitted and no representations may be submitted by another party who was not present at the interview (e.g. supervisor, counsellor, employer)
  • Send to RICS within 21 days of the date your referral report was issued.

  The process takes approximately seven weeks following receipt of your appeal.

  The outcome of an appeal

  • Decline

  The panel decides to decline the appeal - RICS will write to you explaining the reasons for the decision.

  The original decision stands along with the panel’s referral report and instructions on how to apply for re-assessment.

  The appeal panel’s decision is final. There is no further right of appeal.

  • Allowed

  The panel decides to allow the appeal - RICS will write to you advising that the appeal has been allowed and that the original assessment result and referral report are now void.

  You will be provided with a re-assessment by a new panel using the existing submission documents. RICS will do its best to establish a date suitable for all parties as soon as possible, and not more than three months after the outcome of the appeal. You may not submit any new documentation for the re-assessment.

  The appeal fee will be held in credit.

  Please note that the outcome of the appeal re-assessment is final. There is no further right of appeal following this decision.

  APC Candidate Appeal Form (0.20MB)