Building a Better You
Property Elite’s sole aim is to build better property professionals - supporting your career every step of the way, whether you are an AssocRICS or RICS APC candidate or a MRICS or FRICS Chartered Surveyor simply seeking engaging CPD.
We provide a wide range of training and support, so why not find out more on our website about how we might be able to support you? We work with candidates across all RICS APC and AssocRICS pathways, routes to assessment and geographic regions.
Don’t forget to sign up online for your free 15 minute AssocRICS or RICS APC consultation, including a review of your referral report if you have been referred. You can also book your bespoke training or support services directly through our eShop.
Not sure about signing up? Make sure you read what our recent successful candidates have to say in our Testimonials.
What is today's blog about?
In this week’s blog, we look at how much it might cost to undertake your APC or AssocRICS assessment. This is a common question we are asked, particularly from candidates who are not part of a corporate training programme in a larger firm.
We recommend that you always check your fees with RICS directly, as they do occasionally change. The information in this article was confirmed via the RICS website on 30 November 2022.
How much does the APC assessment cost to undertake?
The main cost of pursuing the APC assessment to become MRICS is the fees payable to RICS.
These are split up into two elements:
Enrolment fee
Candidate subscription fee
In this section, we will be focussing on the structured training and preliminary review routes. The other routes and then the AssocRICS assessment are discussed later on in this blog.
The enrolment fee is paid once at the start of the process. The enrolment fee covers your registration with RICS, the Professionalism Module and your final assessment interview.
In the UK, the enrolment fee is £663, with an extra £97 payable if you are on the preliminary review route (and which covers the additional written assessment stage).
In you are in another world region, you can head to https://www.rics.org/uk/surveying-profession/join-rics/chartered-member-mrics/assessment-of-professional-competence-apc/ and then select your world region on the top toolbar to check your enrolment fee.
Depending on when you enrol in the calendar year, there are different rules that RICS apply to whether your candidate subscription fee is reduced or not.
If you enrol before 1 October, then you will need to pay the full year’s subscription fee and then the next subscription fee will become payable on 1 January.
If you enrol after 1 October, then your subscription fee will cover the remainder of the current year and then the whole of the next year (so no additional subscription fee becomes payable on 1 January).
In the UK, the annual candidate subscription fee is £161. You can check this for other world regions by heading to https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/footer/professional-fees-2021.pdf.
The candidate subscription fee is an annual payment to RICS. It covers your access to the RICS assessment platform and support materials provided by RICS.
Do my fees change when I become MRICS?
Yes, when you pass your APC and become MRICS, you will pay an election fee and then annual subscription fees (as you did as an APC candidate).
The election fee is £670 in the UK, although this is reduced to £485 if you passed via the 24 month structured training route.
The election fee covers your registration as MRICS with RICS, award pack and first year’s MRICS annual subscription fee. If you have already paid a candidate subscription fee for the current year, this will be deducted from your election fee by RICS.
In the UK, annual MRICS subscription fees are £539, although this is reduced to £354 if you have been a member for under 2 years. Fees increase to £658 annually if you subsequently become FRICS. Again, you can check fees for other world regions at https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/footer/professional-fees-2021.pdf.
Similarly to candidate subscription fees, depending on when you are elected in the calendar year, there are different rules that RICS apply to whether your MRICS subscription fee is reduced or not.
If you are elected before 1 October, then you will need to pay the full year’s subscription fee and then the next subscription fee will become payable on 1 January.
If you are elected after 1 October, then your subscription fee will cover the remainder of the current year and then the whole of the next year (so no additional subscription fee becomes payable on 1 January).
RICS subscription fees are always payable on 1 January annually.
How much do other APC routes cost?
The fees for the Senior Professional (SPA), Specialist and Academic routes are slightly different. However, they still comprise an enrolment fee and candidate subscription fee.
The enrolment fee this time is £599 in the UK. The candidate subscription fees are as above.
The same rules apply as above to checking other world region fees for both enrolment and candidate subscription fees.
Upon qualification, an election fee and ongoing MRICS subscription fees are again payable.
The election fee is £670 in the UK. The subscription fees are as above.
The same rules apply as above to checking other world regions for both enrolment and candidate subscription fees.
How much does the AssocRICS assessment cost to undertake?
Fees for the AssocRICS assessment are also split into an enrolment fee and an annual candidate subscription fee.
The enrolment fee is paid once at the start of the process. The enrolment fee covers your registration with RICS, the Professionalism Module and your final assessment interview.
In the UK, the enrolment fee is £477.
In you are in another world region, you can head to https://www.rics.org/uk/surveying-profession/join-rics/associate-member-assocrics/ and then select your world region on the top toolbar to check your enrolment fee.
Depending on when you enrol in the calendar year, there are different rules that RICS apply to whether your candidate subscription fee is reduced or not.
If you enrol before 1 October, then you will need to pay the full year’s subscription fee and then the next subscription fee will become payable on 1 January.
If you enrol after 1 October, then your subscription fee will cover the remainder of the current year and then the whole of the next year (so no additional subscription fee becomes payable on 1 January).
In the UK, the annual AssocRICS candidate subscription fee is £127. You can check this for other world regions by heading to https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/footer/professional-fees-2021.pdf.
The candidate subscription fee is an annual payment to RICS. It covers your access to the RICS assessment platform and support materials provided by RICS.
Do my fees change when I become AssocRICS?
Yes, when you pass your AssocRICS assessment, you will pay an election fee and then annual subscription fees (as you did as an AssocRICS candidate).
The election fee is £292 in the UK.
The election fee covers your registration as AssocRICS with RICS, award pack and first year’s AssocRICS annual subscription fee. If you have already paid a candidate subscription fee for the current year, then this will be deducted from your election fee by RICS.
In the UK, annual AssocRICS subscription fees are £298. Again, you can check fees for other world regions at https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/footer/professional-fees-2021.pdf.
Similarly to candidate subscription fees, depending on when you are elected in the calendar year, there are different rules that RICS apply to whether your AssocRICS subscription fee is reduced or not.
If you are elected before 1 October, then you will need to pay the full year’s subscription fee and then the next subscription fee will become payable on 1 January.
If you are elected after 1 October, then your subscription fee will cover the remainder of the current year and then the whole of the next year (so no additional subscription fee becomes payable on 1 January).
What happens if I withdraw from the APC or AssocRICS process?
There is a 14 day cooling off period to withdraw your application at no cost. After this, unfortunately all fees are non-refundable.
Who usually pays my fees?
This will depend on where you work. We recommend that you check your employment contract, as some firms will pay for your fees directly (and will have a corporate RICS account to do to this). Other firms may allow you to reclaim your fees as expenses, whilst others may require you to pay your fees personally.
What other costs might I need to budget for?
You will need to budget for your candidate subscription fee for the number of years that it is likely to take you to get qualified.
For AssocRICS, this could be under one year in cases if you are already experienced and have the time and commitment to complete the process fairly speedily. Typically, this could be in 6-12 months.
For all APC routes, this is likely to be at least 12 months (e.g., for SPA or Specialist), but could be 2 years plus (e.g. for preliminary review and various structured training routes). You can calculate the rough amount of candidate subscription fees by multiplying this amount by the number of years you think you may need to be enrolled for.
Other costs to budget for could be:
Cost of any CPD courses and associated disbursements (such as travel costs), although there are some excellent cost effective or free resources available (many of which are online). For example, our CPD Webinar Package (https://www.property-elite.co.uk/product-page/cpd-package?utm_campaign=2442b3a8-ae68-451e-b9ae-8e6e0d094d15&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail) costs £250 + VAT.
Any external support you may need, such as a mock interview. Our full costings can be found at https://www.property-elite.co.uk/shop.
How can we help?
Don't leave it too late to book your submission feedback and review, APC question pack, e-mock interview or 1-2-1 mentoring. We also provide revision quizzes, revision guides and a CPD Webinar Package.
We offer a range of short and long-term support packages in our eShop, including our popular Monthly Mentoring and Kick Start packages. These can include an RICS APC or AssocRICS Counsellor in certain circumstances.
Head to our blog archive to access even more free CPD and AssocRICS and RICS APC training and support.
Download your free AssocRICS and RICS APC resources, including e-books and revision quizzes.
Find out more about our bespoke AssocRICS and RICS APC training and support, before booking your free 15 minute consultation.
Not sure about signing up? Make sure you read what our recent successful candidates have to say in our Testimonials.
Stay tuned for our next blog post to help build a better you.
N.b. Nothing in this article constitutes legal, professional or financial advice.