There is a lot of misunderstanding around at the moment about Surveyor qualifications. From what we keep reading in various websites and social media posts, a lot of "Surveyors" don't know what they are themselves.
So here we go: the basic guide to understanding who you are employing as your Surveyor....
No.1 : The term "Surveyor" is not protected so anyone can use it. Just because they use the term "Surveyor" in their job title or website, means nothing. You need to ask, check and understand what is their qualification, training, experience and background. Look for credentials after the name such as MRICS (see below), and check that they are genuine (check with the relevant organisation's published list).
No.2 : There are some organisations who train and teach surveying. This is great, however does the organisation have true, rigorous, assessment of the knowledge and competency at the end of the course, with independent moderation (quality control checking). You should check what the assessment process is.
No.3 : Know what it means to be a Surveyor who is a Member of RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) : the most prominent organisation for Surveyors (in the UK, with world-wide interests).
Every Member (and Students & Candidates registered with RICS) will be bound by RICS’ Charter, Bye-Laws, Regulations, Rules of Conduct, Standards and Guidance.
To become a Member of RICS, every Surveyor will have been assessed for training, experience and competency.
Depending on the level of training, qualification and experience, a Member of RICS can be assessed and become either
an 'Associate' - designated as AssocRICS
or
'Chartered' - designated as MRICS (member) or FRICS (fellow)
An AssocRICS will have at least 4 years of relevant experience, but might not hold any qualifications. With relevant foundation qualifications, or a relevant bachelor's degree (non RICS-accredited), then the experience of an AssocRICS could be less than 4 years.
Associate is the entry-level RICS qualification and offers the chance to progress to full chartered status [RICS "Join RICS" website information December 2025]
A MRICS or FRICS will have at least 10 years of experience at an advanced level; or 5 years relevant experience and a bachelor's degree; or an RICS-Accredited degree plus 1-2 years of structured training.
Contrary to what is often thought (and published) there is no difference in the qualification, training or necessary Surveying experience criterion between MRICS or FRICS.
According to RICS "As well as demonstrating significant career achievements and successes, [FRICS] demonstrates a passion for developing the industry, sharing knowledge and supporting others to reach their goals". So "career achievements" could include running successful businesses, and "developing the industry" could be through support and promotion of RICS. No FRICS should ever be suggested as, or be suggesting, that they have greater knowledge over an MRICS or that they have any more experience or knowledge for the specifc Surveying service being provided - it is simply untrue.
What is also not allowed is 'passing-off', which would be a Surveyor misleading the public into thinking that they are more qualified than they really are. So students or trainees are not permitted to allude to the terms AssocRICS or MRICS. ie. the format "Student AssocRICS", or any such combining of the designations, is strictly prohibited.
The final note about RICS designations would be for 'ARICS'. Nobody, absolutely nobody, should be using this. It is NOT a further abbreviation of 'AssocRICS', although we sometimes see that. 'ARICS' is an old chartered designation that was removed in the 1990's, when ARICS was re-designated as MRICS. Despite it being about 30 years ago, it sometimes still gets mentioned!!
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