RICS HANDBOOK

RICS Handbook
For candidates on accredited courses
Europe

Your world
RICS – the mark of property professionalism
RICS is the world’s leading qualification when it comes to
professional standards in land, property and construction.
In a world where more and more people, governments, banks
and commercial organisations demand greater certainty about
professional standards and ethics, attaining RICS status is
the recognised mark of property professionalism.
Over 100,000 property professionals working in the major
established and emerging economies of the world have
already recognised the importance of securing RICS status
by becoming members.
RICS is an independent professional body originally established
in the UK by Royal Charter. Since 1868, RICS has been committed
to setting and upholding the highest standards of excellence and
integrity – providing impartial and authoritative advice on key issues
affecting businesses and society. RICS is a regulator of both its
individual members and firms, enabling it to maintain the highest
standards and providing the basis for unparalleled client confidence
in the sector.

RICS Handbook
For candidates on accredited courses
02❘
04❘
05❘
07❘
08❘
10❘
11❘
12❘
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14❘
15❘
Your world
RICS - the mark of property professionalism
Your perspective
RICS - a unique professional qualification
Your competitive advantage
Why join RICS and become a chartered surveyor
Your starting point
RICS accredited courses
Your way to RICS
RICS routes to membership
Your training
APC pathways
Your personal space online
My APC
Your timeline
The APC calendar
Your Final Assessment
Achieving professional membership
Your contacts
RICS Europe Education Development Team
Your glossary
RICS terminology
Where to get full information
Note: all keywords in the brochure marked with* can be found in the glossary on page 15

4
I was still a student when I became aware of RICS’ importance within the real
estate sector for setting the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.
Becoming part of RICS allowed me to work around the globe in extremely
challenging and diverse environments, reaffirming exactly what the organisation
stands for: internationally recognised expertise, ethics and accountability.
RICS membership has also given me countless networking opportunities with property
professionals across Europe and beyond. This has proved to be a key benefit to enhance
my professional career.
Matthew McCaul MRICS
Jones Lang LaSalle GmbH
Germany
Your
perspective
RICS - a unique professional qualification
Our members include constructors, developers, consultants, asset managers, valuers, cost
consultants, facilities managers and many more. They reflect all the phases of the property
lifecycle within RICS. Your Assessment of Professional Competence* (APC) offers a choice of
21 specialisms.
Workplaces and markets are becoming increasingly global. Businesses are expanding into other
European countries and increasingly dealing with investors from abroad. Global clients demand
reliable, high-quality standards. RICS provides this level of professional qualification and will make
you stand out from the crowd.
Whatever area you specialise in, as a chartered surveyor* you can use the letters MRICS
(indicating you are a professional member of RICS) after your name. Fellowship (FRICS) is the next
grade up from this, which you can apply for if :
- you can demonstrate the highest level of accomplishment during your career, and
- you have made a significant contribution to RICS or the profession in general.

5
Your
competitive
advantage
Why join RICS and become a chartered surveyor
What is it that makes RICS so attractive
Why do clients all over the world consistently ask to deal with chartered surveyors
Why do employers increasingly recruit members of RICS and what are the financial incentives
Chartered surveyors are reliable professionals
RICS members are ethical, trustworthy and transparent business partners, employees and colleagues.
Members abide by the RICS Rules of Conduct, which ensure they are accountable and responsible.
The required Continuous Professional Development (also called CPD or lifelong learning) allows members
to keep up to date with the latest market developments.
Chartered surveying stands for excellence
As an MRICS, you will become a more valuable asset to your employer, because chartered surveyors are
known to deliver excellent results and to act professionally. Becoming a member will definitely enhance
your career opportunities.
Chartered surveyors apply global standards
Global market players rely heavily on the global standards set and implemented by RICS worldwide.
The RICS Valuation Standards – or ‘Red Book’ – for instance, ensures the quality and consistency of best
practice for RICS members.
An international network
The RICS global headquarters are located at Parliament Square, in the political centre of London. Over the
years RICS has become an international organisation with world regional offices in Brussels, Dubai, Hong
Kong, New Delhi, New York and Sydney. In Europe alone we have close to 20 National Groups, which means
that we have members and staff from Lisbon to Moscow. RICS Europe is also developing strongly in Central
and Eastern Europe, Russia and CIS, the Nordic region, the Baltics and Turkey.

6
RICS influence
An organisation our size has a considerable impact on decision-makers – we raise
awareness of our members’ concerns at international, EU and national level,
and seek to influence legislative processes whenever the property profession is
affected.
A subscription to the EU Connect e-newsletter keeps you in touch with the latest
news about the profession and developments at EU level. To subscribe, please
contact RICS EU Public Affairs on publicaffairsbrussels@rics.org.
RICS qualification significantly increases earning potential
RICS members earn on average 60% more than those who are not “professionally
qualified”, according to the fourth RICS and Macdonald & Company European
Property Market Remuneration Survey, published in March 2011. You can find the
2010/11 results at www.ricseurope.eu/remunerationsurvey.
If you are on an RICS accredited course, join as an RICS student free of charge by
signing up on www.ricseurope.eu/student and find out what it means to be part of
the world’s largest property organisation.
Member support
• As a member you can contact our staff in any of our offices and log on to the
members-only section at www.rics.org, where you can gain access to in-depth
research and knowledge. It also allows you to connect to other members in
any part of the world. Students and Trainees also have access to the membersonly
section.
• MemberSearch@RICSEurope is another service you can benefit from as
an RICS member. This is a free online business directory for RICS Europe
qualified members. Launched in partnership with PropertyEU -the leading
pan-European real estate publication-, this easy-to-access service offers
members free exposure to the global business community and is available both
at www.ricseurope.eu and www.propertyeu.com. Once you qualify as an RICS
member, login at www.ricseurope.eu/membersearch to enhance your visibility
as a property professional.
Access to Knowledge
• ‘Knowledge’ section on ricseurope.eu: this section allows you to stay informed
on the latest and most relevant publications produced by RICS in Europe and
worldwide. According to your needs and thanks to an easy-to-use searching tool,
you are also able to quickly find surveys, books, research papers, e-learning,
guidance notes, and more. Visit the Knowledge section at www.ricseurope.eu/
knowledge
• E-resources: you can access the RICS e-resources at London RICS library’s
website (www.rics.org/library). It offers you a wide range of e-books, articles and
position papers to download.
• Online academy : the new RICS Online Academy offers a well mapped-out
combination of courses, which you can now complete at your own convenience.
There are 12 online courses to choose from, as well as APC resources and
training podcasts. Some courses are for free, while others are subject to a fee.
Join over 4,500 users who have benefitted from the courses – to sign up to the
Online Academy or for more information, please visit www.rics.org/onlineacademy.

7
Your
starting
point
RICS accredited courses
RICS offers professionals who would like to join the organisation a large choice of accredited courses
all over the world. In continental Europe alone there are over 40 higher education providers working together
with RICS, providing graduates with the opportunity to become members after completing the Assessment
of Professional Competence* (APC) and passing the Final Assessment*.
RICS accredits courses all over Europe with the aim of preparing professionals for the Assessment of
Professional Competence. The accreditation process is managed by the RICS Europe Continental Standards
Board (CESB) and relies on experienced RICS academics and practitioners assessing each property degree
to ensure that there is both an appropriate curriculum and the resources in place to enable its delivery – and
to meet the high standards demanded by RICS.
Universities are visited every few years by members of the CESB. In addition, a strict RICS quality assurance
system is in place. The accreditation process is demanding and highly valued by universities.
RICS aims to ensure that graduates have a stimulating and challenging education to prepare them well for
their professional career.
Currently RICS has over 45 accredited courses in continental Europe. If you are interested in finding out the
list of RICS accredited courses, please visit www.ricseurope.eu/courses.
In our profession, I firmly believe it is essential to guarantee our clients excellence
in education, management and ethics. I have gained so much knowledge
in these fields from the RICS accredited course that I can only
recommend it to people around me.
Laure-Sophie Duquenne MRICS
DTZ Eurexi
France

8
Your way
to RICS
RICS routes to membership
Are you a highly motivated student a few months away from graduation
Have you completed your degree and are you working already
Do you want to climb the career ladder even faster, take on more exciting, international projects and
join the premier international property organisation
If you are a student on one of the RICS accredited courses, you are eligible to become part of an international
network of members standing for quality, ethical behaviour and professionalism.
For an overview of all our continental Europe accredited courses, go to www.ricseurope.eu/courses.
For students on RICS accredited courses :
If you have already taken the first step to study on an RICS accredited course, you will go through one
of the three graduate route-to-membership options.
If you have no professional experience yet :
Graduate route 1
What do you need to do
• Register as an RICS trainee
• Complete the CV template available on www.ricseurope.eu/cv.doc
• Gain 24 months of work-related experience to meet the competency* requirements
• Provide evidence of 96 hours of Professional Development* over two years
• Hand in your Record of Progress* signed off by your Counsellor*
• Present your Critical Analysis*
• Pass the Final Assessment*
If you have 5 years’ relevant experience (pre-degree experience counts) :
Graduate route 2
What do you need to do
• Register as an RICS trainee
• Complete the CV template available on www.ricseurope.eu/cv.doc
• Gain 12 months of work-related experience to meet the competency* requirements
• Provide evidence of 48 hours of Professional Development* over 12 months
• Hand in your Record of Progress* signed off by your Counsellor*
• Present your Critical Analysis*
• Pass the Final Assessment*

9
The preparation towards achieving RICS membership was extremely useful as it pushed
me to keep on improving my professional knowledge after I graduated.
RICS offers plenty of life-long learning opportunities through events and seminars,
which are a great source of additional professional knowledge. Also, filling in the
records of progress throughout the APC process helped me to clearly see the core
of the problem and find better solutions to projects I was dealing with at work.
Alexey Romatsov MRICS
Cushman & Wakefield
Russia
If you have 10 years’ relevant experience (pre-degree experience counts) :
Graduate route 3
What do you need to do
• Register as an RICS trainee
• Complete the CV template available on www.ricseurope.eu/cv.doc
• Present your Record of Competence* showing that you have met the competency* requirements
• Provide evidence of 48 hours of Professional Development* over the last 12 months
• Present your Critical Analysis*
• Pass the Final Assessment*
If you are studying on a part-time postgraduate RICS-accredited course, you can enrol for the APC
as soon as you register for your course. You can then start your APC while studying and go through
the Final Assessment* after graduation.
If you are not a student on an RICS accredited course :
There are three other routes to membership if you are not a student on an RICS accredited course:
• Adaptation route for professionals who have graduated from a non-accredited degree or have an RICS
approved professional qualification, and have studied 450 hours (113 contact hours and self-study) from
the final year of an RICS accredited course
• Senior Professional route for experienced professionals who are in a senior industry position and have
one or more university degrees
• Academic route for academics teaching or researching on an RICS accredited degree. There is no APC
training for this route. Candidates are assessed on the basis of a portfolio they produce about their
academic, teaching and research experience.
For further details on these routes, please contact your National Group. (see contact details at
www.ricseurope.eu/contacts).

10
LAND AND SEA
REDEVELOPMENT
MEASUREMENT
REFURBISHMENT
INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT
The
property
LIFECYCLE
EXTRACTION
CULTIVATION
PLANNING
AGENCY
FUNDING
DESIGN AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Your training
APC Pathways
As an RICS trainee, you can choose one
of the 21 APC Pathways (specialisms) :
➤ Arts and antiques
➤ Building control
➤ Building surveying
➤ Commercial property practice
➤ Environment
➤ Facilities management
➤ Geomatics (including hydrographic)
➤ Housing management and development
➤ Machinery and business assets
➤ Management consultancy
➤ Minerals and waste management
➤ Planning and development
➤ Property finance and investment
➤ Project management
➤ Quantity surveying and construction
➤ Research
➤ Residential property practice
➤ Residential survey and valuation
➤ Rural
➤ Taxation allowances
➤ Valuation
During your training, you have the opportunity to
refine your skills and knowledge. As a candidate
you can select your individual set of core and
optional competencies*. Depending on the APC
Pathway, these could include, for instance, risk
management, procurement and tendering, or capital
taxation. There are also mandatory competencies*
for all chartered surveyors – every RICS trainee gains
knowledge and experience in rules of conduct,
ethics and professional practice, communication,
business planning and management. To ensure that
you get the support you need, you will be backed
by a Counsellor* and a Supervisor*, who will guide
you and discuss with you your progress.
At least your Counsellor needs to be a chartered
surveyor who knows how to mentor you through
your personal development and help you achieve
the RICS professional qualification.

11
Your
personal
space
online
My APC
To support you in your APC, the interactive online tool MyAPC* is available to continental European RICS
trainees, making the APC procedure totally paperless.
MyAPC, available 24/7, is your personal space where you can manage all your documents and submissions
as well as plan your structured training, wherever you are.
On registering for your APC in continental Europe, we will provide you with your login and password allowing
you to access your own space, create your profile and upload your submissions as you progress towards
the Final Assessment. Your Counsellor*, Supervisor* and Assessors will also have online access to the
documents they need to sign off or read. In addition, RICS staffs are always at hand to help you.
Once you have received your login you will be able to register here : www.joinmyapc.eu.
Now more than ever, clients are looking for reliable property professionals who respect a certain code
of ethics, the principles of which are fundamental to RICS. In this context, the RICS Rules of Conduct,
by which each RICS member has to abide, are key in providing clients with additional
guarantees in terms of quality, integrity and professionalism.
Matthieu Gillet MRICS
Colliers International Consultants B.V.
The Netherlands

12
Your timeline
The APC calendar
This calendar will help you keep track of all the documents you need to submit during the process.
If you are not studying on an RICS accredited course, please contact your National Group for
information on other routes to membership (see the back of this brochure for contact details).
APC registration
Graduate route 1
Requirements and submissions APC year 1 APC year 2
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
Complete Record of Progress*
Record of Professional Development* 96 hours in total
Work on Critical Analysis*
Sign-off from Counsellor & Supervisor
Sitting Final Assessment*
Graduate route 2
Requirements and submissions
Complete Record of Progress*
Record of Professional Development*
Work on Critical Analysis*
Sign-off from Counsellor & Supervisor
Sitting Final Assessment*
APC 12 months
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
48 hours in total
Graduate route 3
Requirements and submissions previous year APC 3 months
1M 2M 3M
Record of Professional Development* 48 hours in total
Work on Critical Analysis*
Record of Competence*
Sign-off from Counsellor & Supervisor
Sitting Final Assessment*
Next available date

13
Your Final
Assessment*
Achieving professional membership
This is the stage at which your professional competence is assessed. The Final Assessment* interview is run
by a panel of two to three experienced chartered surveyors. It lasts about one hour and is based on your
submission, which you should hand in approximately one month before. First you give a presentation
on a chosen project. Then you will be interviewed on your presentation, training and experience achieved
in relation to your mandatory, core and optional competencies. There will also be questions on current issues
related to the profession and Rules of Conduct*. At least one of the assessors comes from the same APC
Pathway as you. Depending on your professional experience, you could go to the Final Assessment* within
months (Graduate 3), one year (Graduate 2) or two years (Graduate 1). Have a look at your APC calendar
on page 12 to start planning for your professional membership.
Since the very beginning of my professional career, I knew that only RICS qualification would enable me to
make a difference in this profession. Following one of the RICS accredited courses has definitely been
key for me to expand my knowledge and provided me with a firm background for my APC preparation.
The advice I would give to anyone sitting the final assessment interview is to read foreign property
press and pick up on current topics in order to be able to form an opinion on any given issue.
Wojciech Doliński MRICS
Polish Properties Sp. z o.o.
Poland

14
Your contact
RICS Europe Educational standards Team
You can always find the latest news on RICS in continental Europe and all contact information
on www.ricseurope.eu – this website is continuously updated to support our members
and prospective members in continental Europe.
Kristin Bammel
Education Development Manager
T + 49 69 65 00 75 20
M + 32 474 77 61 35
E kbammel@rics.org
Anna Galiano BA (Hons) MA
Education Development Manager
T + 49 69 65 00 75 10
M + 32 477 99 81 58
E agaliano@rics.org
Jennifer Clarke
APC Manager
E ricseuropeeducation@rics.org

15
Your glossary
RICS terminology
Assessment of Professional Competence: the APC is a continuous assessment designed by RICS to help
you acquire the excellence and skills expected of an MRICS. During that period, you will be an RICS trainee.
The length of your APC will depend on the extent of your professional experience and the time you need to
reach the required competencies* under your chosen APC Pathway. At the end of the APC comes the Final
Assessment*, an interview with two to three chartered surveyors.
Chartered surveyor: RICS members may call themselves ‘chartered surveyor’. They help to sustain the use
of land and unlock the long-term value of property. Chartered surveyors are key to efficient markets in land,
property and the environment – without which important world economies would not be able to function
effectively.
Competencies: skills or abilities you need to perform a specific task or function. They are based on attitudes
and behaviours as well as knowledge.
Counsellor: the Counsellor, always a chartered surveyor, works in partnership with the Supervisor* and signs
off your record of progress*. It is the Counsellor who helps you decide when you are ready to apply for the
Final Assessment*. They also sign off all the documents you submit and ensure that your training meets the
needs of your chosen APC Pathway.
Critical Analysis: a document describing projects you have worked on during your training covering the
key issues, options, your proposed solution, conclusion and analysis of experience gained (3,000 words
supported by plans and graphs).
Final Assessment: interview where a panel of chartered surveyors ascertains whether you have achieved
the necessary competencies* to become an RICS member.
MyAPC: personal online space reserved for APC trainees, Counsellors, Supervisors and Assessors.
Here you can manage all your documents and submissions, and plan your structured training.
Professional Development: skills and knowledge you acquire attending conferences, seminars or
work-shops. Lifelong learning can also be undertaken through personal and informal learning, voluntary
or charity work. If you are currently following a part-time postgraduate RICS-accredited course, this counts
towards the hours required.
Quarterly reports (Record of Progress): they summarise in 500 words how your experience and training
meet the competency* requirements.
Record of Competence: evidence that you meet the competency* requirements.
Rules of Conduct: under the Royal Charter and Bye-Laws, all RICS members are expected to comply with
regulations governing their conduct. These include provisions relating to the keeping of members’ accounts,
professional indemnity insurance (PII) and general standards of behaviour. For full information on the RICS
principles-based regulatory regime, go to www.rics.org/regulation
Supervisor: normally a chartered surveyor responsible for giving candidates guidance on their training and
day-to-day work.

RICS Europe
Rue Ducale 67 Hertogstraat
B - 1000 Brussels
T + 32 2 733 10 19
F + 32 2 742 97 48
E ricseurope@rics.org
www.ricseurope.eu
To contact the National Groups please go to
www.ricseurope.eu/contacts
Austria
Baltics
Belux
Cyprus
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Netherlands
Nordics
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia & CIS
Spain
Switzerland
Turkey
Europe