The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. It was founded in 1868 in London, England, and currently has offices around the world. The RICS works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the valuation, management and development of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.
Founded as the Institution of Surveyors, it received a royal charter in 1881 and became the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1947. With its headquarters in London and regional offices across the United Kingdom, plus international offices, it serves a 113,000-strong membership distributed over nearly 150 countries. The RICS is linked to other national surveying institutions, collaborates with other professional bodies, and, in 2013, was a founder member of a coalition to develop the International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS). It also produces cost information and professional guidance on valuation and other activities.
In September 2021, an independent review exposed poor governance practices at the highest levels of the RICS organisation, prompting the resignations of the president, chief executive, interim chair of the governing council, and chair of the management board, in addition to the earlier resignation of the chief operating officer. The report was labelled an "appalling advert for our profession on the world stage". A subsequent review published in June 2022 demanded a "transformation of the institution carried out at pace".
History It was founded in London, England, as the Institution of Surveyors after a meeting of 49 surveyors at the Westminster Palace Hotel on 15 June 1868. The inaugural president was John Clutton (who founded Cluttons, a property firm still in business today). The organisation has occupied headquarters on the corner of Great George Street and Little George Street since then. It received a Royal charter as The Surveyors' Institution on 26 August 1881, The charter required RICS to "promote the usefulness of the profession for the public advantage in the UK and in other parts of the world."
The Surveyors' Institution became The Chartered Surveyors' Institution in 1930. George VI granted the title "Royal" in 1946, and the professional body became The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1947.
In 1988, the RICS (with the CIOB, CIBSE, IstructE and RIBA) became a founding member of the Building Industry Council, today the Construction Industry Council.
In March 2025, RICS president Justin Sullivan "agreed to step aside" following criticism of his role as an expert witness in legal case regarding a £32.5 million moth-infested mansion. Sullivan referred himself to the body's standards and regulatory board. Nick Maclean, who is due to take over the presidency in 2026, was appointed as acting president temporarily.
Coat of arms The RICS was granted a coat of arms by the College of Arms in December 1967:
International influence RICS has close links with many national surveying institutions and is a founding member association of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG). Within RICS the primary areas of practice represented at FIG are geomatics (land and hydrographic survey), environment, planning, construction and valuation.
RICS works in close collaboration with other professional bodies, central banks and international organisations such as The United Nations, World Bank and The European Union.
In 2013, RICS was a founder member of the coalition to develop International Property Measurement Standards, which launched its first standard – for measuring office space – in November 2014. It launched its second standard, for measuring residential buildings, in September 2016. In 2014 RICS was a founder member of the coalition to develop International Ethics Standards, standards designed to add greater consistency to developing and reinforcing professional ethics globally – these launched in December 2016.
To add greater consistency to the benchmarking, measuring, and reporting of construction project costs, International Construction Measurement Standards were published in July 2017. The coalition for International Land Measurement Standards – aiding consistency of interpretation and documentation of tenure – launched in June 2016. In each case, coalition member bodies are committed to implementing the new standards through training and guidance for professional practitioners.
The RICS is a founder member of the International Valuation Standards Committee.
Membership In 2025, there were 113,000 RICS-qualified members of whom 105,000 are "Professional Members" ie Chartered Surveyors in nearly 150 countries. The majority of members are still based in the United Kingdom, but with large numbers also in mainland Europe, Australia and Hong Kong. There is also strong growth in membership globally, particularly in China, India and the Americas.
Entry to membership of RICS is via four main routes: academic; graduate; technical; and senior professional. RICS has links with universities worldwide, with whom they have accredited approved courses which satisfy part of the qualification requirements to become trainee surveyors. RICS also offers expedited routes to membership for qualified professional members of some partner associations.
RICS requires members to update their knowledge and competence during their working life through Continuing Professional Development. Professionals holding RICS qualifications may use the following designations after their name: AssocRICS (Associate); previously members at this level were known as Technical Members and used the designation "TechRICS" MRICS (Member); previously members at this level were known as Professional Associates and used the designation "ARICS". FRICS (Fellow). HonRICS (Honorary members) Those with the designation MRICS or FRICS are "Professional Members" entitled to be known as Chartered Surveyors and variations such as "Chartered Building Surveyor", "Chartered Valuation Surveyor" or "Chartered Quantity Surveyor", depending on their chosen specialist qualifications and field of expertise.
Both AssocRICS and MRICS require the collation of a candidate's training and work experience to be assessed by RICS trained assessors, although some may be eligible for direct entry based on international qualifications. MRICS has a higher technical bar to entry and there is an academic prerequisite which does not exist for AssocRICS. MRICS applications are also subject to an Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) interview, held by a panel of Chartered Surveyors where the candidate's experience, knowledge and technical skill is assessed during the interview. FRICS is the highest accolade awarded and demonstrates the professional achievements of an individual. It is an honoured class of membership awarded and an international measure of excellence. Only those who hold the MRICS designation are eligible to apply for FRICS and they must meet the required number of professional characteristics.
Professional groups RICS specifies areas of specialism, each with its own professional group, clustered into land, property and construction. Within each professional group there may be further specialisms.Professional Groups of the RICS Property professional groups Land professional groups Built environment professional groups Arts & antiquities Environment Building control Commercial property Geomatics Building surveying Dispute resolution Minerals & waste Project management Facilities management Planning & development Quantity surveying & Construction Machinery & assets Rural Dilapidations forum Management consultancy Telecom forum Insurance forum Residential property Infrastructure Valuation Building conservation forum
Specialist accreditations RICS aims to cover, among its practising members, property and construction related expertise generally. Specialised areas of practice expertise for which accreditation is available include:
Building Information Modelling (BIM) Manager Certification Building Conservation Chartered Environmentalists Dispute Resolution ECO Assessor Certification Fixed Charge Receivership Scheme Valuer Registration.
RICS Matrics The junior branch of RICS, known as Matrics (pronounced "matrix"), provides educational support, charitable and networking activities for surveying students, trainee surveyors (of any age) and Chartered Surveyors with ten years or less post-qualification experience.RICS It comprises some 40 local groups across the United Kingdom. Established in 1889 as the Junior Committee, it became the "Junior Organisation" ("JO") in 1928 and was re-branded as "RICS Matrics" in 2003. It also has links with the Young Chartered Surveyors in the Republic of Ireland.
Governance The RICS is governed by a governing council, to which report a management board, a standards and regulation board, and an audit committee.
2019-2021 governance review In January 2021, the RICS reversed a decision to suppress a 2019 BDO report critical of the organisation's financial governance. According to the Sunday Times, four non-executive directors had expressed concerns about the report's findings, but were dismissed in November 2019 by then president Chris Brooke. Following a letter from four past presidents, the RICS initially rejected an independent review, but, after the ousted directors also wrote a letter, then said its governing council would "revisit" the issue, and on 22 January 2021 announced it would initiate an independent inquiry into the affair. In 2019, RICS finances were reported to have been in a difficult position, the organisation having made a pre-tax loss of £4.7m on £91.3m of income from fees and commercial activities. It subsequently made 140 people redundant. In February 2021, the RICS president Kathleen Fontana said that, in addition to the independent review into the audit report, the governing council was agreeing a strategic review into the institution's governance and member engagement. Building reported member views that expensive membership fees did not reflect the benefits they receive, and that RICS' international expansion had been "at the expense of its core UK membership, which feels disengaged and neglected".
In April 2021, Peter Oldham, the chair of the independent review of RICS's governance resigned "for professional reasons", to be replaced by Alison Levitt QC with completion delayed to June 2021 – later pushed back to mid-August 2021. On 4 June 2021, Building reported the "surprise" resignation and immediate departure of RICS' chief operating officer Violetta Parylo amid "a storm of calls" from members for reform. The RICS review of its purpose and relevance had been published in May 2021. Based on 9,000 responses, it reported members' trust in the RICS had plummeted by nearly a third, while satisfaction with membership had fallen to a historic low of 43%.
Levitt review