The Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have launched a partnership agreement, offering exclusive access to a new Chartered Civil Engineering Surveyor (CCES) designation available for professional members of both institutions.

This new designation recognises your expertise and demonstrates your ability to work with the high standards of both professional bodies.

 

Who is eligible?

If you meet the criteria below, you will be automatically given access to the new Chartered Civil Engineering Surveyor (CCES) designation.

✓ You must be a Full Member of CICES (MCInstCES or FCInstCES), and you must be a Chartered Member of RICS (MRICS or FRICS). AND

✓ You must also have qualified through:

RICS Route:

MRICS via the Geomatics pathway, with Engineering competency at Level 3. OR

CICES Route: 

MCInstCES via:

  • Geospatial Engineering core + Engineering or Land specialism OR
  • Commercial Management core + Cost Engineering or Quantity Surveying specialism

 

What are the benefits of the partnership agreement and the Chartered Civil Engineering Surveyor (CCES) designation?

CICES provides deep sector expertise in geospatial and commercial management. RICS offers global recognition and independent regulation.

Together, they can support your career across infrastructure, construction, and civil engineering.

✔️ Professional recognition: the designation demonstrates that you have met rigorous professional standards. 

✔️ Joint CICES-RICS membership subscription saving you money and simplifying your payments*

You can find out more information in our full list of FAQs

 

Existing dual member but don’t meet all the above eligibility criteria?

From January 2026, you can still apply for the designation through a joint assessment process, which includes a written submission, which is assessed by a joint RICS/CICES assessor panel, and a possible interview, depending on the outcome of the written assessment.  

We will write to those this applies to when the assessment is live.

 

What happens next?

If you are currently MRICS or FRICS AND MCInstCES or FCInstCES, and meet the stated eligibility requirements, you will automatically be given the designation Chartered Civil Engineering Surveyor (CCES). We will write to you about this.

*Please note that while this joint membership subscription is currently only available to those in the UK, we are actively exploring rolling this option out to those outside of the UK. Read our FAQs below for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Not currently a dual member?

If you only hold membership of one of the two bodies, for example you are a member of CICES only or RICS only, then you may be eligible for dual membership: 

For RICS membership - Recognition of Professional Qualifications

You'll need to apply through the RICS Recognition of Professional Qualifications (RPQ) route.

Before you start:

Please note that as part of this process, you will be required to take the RICS Professionalism module. This module is a requirement for anyone joining RICS via any route. You can read more about this here.

Important exception: The RICS recognition route is not available to full members of CICES who qualified via nomination or any of the following specialisms:

·       Construction Law, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Procurement Engineering

 If you qualified via one of these three areas, you will need to undertake the RICS chartered assessment.

 

For CICES membership – Read our Accelerated RICS route guidance

Once you become a dual Member of both RICS and CICES, you may then be able to access the designation if you meet the eligibility requirements, as listed above.