In this guide
Use this material to examine your own work. Confirm current requirements, forms and dates with ICE before applying.
ICE assesses the knowledge and understanding required for your intended grade separately from your experience. An unresolved educational base can delay a candidate who is otherwise ready to apply.
A degree may meet the educational requirement, but you need to confirm this for your intended grade. Incorporated and Chartered requirements differ. Resolving a shortfall can take months: Further Learning involves study, Academic Assessment requires a formal submission and the Technical Report Route requires substantial technical writing.
Ask for written confirmation of your position now, even if you do not plan to apply for another three years.
The four ways of satisfying it
- 01
An accredited or approved qualification
A qualification accredited for the grade you want, usually through the Joint Board of Moderators. Accreditation depends on the exact course and the year you graduated, not on the university's general reputation. See accredited qualifications.
- 02
Academic Assessment
Where your qualification is not accredited, or is from outside the UK, ICE can assess it individually against the requirement. See Academic Assessment.
- 03
Further Learning
Where an accredited qualification falls short of the level required (most commonly an accredited bachelor's degree against the Chartered requirement) Further Learning makes up the difference. See Further Learning.
- 04
The Technical Report Route
For engineers with the experience but without the academic qualifications. ICE's Career Appraisal guidance is explicit that those holding no academic qualifications should make a stage 1 Technical Report Route application. See Technical Report Route.
What to gather before you contact ICE
Questions to ask yourself
- Has ICE ever confirmed my educational base in writing, for the grade I want?
A verbal 'you'll be fine' from a colleague is not confirmation. Applications have been held up on exactly this.
- Am I relying on an assumption about accreditation?
Course accreditation changes over time. The year matters as much as the course name.
- If there is a shortfall, how long will fixing it take?
Further Learning and the Technical Report Route are measured in months to years, not weeks. Knowing early is the whole point of resolving this first.
Official sources
Selected publisher pages were rechecked in September 2026. Other source records were last checked in July 2026. Open the latest official document before relying on a requirement.