The Associate Assessment of Professional Competence (A-APC) is the route to becoming a Chartered Town Planner for those who don't have a fully accredited RTPI qualification. You must be a current Associate Member to apply through this route.

Eligibility

To be eligible to submit your A-APC application:

• You must be a current registered Associate of the RTPI.
• You must have a minimum of 2 years' professional planning experience (full-time equivalent); all of which has been gained whilst registered as an Associate.

What is the A-APC?

Associates must prepare a 7,000 word written submission (+/-10%) demonstrating their experience and how they have developed their competence. There are three parts to the submission:

• Practical Experience Statement (PES)
• Professional Competence Statement (PCS)
• Professional Development Plan (PDP)

Your A-APC submission must contain the following items:

To complete your application for Chartered membership through the A-APC route, you will need the following:

• A signed sponsor declaration form. 
• Corroborator declaration form/s. 
• Your written submission, including the three components: PES, PCS and PDP. 
• Your reflective journal as an Associate, if applicable. 
• Your employment history. 
• A credit/debit card for payment. 

Download the main guidance from our Resource Centre.

Submitting your application 

2026 new applications:

Please submit your application via the online joining portal. The RTPI will accept files up to 10 MB each. If an individual document is larger than this, please contact the Membership team for advice on how to resave your submission in a smaller file size. 

See the How to submit page for more information on how to submit your application online. 

All first-time and resubmissions from February 2026 onwards should be made via the online joining portal. We will no longer accept applications via email.  

Fees

An administration fee is required to process your application and should be paid on submission. Further information on administration fees can be found here.

Visit the membership subscription fees page for more information about how to maintain your membership.   A confirmation of fees notice will be issued to you once you have joined and will be pro-rated based on the month you join.