APC FAQs

A: You will receive email confirmation from the Membership team within two weeks of the submission deadline. If you don’t hear anything from us by then, please contact us by email [email protected] or by phone 0370 774 9494.

A:Yes, you will need to pay for your annual membership Subscription Fee for your current membership class. If elected a Chartered member, we will automatically calculate the new membership Subscription Fee for Chartered membership for the rest of the year. You will be charged on a pro-rata basis.

A: Yes, there is an Administration Fee to pay for your APC submission or resubmission.  This is separate from the membership Subscription Fee.

More information on Administration Fees and how to pay your Administration Fee can be found via this link Administration Fees

Information on Subscription Fees can be found via this link Subscription Fees

A:There are four first time submission rounds and four resubmission rounds per year. The submission deadlines and corresponding results days can be found here.

A:There are two example PDPs on our website and two Advice Notes relating to the PDP. Additionally, on RTPI Learn, our online learning platform, there is a module called “How to write a PDP”.

A:We deliver two to three webinars, free of charge, per month covering every aspect of the APC process. These webinars are either 30 or 60 minutes long, taking place at lunchtime. To see the full range of APC webinars and to book your place, please click here.

A:Each year the RTPI publishes Commended Candidates, who have been commended for their APC submissions. This includes their educational background and career overview, as well as their APC Top Tips. These are designed to help APC candidates currently going through the process to learn from the experiences of recently Chartered members. We also share top tips in the main guidance for each membership route. As well as this, there are tips for assessors featured in the bulletins.

A:There is a Planning Enforcement Advice Note, which is applicable for all routes to Chartered membership. It gives examples of how Planning Officers can use their work experience to meet the various competencies in the PCS.

A:There are a number of advice notes relating to each route, these can be found using the links below.

Academic Experience Advice Note  (Associate, L-APC, A-APC, EP-APC)

Mentoring Advice Note  (Associate, Legal Associate, L-APC, DA-APC, A-APC, EP-APC)

Reflective Journal Advice Note  (L-APC, DA-APC, A-APC)

Corroborating Your Submission Advice Note  (Associate, Legal Associate, L-APC, DA-APC, A-APC, EP-APC)

Planning Enforcement Experience Advice Note  (L-APC, DA-APC, A-APC, EP-APC

Planning Theory Advice Note  (A-APC, EP-APC)

A:We recommend using the PCS checklist which lists out the competencies and criteria required. Before you start writing your PCS, please use the checklist to make sure you can demonstrate all the criteria and competencies listed. If you can, then you are in a strong position to start writing your PCS. However, during this exercise, if you notice any gaps in your experience, please talk to your line manager and request to work on projects which will enable you to gain more required experience. This checklist can be found under the ‘Other Resources’ section in the Resource Centre for each route: L-APC, EP-APC, DA-APC, A-APC Associate and Legal Associate.