Fees for accreditation

The Architects Act 1997 places statutory responsibilities on ARB. We ensure only those who are suitably competent are allowed to practise as architects. We do this by approving the architecture qualifications required to join the Register of architects. We ‘prescribe’ or ‘accredit’ qualifications that demonstrate the achievement of the required learning and practical experience. This means that only professionals with ARB-accredited qualifications (or who apply through one of our international routes to registration) can join the UK Register of Architects. 

In 2021, the government consulted on a number of reforms to ARB’s legislation, this included changes which allow ARB to charge fees to cover the costs of specific regulatory activities. This power, which brought ARB into line with other professional regulatory bodies, meant that the costs of accreditation no longer have to be met by individual architects through the annual registration fee, but would be met by the universities who benefit from the accreditation of qualifications.

Legislation is clear that the amount charged must not exceed the reasonable costs of providing the service, and we will not use the fee to generate profit to fund other areas of work.

When the accreditation fee framework was introduced in 2024, ARB explained that we would be moving to a full cost recovery for our accreditation work.

In response to feedback from learning providers when fees were first introduced in 2024, the Board agreed to only charge an estimated 75% of the costs of accreditation in year 1 and fix the charges for year 2 in advance.

Detailed financial modelling undertaken during 2025 indicated that a move to full cost recovery in 2026 would require an increase in accreditation fees of approximately 33%. The Board, however agreed that rather than moving to a full cost-recovery model in 2026, accreditation fees should instead increase by 10%. This is in recognition that the new accreditation model is still in transition, and further efficiencies can be achieved as we move closer to the end of the transition phase and beyond.

The Board is committed to moving to a full cost recovery as the historic prescription model ends, and these efficiencies have been explored.

The fees are set on a cost recovery basis and are used to fund the accreditation work for which they’re being charged, carried out by ARB and the Accreditation Committee which operates independently from the Board. 

The fees are set on a cost recovery basis. While learning providers can vary in size, the work that ARB and the Accreditation Committee must do to be assured of the quality of a qualification does not vary significantly according to the size of a learning provider. We must follow the same processes and carry out the same checks for the smallest provider as we do for the largest.    

Under the current timeline for implementation of the new framework, existing Part 1 courses will continue to be accredited until December 2027. ARB will continue to monitor existing qualifications on a proportionate risk basis, with the new Accreditation Committee making decisions related to continued prescription and any associated conditions imposed. The costs of this work still has to be covered.  

Where a provider is looking to make like-for-like changes (for example, by revising a two-year Part 2 to become a two-year master’s-level qualification), a staggered approach will be taken. Through this transition route, providers will need to demonstrate compliance with the Outcomes and Standards over a two- to three-year period through a combination of a transition change application and submissions alongside forthcoming annual monitoring returns.  

Changes considered through this transition route will not be classed as new qualifications and will not incur a new qualification application fee.  

Factors that may indicate that a new qualification application (to be submitted at least two years prior to commencement) and fee will be required include:  

• The introduction of a new master’s-level qualification  

• The introduction of a dual award qualification where a single award qualification was previously accredited  

• The introduction of master’s-level or practice qualifications where Part 2 and/or Part 3 were not previously held  

• The introduction of new qualifications in addition to any being considered through the transition change process  

• Changes to the length of course, for example applications for a course integrating two current courses with changes to the duration (e.g. from a five year to four-year course or joining Part 2 and Part 3 qualifications into a single ‘combined’ qualification).  

The list above is not exhaustive. A pragmatic view will be taken of the nature of proposed changes to each qualification and whether they can be considered under the transition route or the new qualification application route.  

We review our costs and fees annually. The fees are set on a cost recovery basis, meaning our fees can increase each year if those costs increase. Details relating to the costs of delivery accreditation of qualifications will be published within ARB’s Annual Report and Financial Statements.

The fee schedule is based on the principle of cost recovery and covers the costs of carrying out the specific work we must do to be assured of the quality of any qualifications we accredit. We have carried out desktop research to benchmark our costs and there is significant variation in relation to the governing legislation of other bodies, how they calculate costs and their quality assurance methodologies. We will publish information about our accreditation costs on an annual basis to support transparency.