Applicants must be professionally qualified Chartered Surveyors (MRICS or FRICS) or, in exceptional cases, someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the property industry but who does not hold an RICS qualification.
The process to full membership of the Livery has three stages; stage one is Freedom of the Company, followed by Freedom of the City of London and finally admission to the Livery itself. Most applicants for membership wish to progress to full Livery status and pass from stage to stage without a break but the Company also has a flourishing Freemen group aimed mainly at younger Chartered Surveyors who do not wish to have the financial commitments of full Livery membership.
The process for application is as follows:
1. Completion of an application form together with a brief A4 CV. All applicants must be sponsored by either two members of the Court of Assistants, one member of the Court and two Liverymen or four Liverymen. Sponsors are required to write to the Clerk in support of their nominee’s application.
2. When the Clerk is in receipt of all the required paperwork, a date for an interview with members of the Elections Committee will be set.
3. Following approval by the Elections Committee, the application will be placed before the Court for final endorsement.
4. After election by the Court, the applicant will be invited by the Clerk to be sworn into the Freedom of the Company.
5. Application for the Freedom of the City of London, a prerequisite of full Livery membership, is made after the applicant is made a Freeman of the Company. This process, which involves approval by the Court of Aldermen, takes several weeks.
6. The final step in the journey to becoming a Liveryman is admission to the Livery at a meeting of the Court of Assistants, which meets four times a year.
Applicants who do not know other members of the Company are invited to join initially as Friends of the Company when, on payment of a fee, they may attend all Livery events to provide themselves with opportunities to meet Liverymen and acquire sponsors. The usual time-frame for this is 12 months but in the pandemic has been extended to 24 months.
Costs
The costs for membership (2022/23) are:
• One-off Freedom Fine – £20
• One-off Livery Fine – £500
• Annual subscription (known as Quarterage) – £475 (VAT exempt) for Liverymen only
• One-off admin fee for Friend of the Company – £250 (VAT exempt)
If you’re interested in joining as a Freeman or Liveryman, please complete the forms that are available below and return them electronically to the Clerk – clerk@surveyorslivery.org.uk
Membership Application Forms
• Application form for Freedom
• Application form for Livery