RICS and the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES) have launched a landmark partnership agreement, which offers a new chartered civil engineering surveyor (CCES) designation for professional members of both institutions.
Simon Navin MRICS, head of geospatial services at Ordnance Survey, underlines its importance: 'This collaboration between RICS and CICES is not just a membership milestone – it's a strategic alignment that reflects the realities of modern practice. It signals a shared commitment to technical rigour, professional integrity, and the type of interdisciplinary thinking that's essential to shaping resilient infrastructure and delivering geospatial and location data intelligence at scale.
'This is a historic collaboration between RICS and CICES, but more than that, it is a clear statement of what civil engineering surveyors already are and already do.'
The new professional title reflects a broader shift in how civil engineering surveying is recognised – not only by members, but by employers, clients and the wider surveying profession, as well as related professions such as civil engineering and architecture.
Civil engineering surveyors have long carried out work that is fundamental to infrastructure, but professional status and the significance of that expertise has not always been clear. The CCES designation begins to resolve that.
It includes civil engineering setting-out, geospatial control, monitoring, utilities, digital data, commercial management and project risk.
Building on relationships
It is also important to remember that this is a historic collaboration, not a new relationship. RICS and CICES have worked together for many years, including through a longstanding memorandum of understanding and the recognition of professional qualifications (RPQ) route, which has enabled CICES members to become MRICS since 2011.
This latest agreement builds on that by enabling qualifying dual members to access the CCES designation, and introducing a joint membership subscription for UK-based members from 2026. It is a serious piece of institutional alignment and an important sign of trust between the two bodies.
Simon Hamlyn, chief executive officer (CEO) of CICES, said: 'This exciting new designation is a significant milestone for CICES. Civil engineering surveyors do vital work in the UK and globally, and this new designation recognises their valuable contributions to the profession.
'We believe this designation will further raise the profile of civil engineering surveyors and inspire the next generation. We look forward to continuing our work alongside colleagues at RICS.'
The timing feels right because civil engineering surveying is no longer easy to describe in neat silos. The CCES designation is not trying to invent a new profession; it is recognising one that already exists in practice.
That is also why the partnership between RICS and CICES makes such sense.
- RICS brings global standing, chartered recognition, cross-sector credibility and independent regulation.
- CICES brings specialist depth in civil engineering surveying, particularly across geospatial engineering and commercial management.
One brings breadth, the other deep disciplinary focus. Together they offer a stronger and more accurate professional signal than either a broad umbrella title or a narrow specialist description on its own.
RICS CEO Justin Young, said: 'Civil engineering surveyors play a crucial role in the built environment, and it is right that their expertise is recognised with a specific chartered title. This partnership demonstrates the growing collaboration between RICS and other professional bodies for the good of the profession, of which CICES is among our most important partners.
'Chartered membership is the gold standard for the industry. It recognises that the professional is committed to adhering to the highest standard. I congratulate those professionals who will soon carry the chartered civil engineering surveyor designation and look forward to growing our relationship with CICES further.'
Institutions align to shape the future
Of course, a designation only carries weight if it is underpinned by proper standards. In this case, the eligibility requirements are clear. The designation is available to those who are MRICS or FRICS and also MCInstCES or FCInstCES – provided they qualified through specified pathways, including the RICS geomatics route with engineering competency at level 3, and relevant CICES geospatial engineering and commercial management pathways.
Those who are dual members, but do not yet meet the direct criteria, can still access the designation through a joint assessment process involving a written submission and, where necessary, an interview. This matters because the title is based on competency mapping, governance and quality assurance rather than simple affiliation.
At FIG Congress 2026 in Cape Town, Simon Hamlyn and I presented the collaboration in the context of professional development, institutional alignment and the future shape of civil engineering surveying.
The presentation placed the designation in a wider discussion about how professional bodies should respond when practice evolves, disciplines overlap and members expect routes that reflect the real world of work.
That conversation continued at GEO Business 2026 in June, where the initiative was presented as a practical model for improving professional mobility, recognition and confidence across the geospatial and civil engineering surveying sector.
It offers employers a clearer signal on skills and standards, reinforces professional maturity and shows that institutions can work together constructively where that serves the profession and the market.
Our presentation at GeoBusiness 2026 also made it clear that this is part of a continuing programme of joint activity designed to encourage uptake and continue raising standards across the built and natural environment.
The launch event at RICS headquarters on 16 October will bring together sector experts and leaders and include presentations plus an expert panel chaired by Anne Kemp OBE. It will also include introductions from RICS' CEO and CICES' CEO, and celebrate the new designation and its potential.
There is a wider point here for the profession as a whole. Infrastructure, land development and geospatial practice are not becoming simpler. If anything, they are becoming more interconnected, more data-driven and more demanding.
Professional institutions still need strong standards and clear identities, but they also need to collaborate when that improves clarity, competence and public confidence.
So yes, CCES is a new designation. But it is also more than a new set of letters: it provides recognition for professionals whose contribution has often been essential but not always fully visible.
That is why the arrival of CCES is important. It is a sign of the profession catching up with itself and the way civil engineering surveying is now practised – and that really does feel like a new dawn. Time to wash off those muddy boots and take a seat at the professional table.
'CCES provides recognition for professionals whose contribution has often been essential but not always fully visible'
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