APC pathway competency checklist for five pathways
Every APC pathway has the same eleven mandatory competencies: Ethics, Rules of Conduct and professionalism to Level 3; Client care, Communication and negotiation, and Health and safety to Level 2; and Accounting principles and procedures, Business planning, Conflict avoidance, Data management, Diversity, inclusion and teamworking, Inclusive environments, and Sustainability to Level 1. The technical competencies differ: each pathway sets core competencies at fixed levels and a rule for how many optional competencies you choose, and most add one more from the full technical list.
How to check your declaration
Using your pathway guide and the Pathway tab of the draft workspace.
- Choose your pathway. Pick the pathway your qualifications, experience and current role fit, as the candidate guide asks.
- Settle the core choices. Where a core line offers a choice, such as Commercial management or Design economics and cost planning, choose the one your work supports to the level required.
- Pick the optional competencies. Choose the number and levels the pathway rule asks for, only one from each grouped line, and any the guide says must be taken higher.
- Add the full list pick. Where the pathway asks for one more from the full technical list, choose one not already in your core or optional set. A mandatory competency can be that pick only if your pathway lists it as an optional competency and nothing else from its group is chosen.
- Check it with your counsellor. Confirm the combination reflects the work you do, because the assessors will expect a sensible and realistic choice.
The five pathways at a glance
| Pathway | Core competencies (level) | Optional rule |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity surveying and construction | Commercial management (of construction works) or Design economics and cost planning (3); Construction technology and environmental services (3); Contract practice (3); Procurement and tendering (3); Project finance (3); Quantification and costing (of construction works) (3) | two to Level 2 from 10 lines |
| Building surveying | Building pathology (3); Construction technology and environmental services (3); Contract administration (3); Design and specification (3); Inspection (3); Legal/regulatory compliance (3); Fire safety (1) | two to Level 2 from 17 lines; plus one to Level 2 from the full list |
| Commercial real estate | Inspection (3); Measurement (2); Valuation (2 or 3) | three to Level 3 from 22 lines; plus one to Level 3, or two to Level 2 from the full list |
| Valuation | Inspection (3); Valuation (3); Measurement (2) | three to Level 3, or two to Level 3 and two to Level 2 from 23 lines; plus one to Level 2 from the full list |
| Project management | Contract practice (3); Development/project briefs (3); Leading projects, people and teams (3); Managing projects (3); Programming and planning (3); Construction technology and environmental services (2); Procurement and tendering (2); Project finance (2) | one to Level 2 from 13 lines; plus one to Level 2 from the full list |
Commercial real estate lets you take Valuation to Level 3; if you do, the optional rule becomes two at Level 3 and one at Level 2. Valuation candidates specialising in residential survey and valuation must include Building pathology at Level 3, and those specialising in machinery and business assets take two of their Level 3 optional competencies from a shorter list in the guide. Building surveying groups Client care, Conflict avoidance, Health and safety, Inclusive environments and Sustainability as one optional line, with Client care and Health and safety taken to Level 3. In project management, Communication and negotiation taken as an optional competency must go to Level 3. A competency that is core only to Level 1 can also be chosen as an optional competency to a higher level: the building surveying guide gives Fire safety as its example, and it is then declared once, at the higher level.
Other pathways
There are more than twenty pathways. For any other, the workspace has a custom pathway: type the core competencies and levels, the optional list and the rule from your own pathway guide's requirements page, and the same counts and coverage apply. The mandatory competencies are added for you.
Worked example
A valuation candidate declares Building pathology and Landlord and tenant at Level 3, Leasing/letting at Level 2, and Planning and development management at Level 2 from the full list.
The workspace reports the optional rule as not met: three optional competencies to Level 3, or two to Level 3 and two to Level 2, and this selection has two at Level 3 but only one at Level 2. Adding Purchase and sale at Level 2 meets the second pattern, and the declaration is complete with 8 technical competencies.
Common mistakes
- Choosing optional competencies for their word count rather than for the work you do.
- Taking two competencies from the same grouped line.
- Using a pathway guide from an earlier edition; the December 2025 guides changed some names and lines.
- Declaring a competency at a level your summary, case study and interview cannot support.
Count and check your own draft
The draft workspace holds your case study, your summary of experience by competency and level, your CPD and your diary days. It counts words the published way, checks the 24 month window and the 95 to 100 percent band, and shows what is still missing. Everything stays in this browser.
Frequently asked questions
Are the mandatory competencies the same for every pathway?
Yes. The eleven mandatory competencies and their levels are the same in every pathway guide: Ethics to Level 3, three at Level 2 and seven at Level 1.
What does one from the full list mean?
Several pathways ask for one more technical competency from the full list in the requirements and competencies guide, including any optional one you have not already chosen. A mandatory competency can be the full list pick only if your pathway lists it as an optional competency and no other competency from its group is chosen, for example Sustainability to Level 2 in building surveying.
Which pathway guide edition does APC Draft use?
The December 2025 pathway guides for the five pathways it carries, read on 27 September 2026. The pathway guide governs if anything differs.
Sources
Last reviewed 27 September 2026 against:
- Pathway guide, Quantity surveying and construction, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), December 2025, version 1.1, read 2026-09-27. Used for: quantity surveying requirements (page 4)
- Pathway guide, Building surveying, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), December 2025, version 1.2, read 2026-09-27. Used for: building surveying requirements (page 4)
- Pathway guide, Commercial real estate, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), December 2025, version 1.2 (file dated January 2026), read 2026-09-27. Used for: commercial real estate requirements and the Valuation variant (page 4)
- Pathway guide, Valuation, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), December 2025, version 1.1, read 2026-09-27. Used for: valuation requirements and specialist notes (page 4)
- Pathway guide, Project management, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), December 2025, version 1.2, read 2026-09-27. Used for: project management requirements (page 4)
- Requirements and competencies guide, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), December 2025, amended March 2026, read 2026-09-27. Used for: the mandatory competencies and the full technical list
This guide is our own summary of the published documents, not legal advice and not a finding about your application; the regulator's assessors decide. If it disagrees with the current documents, the documents win. APC Draft is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) or any other professional body.