Summary of experience: what levels 1, 2 and 3 ask for
The summary of experience is a short statement for each mandatory and technical competency, written for every level up to the one your pathway requires. Level 1 is a statement of learning: how and when you gained the knowledge, linked to your CPD. Level 2 is the range of experience you have had, with real project or process examples. Level 3 is the advice you have given yourself, with real examples. Levels 2 and 3 each need at least one example, and a competency required at Level 3 is written for all three levels.
What each level asks for
| Level | What it shows | What to include |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowledge and understanding | What you learned, when and how: study, courses, in-house training, on the job. You may list it briefly, with enough detail to show it is relevant, and link it to your CPD record. |
| 2 | Applying that knowledge | The range of work you have done: projects or processes, the type of client, your own role, and how it shows practical competence. At least one real example. |
| 3 | Reasoned advice and depth of knowledge | Advice you gave, mostly on your own responsibility: what you advised, the options you weighed and the outcome, with at least one real example. |
The guide puts most weight on Level 3, because it shows you practise at a professional level. It also asks you to read the statements back together: as a set they should give the assessors a picture of your training, the work you do and the levels you work at. The assessors read the summary and the case study separately and then as a whole, so the levels you claim in one should match what you describe in the other.
How many statements you are writing
Every 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 seven more to Level 1. The technical competencies depend on your pathway and your choices. The pathway competency checklist sets out the five pathways the workspace carries.
Counting statements rather than competencies is what makes the word budget real. A competency required at Level 3 is three statements; one at Level 1 is one. The worked example below does the sum for one pathway.
Examples, and who decides they are enough
The guide says the number of examples depends on what each one shows: sometimes one example is enough, sometimes a competency needs several. No tool can judge that. The draft workspace lets you tick, for each Level 2 and Level 3 statement, that it contains a real example, and the coverage matrix shows every statement still without a tick. Your counsellor and, in the end, the assessors decide whether the evidence is enough.
Write about your own work. The submissions page says the summary must come from your own body of work, not someone else's and not a hypothetical, and the guide forbids using AI software to generate it. See what the rules say about AI.
Worked example
A quantity surveying candidate chooses Design economics and cost planning as the core choice and Risk management and Contract administration as the two optional competencies. The workspace declares 11 mandatory and 8 technical competencies.
The mandatory competencies need 16 level statements between them: three for Ethics, two each for the three Level 2 competencies and one each for the seven at Level 1. Shared evenly, 1,500 words gives about 93 words per statement.
The technical competencies need 22 statements: six core competencies at Level 3 are eighteen, and two optional competencies at Level 2 are four more. Shared evenly, 4,000 words gives about 181 words per statement.
Few candidates share evenly: Level 1 statements are often short lists, which leaves more room for Level 3. The point of the sum is the ceiling. If your Level 3 statements run to 300 words each, the technical total is spent before you reach the optional competencies.
Common mistakes
- Writing only the highest level. A Level 3 competency needs Level 1 and Level 2 statements as well.
- Level 2 statements that describe what the team did. Say what you did and your own role in it.
- Level 3 statements that describe work carried out rather than advice given. Level 3 is about the advice, the options and the outcome.
- Levels in the summary that the case study or the interview cannot support.
- Spending the technical total on the core competencies and leaving the optional ones thin.
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
Does a Level 1 competency need an example?
No. Level 1 is a statement of learning: how you gained the knowledge and understanding. The guide says you can give it as a short list with brief detail, linked to your CPD record. Levels 2 and 3 need at least one example.
How long should each statement be?
There is no limit per statement, only the two totals: 1,500 words for all the mandatory competencies and 4,000 for all the technical ones. Divide each total by the number of statements you need to see your average budget.
Can I use the same project for several competencies?
The guidance does not forbid it, and one project often shows several competencies. Make sure each statement shows the level asked for that competency, in your own words.
Sources
Last reviewed 27 September 2026 against:
- Assessment of Professional Competence, Candidate guide, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), June 2025, amended March 2026, read 2026-09-27. Used for: what each level asks for, examples at Levels 2 and 3, reviewing the statements together (pages 3, 4 and 11)
- APC submissions and assessment, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), published 10 August 2026, read 2026-09-27. Used for: level descriptions restated, own body of work, the word counts
- Pathway guide, Quantity surveying and construction, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), December 2025, version 1.1, read 2026-09-27. Used for: the quantity surveying requirements used in the worked example (page 4)
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.