A professional association, institute or society is an organisation created by a Royal Charter or memorandum of Association to support a specific profession. Members are invited to join a grade of membership commensurate with their qualifications and standing within the profession. Its role is to support members and promote professional standards.

The Institute is licensed by the relevant awarding and regulatory bodies to admit eligible members to the professional registers through a robust process of peer assessment. These licensing bodies require assurance that all registrants remain in good professional standing. As they do not maintain direct contact with individual registrants, they rely on licensed professional bodies such as the Institute to uphold standards on their behalf. The Institute maintains a Code of Professional Conduct and formal disciplinary procedures that meet the requirements of each awarding body and are used to safeguard the integrity, quality, and reputation of every Professional Register we administer.

The requirements for each Register are not just about qualifications. Learning about a subject is important but correctly putting knowledge and skills into practice is what makes a competent practitioner. An academic qualification demonstrates your achievement whereas professional registration recognises your career development and on-the-job learning alongside any formal qualifications. The people who assess the applications for registration have to build up a picture of your skills and how you apply them in your normal working life.