Individual Membership

Who can join?

Individual membership is open to anybody who wishes to support or be involved with the Institute’s work, and agrees to be bound by its Code of conduct. If you wish to be a corporate member you need to demonstrate your technical and ethical competence. Corporate membership is open to anybody working within the historic environment, whether employed or voluntarily.

Affiliate membership is open to you if you have an interest in the historic environment but are not in a position to join at a corporate grade. You can join as a Student member if you’re enrolled upon a relevant university course.

IfA membership comes with a number of membership benefits. If you would like to know more about some of our members, or are unsure if you are eligible to join because of the nature of your role, the following brochure may be of interest to you.

• Download IfA Brochure (pdf file)

How to apply

You should read the applicants’ handbook before you apply to make sure you understand what to submit. If you are applying to join as a Student or an Affiliate member you may find the student and affiliate applicants’ guide more relevant.

You should complete and submit the correct form together with the relevant application fee (see below). Those applying at a corporate grade are also required to submit supporting documentation, please see the Applicants’ Handbook for details, and must nominate referees. Please contact them before you apply to make sure they are suitable and willing. Student and Affiliate applicants no longer need to do this

When will I hear?

We will write to you to confirm we have received your application and ask you for any additional information we think you need to supply at that point. Applications for corporate membership are decided by the Validation committee which meet every eight weeks. Applications that are received two weeks or less before a Validation committee meeting will processed for the subsequent meeting. You will hear back from us after the meeting with the committees decision. If you think you have waited too long to hear back from us please get in touch. Please see the events calendar for meeting dates.

Applications for Affiliate and Student membership are decided by office staff. You will hear back from us once we have processed your application.

How to upgrade or rejoin

For information on how to upgrade your level of membership, please see section 2.1 of the Applicants’ Handbook and follow the guidelines as for new members. Please remember to submit a PDP and CPD log with your upgrade application.

For information on how to rejoin the Institute, please see the grey box on page 10 of the Applicants’ Handbook and fill out a rejoiners’ form (see below). There is no fee to rejoin, but once your application has been accepted, you will be asked to pay a subscription fee. The rejoiner process is not open to self-validated members who originally joined before 1986, who will need to reapply as above for new members.

For information, you can download the procedural guidelines of the Validation committee and the Membership Appeals committee by clicking on the links.

Information for referees

Please ensure you return your reference promptly, or inform the applicant and the IfA office if you do not consider yourself a suitable referee. Late references are the most common reasons for applications being delayed or deferred. Referees for corporate grade applicants may find our reference template useful (see below).

Downloads

Please use the table below to download the relevant forms. If you have difficulty opening PDF documents you may need to update your adobe reader