Individual Membership

Individual membership of the Institute 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. Corporate membership of the Institute requires members to demonstrate their technical and ethical competence and can be gained by anybody working within the historic environment. Affiliate membership is open to anybody who has in interest in the historic environment but is not in a position to join at a corporate grade, while Student membership is open to individuals enrolled upon a relevant university course.

IfA membership comes with a number of membership benefits. Information on these can be found here. If you would like to know more about some of our members, or are unsure if you are eligable to join because of the nature of your role this brochure may be of interest to you.

How to apply

Applicants should read the Applicants’ Handbook before applying in order to understand what they should submit. Those applying for corporate membership should make sure they are applying for the most suitable grade. Those applying to join as a Student or an Affiliate member of the Institute may find the Student and Affiliate Applicants' Guide more relevant.

The correct form should be completed and submitted with the relevant application fee (see below). Those applying at a corporate grade are also required to submit supporting documentation, please see the Handbook for details. All applicants are required to nominate referees. Please contact your referees before applying to make sure they are willing.

Applications for corporate membership are decided by the Validation committee which meets every 6 weeks. Corporate grade applications that are received two weeks or less before a Validation committee meeting will processed for the subsequent meeting. The remaining meeting dates for 2010 are 18 May, 29 June, 10 August, 21 September, 2 November and 14 December.

Downloadable forms and information

Student Grade Application Form
Affiliate Grade Application Form
Student and Affiliate Applicants’ Guide

Corporate Grade Application Form (for Practitioner, Associate or Member grade applications)
Applicants’ Handbook

Rejoiners' Form

Template for describing competence
Reference Template (If you have been notified that you are a corporate grade applicant's referee)
Application fees and subscription rates

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 for the applicant. Late references are the most common reasons for applications being delayed or deferred. Referees for corporate grade applicants may find our reference template useful.

How to upgrade or rejoin

For further 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 make sure you include a PDP and CPD log with your upgrade application.

For further 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. There is no application 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, here are the procedural guidelines of the Validation committee and the Membership Appeals committee.