Chartered (professional)

A chartered professional is a person who has gained a specific level of skill or competence in a particular field of work, which has been recognised by the award of a formal credential by a relevant professional organization. Chartered status is considered a mark of professional competency, and is awarded mainly by chartered professional bodies and learned societies. It is common in Britain but is also used in Ireland, the United States and the Commonwealth, and has been adopted by organisations around the world.

Chartered status originates from royal charters issued to professional bodies in the UK by the British Monarch, although such is the prestige and credibility of a chartered designation that some non-UK organisations have taken to issuing chartered designations without Royal or Parliamentary approval. In the UK, chartered titles may still only be awarded by institutions that have been incorporated under royal charter, with the permission of the Privy Council. The standards for chartered titles in the UK are set between the professional bodies and relevant government departments, and cannot be changed without government permission. Some chartered statuses in Ireland are regulated professional titles under European professional qualification directives, as were many in the UK until Brexit.

The full title used differs from profession to profession and is normally of the form "Chartered Profession", for example, Chartered Engineer and Chartered Accountant.

Chartered status is generally considered a terminal qualification in a particular profession. In some fields professional bodies also offer lower level qualifications, such as Incorporated Engineer (IEng), Engineering Technician (EngTech) or Registered Scientist (RSci). The status is not the same as the senior membership grade of Fellow in many professional institutes and learned societies, which is usually a measure of achievement or standing in a profession rather than a professional qualification based on assessment of competencies.

Chartered status is a form of accreditation, with there being a grant of a protected title but no requirement to be chartered in order to practice a profession (making it distinct from licensing). In the UK and other countries that follow its model, the professional bodies overseeing chartered statuses have a duty to act in the public interest, rather than in the interests of their members, ensuring that chartered professionals must meet ethical standards of behaviour. As a status, rather than simply a qualification, a chartered title may be removed for failure to adhere to codes of conduct, or lost through non-renewal. Someone who has lost the status may no longer describe themselves as chartered.

Many chartered statuses require initial academic preparation, and the guidance provided by the Privy Council in the UK states that "the usual expectation is qualification to master's level or above". After completion of academic training, it is normal to have to complete Initial Professional Development (IPD), which may include professional courses and examinations, to gain the competencies necessary for chartered status. Many chartered statuses also have a requirement that holders undertake Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to maintain and update their competencies, with some requiring evidence of CPD at regular intervals to renew the status, and "a robust Continuous Professional Development regime" is expected by the Privy Council. In the UK, the Privy Council has stated that its policy is "that the criteria for individual Chartered Status should be broadly similar across the professions". They also caution that "Individual Chartered designations that are not approved by The Sovereign in Council, or the Privy Council are not recognised by the UK Government and no assurance can be given that such designations meet the same high standards as authorised designations". There is also an expectation that professional bodies granted power to award individual chartered statuses should have a complaints procedure and a disciplinary procedure in place.

In the UK, chartered professional titles may only be trademarked if issued by a body holding a royal charter and which has permission under its charter to grant that title. Chartered professional titles are normally only permitted to be registered as collective trade marks. Guidance provided by the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office is that the use of the word "chartered" in a trademark by a non-chartered organisation "would mislead the public into believing that the association and its members have chartered status".

In the US, "chartered" is considered a descriptive term, thus trademarks using "chartered" along with a descriptive title for the profession may only be registered on the principal register if they can be demonstrated to have acquired distinctiveness through exclusive usage in trade for at least five years. Alternatively, they may be registered on the supplemental register.