As you may have read in the press, just over 1,400 registrants were removed from the Register for non-payment of the retention fee, payable annually by the deadline of 31 December.

84% of those removed had not provided us with an email address. This highlights the importance of making sure that you keep your email address up to date (as well as all of your other contact details). It also helps if you provide us with a second, personal email address, if you have one, so that you can be sure to receive these important communications, even if you’re not in the office.

For the 2016 retention fee we also introduced a new text message reminder service. This was only used as a final reminder to those who had not paid. The feedback we received from architects about this service was positive, with over 300 payments received in the first hour after the message was sent out. If you have not already provided us with a mobile phone number, you can do so via the Registrants’ Services area of the website. You can also add or update your email address via this link.