We’re pleased to say that 97% of UK architects paid their fee to be registered in 2020 by the payment deadline.
This is the same percentage for 2018 and 2019 registration, though the Architects Register grows in size year on year so the number of payments received this year actually increased by 3% compared with last year.
This year most of you opted to use the online portal to secure your registration, with over 54% of fees sent this way. The second most popular method was Direct Debit (25%). Direct Debits are a simple way to manage your retention fee payment. You can set one up now and payment will be requested automatically in December. You can find more information about Direct Debits on our website here.
The fee is our main source of income for funding our regulatory activities and enables us to maintain trust in the profession through the delivery of our statutory duties.
- Maintaining the Architects Register and encouraging the public to check it to make sure they’re using a genuine architect
- Setting the UK standards required to enter the Register and ensuring only appropriate applicants from overseas join
- Establishing professional standards and provide advice on the regulatory expectations
- Protecting the title ‘architect’ and take action against those who misuse it
You can find out more about the fee here, and view examples of the work we do in our 2018 Annual Report.
The Register is a public protection tool. Only those on the Register may use the title ‘architect’ in the UK and the Architects Act 1997 requires us to remove from the Register those who do not pay their fee by the deadline.
We do so swiftly after the deadline to avoid any ambiguity over an individual’s registered status so that trust is maintained in the profession.
We do not want anyone to be removed from the Register who does not want to be. To try to help avoid this we extend our office opening times across December to provide support outside of normal work hours.
We also support the statutory notice we send in October with postal, email, text and social media reminders as well as a dedicated section on our website. We try hard to strike the right balance between ensuring everyone is aware of what they need to do, without overwhelming those who do not need reminders.
If you know someone who has been removed for non-payment but would like to re-join the Register, they can apply securely online here. It’s a quick and easy process and most are back on the Register within five days.
