Pathway 1
Full assessment
- You hold
- No APM recognised assessment. This is the normal starting point.
- You write
- 7 core competences and 16 electives, plus ethics.
- At interview
- Professional practice, technical knowledge and ethics. Up to 2 hours.
The case for Chartered status
You’ve done the work.
Chartership makes it count.
Chartered Project Professional (ChPP) is the profession’s highest standard of recognition, independent proof of competence that clients, employers and peers already understand.
ChPP is prestigious for a reason. It is not easy to obtain, and that is the point. This page explains the benefits it brings and how PM Elevation can help you succeed.
What Chartership recognises
What Chartership recognises
The profession’s highest standard of recognition.
ChPP is awarded through independent assessment against the APM Competence Framework, across technical knowledge, professional practice and ethical behaviour. It isn’t a course you attend or a subscription you hold. It’s recognition you earn, and on success you join the public Register of Chartered Project Professionals.
Assessed against a recognised professional standard
Technical knowledge, professional practice and ethics
A permanent place on the public ChPP register
On the fence? The three doubts we hear most, and where they land.
“I already have the experience, is the badge really worth it?”
Experience is the entry price, not the recognition. Chartership is independent proof that what you do meets a defined professional standard: verifiable, portable, and understood without you having to explain it.
“Will it actually pay off?”
It maps directly onto how the profession is paid and promoted. Chartered professionals report higher earnings and stronger job satisfaction, and the status is increasingly named in senior and head-of-profession briefs.
“It looks like a lot of effort.”
The competence is already yours. The real work is evidencing it against the criteria, which is exactly where a structured route saves months, reduces resits, and removes the guesswork.
For individuals
For individuals
What Chartership does for your career.
For working project professionals, Chartered status is the clearest signal you can send about the level you operate at, and the most durable investment you can make in how far you go next.
Independent validation of your expertise
Recognition you have earned through assessment, not a course you attended. It reinforces your reputation and it travels with you between employers, sectors and clients.
Access to senior and lead roles
Chartership raises your professional standing and is increasingly named in briefs for senior, principal and head-of-profession positions.
A genuine competitive advantage
Stand out in a crowded market, listed publicly on the Register of Chartered Project Professionals, a mark employers can verify at a glance.
Instant trust with clients and peers
Chartered status carries meaning without explanation, earning the confidence of clients and colleagues from the first conversation.
A professional community and ongoing growth
Join a network of fellow Chartered professionals and a structured path for continuing development well beyond assessment.
Chartered Project Professionals
APM Salary and Market Trends Survey, 2023
89%
are satisfied with their job
58%
earn over £70,000
90%
earn over £50,000
For organisations
For organisations
What Chartered professionals do for your business.
The value of Chartership doesn’t stop with the individual. For the organisations that employ them, a Chartered workforce is a commercial asset, an assurance position, and a retention strategy all in one.
Win more work
Chartered professionals strengthen bids, tenders and qualifications. Named, independently assessed capability is credible evidence that you can deliver what you promise.
Demonstrable assurance
Capability mapped to the APM Competence Framework gives you a defensible, standards-based answer when clients and boards ask how you know your teams are competent.
Benchmark and build capability
Chartership sets a clear, external bar for development, succession planning and identifying who is ready to lead your most complex work.
Attract and retain talent
Backing people towards Chartered status signals a serious career path. It helps you keep your strongest deliverers and draw in the professionals you want.
Client and stakeholder confidence
Work led by Chartered professionals reassures clients, partners and regulators that delivery sits in genuinely capable hands.
Capability aligned to the APM Competence Framework, the same standard your
Chartered professionals are assessed against.
The honest part
The work of Chartership is real, but the uncertainty is the part people underestimate, not the effort. Most candidates already have the competence. What slows them down is evidencing it against the criteria. That’s the part we make certain.
Routes to Chartered
One standard, four routes to it.
Everyone is assessed against the same ChPP standard. What changes is how much of it you evidence yourself, and that comes down to one question: which APM recognised assessments do you already hold?
Pathway 2
Assesses: Professional practice
- You hold
- A recognised assessment for technical knowledge.
- You write
- 7 core competences and 5 electives, plus ethics.
- At interview
- Professional practice and ethics. Technical knowledge is not re-tested. Up to 1 hour 30.
Pathway 3
Assesses: Technical knowledge
- You hold
- A recognised assessment for professional practice.
- You write
- 7 core competences and 1 elective, plus ethics.
- At interview
- Technical knowledge and ethics. Your practice is not re-tested. Up to 1 hour.
Pathway 1: Full assessment
You hold no recognised assessment
Pathway 1: Full assessment
You hold no recognised assessment
- You hold
- No APM recognised assessment. This is the normal starting point.
- You write
- 7 core competences and 16 electives, plus ethics.
- At interview
- Professional practice, technical knowledge and ethics. Up to 2 hours.
Pathway 2: Assesses: Professional practice
You hold technical knowledge
Pathway 2: Assesses: Professional practice
You hold technical knowledge
- You hold
- A recognised assessment for technical knowledge.
- You write
- 7 core competences and 5 electives, plus ethics.
- At interview
- Professional practice and ethics. Technical knowledge is not re-tested. Up to 1 hour 30.
Pathway 3: Assesses: Technical knowledge
You hold professional practice
Pathway 3: Assesses: Technical knowledge
You hold professional practice
- You hold
- A recognised assessment for professional practice.
- You write
- 7 core competences and 1 elective, plus ethics.
- At interview
- Technical knowledge and ethics. Your practice is not re-tested. Up to 1 hour.
Pathway 4
Organisation assessed
Hold both? The route is much simpler.
You already hold recognised assessments for technical knowledge and professional practice. APM does not need to reassess either, so there is no written application, just a single professional discussion.
We help organisations build those assessments internally.
What APM means by a recognised assessment
APM recognises a qualification, or an organisation’s own development programme, once it has checked that it assesses part of the chartered standard. Holding one means APM accepts that part as already assessed, so you do not evidence it again.
- Technical knowledge
- APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ), APM Practitioner Qualification, and a number of university project management degrees. That is Pathway 2.
- Professional practice
- APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) with validated experience, and PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP). That is Pathway 3.
- Both
- Usually an employer’s own APM recognised assessment scheme, run in house. That is Pathway 4.
Those are examples, not the list. APM holds the list and revises it, so check what you hold against it.
APM’s list of recognised assessments (opens in a new tab)Get started
Take the next step toward recognition.
Two routes, depending on who you are. Choose yours below.
For individuals · ChPP
Join the Academy
Self-paced, multi-media learning that takes you from the fundamentals to a strong application and confident interview, so you can start building toward Chartered status today.
- APM endorsed technical knowledge modules
- Start immediately, learn at your own pace
- Optional live sessions and 1:1 coaching
For organisations · Pathway 4
Talk to us about Recognised Assessment
A bespoke route to APM Recognised Assessment for your internal scheme. Start with a free, no-obligation consultation to scope the work and map the route.
- 30 minutes, by video or phone. A conversation, not a pitch.
- Leave with a clear, honest view of your route
FAQ
FAQ
Straight answers for people deciding.
Detail on pathways and pricing lives on the Academy and organisations pages. Anything else, get in touch and we’ll talk it through.
I have delivered projects for years, do I really need this?
You do not need it to keep delivering. You pursue it because it turns years of capable delivery into recognition the whole profession understands: independently assessed, publicly listed, and increasingly expected at senior level.
Is it worth an organisation supporting its people through it?
For most, yes. Chartered professionals strengthen bids and assurance positions, set a clear development bar, and are more likely to stay when their employer invests in their standing. It is a commercial and retention decision as much as a professional one.
What if I am not ready to apply yet?
That is an ideal point to begin. Starting with structured guidance means your evidence takes shape correctly from the outset rather than being reworked later. Many of the people we support come to us before writing a single word.
How long does it take?
It varies with how close your evidence already is to the standard. A structured route removes the guesswork, which is what tends to shorten the path and reduce resits. We will give you an honest view of where you stand before you commit.