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.[1] Chartered status is considered a mark of professional competency, and is awarded mainly by chartered professional bodies and learned societies. Common in Britain, it is also used in Ireland, the United States and the Commonwealth, and has been adopted by organizations 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.[2] 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.[3] Many chartered statuses in the UK and Ireland are also regulated professional titles under European professional qualification directives.[4]
The full title used differs from profession to profession and is normally of the form "Chartered Profession", for example, Chartered Engineer and Chartered Accountant.
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When will there be a 'chartered archaeologist'? Being granted the powers to award chartered status to individual archaeologists is a separate process and would need to be agreed by the Privy Council by means of an amendment to the Charter.
These bodies function simultaneously as professional associations and as authorities appointed by the Government to award designatory letters and professional titles to those of its members which meet the specified standard of education and training. An important point to note is that this standard is set in conjunction with the relevant Government Departments and may not be changed without their agreement. This is the essential way in which these Chartered bodies differ from an ordinary professional association, and the feature of their constitution from which they derive their status as competent authorities for the professional titles and designatory letters listed in the implementing regulations.(Quote from 1999 letter from the Department of Trade and Industry)