Practising certificates

On this page:

Practising certificate types
Applying for a practising certificate
Application guidance and examples
How to make payment
Appeals process
Practising Certificates Committee
Contact us

Practising certificate types

The IFoA operates a Practising Certificates Scheme (PC Scheme) in relation to a number of senior regulated actuarial roles. The categories for which we grant practising certificates (PCs) are:

Chief Actuary (Life)
Chief Actuary (non-Life without Lloyd’s)
Chief Actuary (non-Life with Lloyd’s)
Chief Actuary (Life, Non-Directive)
With-Profits Actuary
Lloyd’s Syndicates
Scheme Actuary
CDC Scheme Actuary

PCs reflect that the actuary who holds them has demonstrated that they have the necessary competencies to be a PC holder and to potentially carry out one of the roles covered by the PC.

Applying for a practising certificate

Before applying for a PC, whether an initial application or a renewal, you must read the: 

To apply for a PC, you can do this through your IFoA online account under ‘Practising Certificates’ on the left hand menu once you are logged in. If you are unable to complete the online application form, you should complete the relevant application form below and return it to the PC Team at practising.certs@actuaries.org.uk. The forms are:

If you are applying for more than one PC, you can use one application to cover all PC types. Where information provided on the application is only relevant to one of the PCs being applied for, please make this clear on the application.

Guidance for completing applications and examples

To help you complete initial and full renewal application forms, please read our guide to completing PC applications (PDF, 80 KB).

We have also created video guidance to help you complete an online application. You can view this on our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

If you have any questions, please also see our PC Scheme FAQs (PDF, 100 KB). If this does not fully answer your question, please email us at practising.certs@actuaries.org.uk. We would be more than happy to help.

Initial application examples

We also have some example initial application forms to guide you, including:

Please note that the examples should be used as a guide only. You should base your application on your own words to demonstrate how you meet the competencies required as set out in the relevant Competency Framework.

Full renewal application examples

We also have some example full renewal application forms to guide you, including:

Please note that the examples should be used as a guide only. You should base your application on your own words to demonstrate how you meet the competencies required as set out in the relevant Competency Framework.

How to make payment

The current cost of a PC is £1,140.

You can make payment online or by bank transfer. Please indicate on the application how you would like to make payment.

If you are paying by bank transfer, you can do so using the following details:

Bank details
Account name:	Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
Account number:	08671990
Sort code:	56-00-20
SWIFT	NWBKGB2L
IBAN	GB98NWBK56002008671990

Appeals process

We set out the process for appealing a decision made by the IFoA on a PC application in our appeals process (141 KB PDF).