In this guide
Use this material to examine your own work. Confirm current requirements, forms and dates with ICE before applying.
Older ICE qualification advice still circulates in books, forums and conversations with sponsors who qualified years ago. Check which requirements have changed before relying on it.
Historic details you may still encounter
| You may be told | The current position |
|---|---|
| There is a Written Exercise at the review. | The written element is the Communication Task, with its own current guidance covering timing, question choice, reference material, invigilation, upload and marking. |
| There are nine attributes. | ICE's standards are set out in seven areas of professional competence and commitment. |
| You need three sponsors. | You need two, one of whom is nominated as lead sponsor. |
| Sponsors complete a questionnaire. | Sponsors complete a statement of support, uploaded to the sponsors portal. |
| The application is emailed to ICE. | Civil engineering candidates use the Professional Reviews upload portal; infrastructure engineering candidates submit by email to ICE's infrastructure address. |
| The file limit is 10 MB (or some other figure). | A single PDF of no more than 15 MB. |
| Reviews happen in fixed seasons with a submission week. | Application deadlines and review sessions are published on ICE's key dates page and should be read there. |
| Remote reviews are a temporary arrangement. | ICE runs both online and in-person reviews as standard. Online is the default unless you are allocated an in-person review. |
| Your reference material for the written element is whatever you can carry. | Two sides of A4 only, optional, with no copying and pasting from it, and no other notes. |
The left column is advice still circulating in books, forum threads and older preparation packs. The right column is what ICE's current guidance says.
Checking advice against current guidance
Older advice may refer to three sponsors or a Written Exercise. Sponsors should read the current Professional Review Guidance before advising candidates. Candidates should check procedural advice against it too, including advice on this site.
Confirm application deadlines, fees and the eligibility list on the sponsor's statement of support each time you apply, because they can change between sessions.
The same advice, six years apart
Fictional example: a well-meaning sponsor
"You'll need three sponsors, and there's a Written Exercise on the day — about an hour, they give you a few topics. Get your submission in during the submission week and you'll be fine."
"You need two sponsors, and I'll be your lead one — which means I have to review your report properly and arrange practice interviews, so give me the draft by March. The written element is the Communication Task now: it's after the interview, it's invigilated, and you can take two sides of A4 in with you. Check the deadline on ICE's key dates page, because it moves."
Both are offered in good faith. The first is a sponsor describing the process they went through years ago; the second has read the current guidance. If you are being advised, ask which one you are hearing, and if you are sponsoring, read the guidance before you advise.
Checking that your advice is current
Questions to ask yourself
- When did the person advising me last read the current guidance?
A lead sponsor has a duty to mentor you and should be familiar with the current process. Someone who qualified years ago may be describing an assessment that no longer exists.
- Am I relying on a copy of a guidance document, or on the current one?
Copies circulate in employers' shared drives for years, and requirements have changed. Take it from ICE.
Official sources
Selected publisher pages were rechecked in September 2026. Other source records were last checked in July 2026. Open the latest official document before relying on a requirement.