Terms and conditions of membership

Membership Applications

1. The IET welcomes applications from people who have an interest in engineering and technology and who are aged 16 years or over.

2. There are five categories of member: 

• Honorary Fellow
• Fellow
• Member 
• Associate 
• Student.

3. Submitting a membership application for a specific category does not guarantee membership of this category.

4. The IET reserves the right to refuse any application for membership.

Code of Ethics and Rules of Conduct

5. All members undertake to abide by the Rules of Conduct.

Honorary Fellows

6. Honorary Fellows are elected by the IET Board of Trustees. Honorary Fellows are: 

• Persons distinguished by their work in any engineering discipline falling within the objects and purposes of the IET, or 
• Distinguished persons whom the IET desires to honour for services rendered to the IET or whose association is of benefit to the IET.

7. Honorary Fellows shall be entitled to use the designatory letters HonFIET (Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology).

Fellows

8. Fellows will have demonstrated significant individual responsibility, sustained achievement and professionalism in areas relevant to the interests of the IET to a level required by the Board. Fellows are entitled to use the designatory letters FIET (Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology).

Members

9. Members will have achieved a standard of knowledge, understanding and experience, as required by the Board. Members shall be entitled to use the designatory letters MIET (Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology) or TMIET (Technician Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology).

Associates

10. Associates are those who value involvement with the IET, but do not meet the requirements for admission as a Member.

Students

11. Student membership is for individuals working towards a career in science, engineering or technology whether at university, or on an apprenticeship scheme, or otherwise.

Designatory Letters

12. Members of the IET in the categories Member, Fellow and Honorary Fellow who joined the Institution before it adopted its current name in 2006, may use the designatory letters to which they were entitled before 31 March 2006, providing they continue to be members of the IET and have not changed their category of membership. Members who choose to use such legacy designatory letters may not also use IET designatory letters.

Membership transfers

13. A member may transfer from their membership category at any time during their membership as long as they meet the criteria of the membership category applied for.

Membership subscription

14. Membership subscriptions run for a period of one year payable annually in advance. The IET operates a system of anniversary billing so a member’s subscription renewal date is determined by the month in which they joined. The IET does not offer a facility for members to pay by instalments.

15. Membership fees are revised annually and members will be notified of the fee changes in writing via their subscription renewal notice (post and email). The membership fees are also published on the IET website and these are updated to include the following year’s fees to coincide with the delivery of the January renewal notices.

16. Membership subscription payments not received within three months of the due date will result in the membership being considered lapsed and all services will be suspended including any right to designatory letters or to be registered.

Reduced fees

17. Reduced rates and discounts on subscription fees are available to members in special circumstances. Full details can be found on the 'Reduced fees' web page. The IET has the right to request proof of eligibility.

Membership resignation

18. Persons in any category of membership may resign from the IET by sending their resignation in writing to the Chief Executive and Secretary.

19. The subscription will be refunded if notification of resignation is received within 90 days of the membership subscription start date. The refund will be  made by the following means: 

• If payment was made by credit or debit card, the refund will be paid directly to the credit or debit card within 30 days of notification of the resignation being received.
• If payment was made by Direct Debit or Bankers Automated Clearance Service (BACS), the refund will be paid directly to the bank account from which payment was taken within 30 days of notification of the resignation being received.
• If payment was made by any other means the refund will be made by sterling cheque and posted within 30 days of notification of the resignation  being received.

Applications to rejoin

20. If a member resigns or allows their membership to lapse and then wishes to rejoin, their subscription renewal date will be set as follows:

• If the rejoin date is nine months of the subscription renewal date the renewal date will remain unchanged. For example, if a member was due to renew on 1 July, allowed their membership to lapse and then wished to rejoin in December of the same year, their subscription renewal date would remain set as 1 July. Their membership would show as continuous and the member would keep their original join date. The rejoin fee would be the amount owing for the last renewal unless the member was on a reduced legacy rate, in which case the discount would no longer apply.  
  Note: members in receipt of a legacy rate who resign or allow their membership to lapse are no longer entitled to the legacy rate should they wish to rejoin.
• If the rejoin date is more than nine months after the subscription renewal date, the renewal date will be reset and the membership subscription will be due for renewal one year from the date the rejoin payment was processed.

21. If a registered member resigns or allows their membership to lapse they must rejoin within three years to maintain their registration with the Engineering Council. Backdated Engineering Council fees will be required. If the period of non-membership is more than three years the member will have to re-apply for registration with the Engineering Council.

22. Any member who was awarded Chartered Electrical Engineer status from the IEE and resigns or allows their membership to lapse will not be entitled to use this title should they rejoin.

23. A member with CITP registration who resigns or allows their membership to lapse and then decides to rejoin will be readmitted to the Register of Chartered IT Professionals as long as their Certificate of Current Competence is unexpired and they make payment of a sum equivalent to all outstanding registration fees.

24. A member whose Certificate of Current Competence is expired may be readmitted to the Register of Chartered IT Professionals as follows:

• Within 12 months of the expiry date of their certificate of current competence the registrant will be readmitted to the register of Chartered IT Professionals without a Certificate of Current Competence on payment of a sum equivalent to all outstanding registration fees. The criteria for revalidation of the Registrant’s Certificate of Current Competence is set out in the relevant BCS policy.
• More than 12 months after the expiry date of a Certificate of Current Competence a request to be readmitted to the Register of Chartered IT Professionals will not be allowed. A new application for CITP status to be assessed against current standards for Experience and Responsibility, Breadth of Knowledge and Specialist competence and interpersonal skills will have to be submitted.

Refunds for overpayments

25. Refunds for overpayments above £5 will be made automatically within 28 days of the payment being processed.     

26. Refunds for overpayments below £5 or its equivalent will be made if requested within 90 days of the overpayment being processed.  Refunds will not be repaid automatically due to the disproportionate processing costs and will be treated as a donation to the IEE Benefactors Trust Fund.  

Refunds for deceased members

27. Refunds will be paid if the decease of a member takes place within three calendar months of the subscription renewal date. The amount of the refund will be the full amount paid. Claims for a refund can be made up to a maximum of one year after the original payment subscription renewal date. If original payment was made by Direct Debit or credit/debit card then the refund will be made to the bank account/card. For other payment methods and instances where the bank account or card has been closed then a cheque will be issued and made payable to the Estate of the deceased. To make a payment via a method other than those described above we would require an original copy of the Grant of Representation by which the executor/administrator was appointed. Account details into which the refund should be repaid must also be provided.

Exclusions

28. No refund will be granted if the member has gained financial benefit from their IET membership such as receiving discounted conference fees or publications.

Complaints Procedure

29. The IET aims to serve its members effectively and fairly and member feedback is important. In the event of a complaint or grievance then members are advised to call the IET Member and Customer Services Team on +44 (0)1438 765678 or to submit details of their complaint via the online 'Contact us' form.

30. Where possible the issue will be dealt with immediately. If further investigation is required then a response will be provided within five working days. If it is not possible to resolve the problem within that time, advice will be given on how long the investigations are likely to take.

31. In the unlikely event that a complaint is not resolved adequately then the Membership, Assessment and Retention Manager should be contacted on +44 (0)1438 765600. Alternatively members are advised to write to the Membership, Assessment and Retention Manager, The IET, Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, Herts SG1 2AY, UK.

32. The IET reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time.