Every APC cycle, a number of capable candidates miss their sitting for an avoidable reason: they knew the interview month, but planned around the wrong deadline. The date that decides your sitting is the submission deadline, and it falls roughly six to seven weeks before anyone asks you a question.
Here are the confirmed UK dates, what each one actually commits you to, and the planning method that stops the calendar surprising you.
The confirmed UK dates
RICS runs two assessment sessions a year and publishes exact dates on rics.org. Quantity Surveying and Construction sits in the Built Environment group. These are the published windows as of August 2026:
| Cycle | Intent to Submit | Submission window | Interviews from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session 2, 2026 | 11 to 28 August 2026 | 14 to 24 September 2026 | 2 November 2026 |
| Session 1, 2027 | 9 to 25 February 2027 | 15 to 25 March 2027 | 10 May 2027 |
| Session 2, 2027 | 10 to 26 August 2027 | 13 to 23 September 2027 | 1 November 2027 |
Two details catch people out. Submissions close at 4pm local time on the final day, and Land and Property pathways run about a month earlier than Built Environment in each session, so make sure you are reading the right column on the RICS page.
Always confirm against the official RICS UK assessment dates page before you commit. Dates move each cycle, and regional timetables differ.
What each stage actually locks in
Intent to Submit is a registration window, and it matters more than its name suggests. If you miss it, the assessment window simply never appears on your Assessment Platform account for that session. There is no late door. Once you have registered your intent, your pathway, route and counsellor details are fixed for that attempt, so resolve any counsellor questions before this window, well before the paperwork.
The submission window is when your full package goes in: Summary of Experience, case study, CPD record, logbook (for structured training candidates) and counsellor sign-off. Everything is checked against hard criteria. Word counts, the case study's 24-month project window and the Professionalism module's 12-month validity are all enforced, and RICS reserves the right to cancel an interview where a requirement is unmet.
The interview period starts on the published date and runs on weekdays from there. You get at least two weeks' notice of your specific slot by email, and you are expected to keep the advertised period free. Results arrive within five working days of your interview.
The real deadline is earlier than the published one
The submission deadline is when documents lock. It is the finish line for writing, so your working deadlines sit further back. For a November 2026 sitting, a sensible working-backwards plan looks like this:
- Late September 2026: submission window. Documents are done, checked and signed off. Nothing new starts here.
- Early September 2026: counsellor review of the final draft. Your counsellor certifies that you have reached the required level, so give them time to actually read it and push back.
- August 2026: case study complete in draft. The write-up depends on this being settled, and your chosen project must still sit inside the 24-month window at submission.
- June and July 2026: Summary of Experience drafting against your declared levels, with your evidence record already in order.
- Also worth diarising: the Professionalism module. The pass is valid for 12 months, so time it to comfortably cover your submission date.
Run that arithmetic and a comfortable run at any sitting starts five to six months before the interview month. This is why our Cohort Programme works backwards from a target sitting: the milestones only work in that direction.
What missing a window really costs
The sessions run about six months apart. Missing a submission window therefore costs a full half year: another cycle before you can sit, and a case study drifting closer to the edge of its 24-month validity.
The honest advice is unglamorous: pick a provisional sitting now, write the submission deadline (and the 4pm cut-off) where you can see it, and treat the six weeks before submission as protected time. A provisional target changes behaviour even if it later moves.
If you are not sure whether your preparation genuinely fits the next window, measure it before you commit. The free APC Readiness Check takes three minutes and will tell you whether the next submission window is realistic for you. From there, work forwards with a plan you can actually keep.