Bookkeepers trust ICB as their professional membership body because we certify, supervise, support and connect bookkeepers across the world and provide a globally respected benchmark for the bookkeeping profession.
Becoming an ICB member is the best way to differentiate yourself as a professional bookkeeper anywhere in the world. You'll join a welcoming and engaged community and enjoy strong on-going professional support, technical, legal and tax advice, and exclusive discounts on business and personal shopping.
Becoming an ICB member is the best way to differentiate yourself as a professional bookkeeper anywhere in the world. You'll join a welcoming and engaged community and enjoy strong on-going professional support, technical support and legal advice, and exclusive discounts on business and personal shopping. In the UK we run over 200 events a year both on and offline so you'll find it fun and easy to meet other bookkeepers, make friends, and stay motivated.
Become an ICB Member You can become a member of the world’s largest and most engaged bookkeeping community in two different ways; by assessment in ICB qualifications if you have no prior experience, or by exemption if you have relevant qualifications or work experience. Being an ICB Bookkeeper demonstrates competence and provides a reliable benchmark for businesses, government and the public.
ICB members are encouraged to develop as bookkeepers, as well as members, through a compulsory programme of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and the opportunity to become more involved in ICB through contributing to the Branch Meetings and Advisory Council, or by attaining Fellowship.
We endeavour to make the process of becoming a member as straight-forward as possible, however, you will be required to satisfy the requirements of the Admissions Panel and there is no 'easy' route.
The two routes into membership are:
You can take examinations, and apply for exemptions, in any week of the year. Examination results can take up to 28 days to be processed and exemptions can take up to three months to be processed.
If you are planning to gain membership by completing ICB examinations, the first step is to Register as a Student. Once you have completed sufficient qualifications to be eligible for membership, you will receive a membership offer by post. At that stage you can choose to take up membership, or continue your qualifications as a Registered Student.
If you are planning to gain membership by exemptions based on your previous qualifications or experience, please visit the Membership by Exemptions page to find out more about the minimum requirements. If you think you can satisfy the minimum requirements you can start your application online today.
ICB may consider an Application for Exemption based on bookkeeping experience gained within the last two years providing you can nominate accepted referee to support your application.
All Applications for Exemption involve a skills appraisal test.
ICB may consider an Application for Exemption based on qualifications gained within the last two years providing you can submit accepted supporting documentation and the qualifications correspond to the ICB syllabus.
All Applications for Exemption involve a skills appraisal test.
ICB does not currently offer membership based solely on membership of another body.
Applying for Membership by Exemption can take up to three months from the point your application is received. Please let us know if you need supervision under the Money Laundering Regulations during this time.
Your application will be passed to the Admissions Panel for a decision once all necessary documentation has been gathered, including your skills appraisal test and responses from reference requests if applicable.
You can log in using the email address and password you set up when you submitted your online application. Just click Log in in the top right corner of the website. By clicking MyICB you can log in straight to your account page.
If you need a new password to log in, please click the Forgotten Password link in the login box. We will then email a new password to your registered email address.
If you do not know what email address you registered with, or no longer have access to those emails, you will need to contact ICB customer support to request your email address and login details to be reset. Please quote your ICB Number and contact details by email to memberservices@bookkeepers.org.uk or by telephone to 0203 405 4000.
You can submit your supporting documents by uploading them via the internet during your online application. If you do not have all the necessary documents at that stage, you can submit them later. Please note your application will not be processed until all the necessary documents are received.
If you are submitting documents after you have completed your online application, please use the link sent to you by email. If you cannot find this link please contact ICB on 0203 405 4000, or submit your documents by attaching them to an email that quotes your ICB Number and full details to exemptions@bookkeepers.org.uk
