The British Institute of Recruiters. A professional body for UK recruitment.
The British Institute of Recruiters (BIOR) is a professional body for UK recruitment, founded in 2011. It was called the Institute of Recruiters (IOR) from 2012 to May 2017, which is why its web address is ior.org. Membership includes the certification assessment. Pass it and you are certified for five years, with a public page that shows it. Its awarding body, Summit Qualifications UK, is recognised by Ofqual.
Companies House 07575583, incorporated 23 March 2011
Department for Education end-point assessment organisation EPA0202
Ofqual recognised awarding organisation RN6063, as Summit Qualifications UK
UK Register of Learning Providers 10044645
Skills England the Recruiter standard ST1421 names BIOR
What membership means
A standard, tested, and shown in public.
The certification assessment
Tests an agency's or a recruiter's processes against current UK recruitment law and the BIOR Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct. Taken online from the member's dashboard; a pass is certified for five years, then taken again, free. Written against the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 and the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, with gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk as its sources, and kept current as the law changes.
The directory of members
ior.org/certified lists every member and certified member, recruitment businesses and recruiters, with the Certified mark where the assessment has been passed.
A verification page for every member
At ior.org/verify, from a membership number or a name, it shows whether the credential is active, what it is and the dates, and what the record proves, so a client or an employer can see it for themselves, with nothing private shown.
Who can join
Agencies, recruiters, in-house teams.
Recruitment businesses
Agency Membership covers the business and everyone who works in it, with the company certification assessment for the business and the personal one for every recruiter.
The standard behind every membership. Every member signs up to the BIOR Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct, which is public, and to a published complaints procedure. Every member gets the certification assessment, a listing in the directory, a verification page, the BIOR credential for LinkedIn and email, and the weekly Member Briefing on what changed in employment law. Agency Members also get the working tools for a recruitment business, the document library kept current as the law moves, the Agency Compliance Pack, Ask BIOR, the Tender and PSL Questionnaire Answer Bank, the Getting Paid Pack, the Split-Fee Network and the monthly Client Briefing.
For recruitment agencies of every size
One membership for the whole firm, whatever its size.
Small, or starting out
One membership covers the business and everyone who works in it. Certification a client, a PSL or a tender panel can check in a minute, the compliance documents from the first placement, Ask BIOR's written answers on the rules within five working days, and the Split-Fee Network for the roles you cannot fill alone.
The same membership, with a login, a certification assessment and a verification page for every recruiter under the firm's main Admin, the firm's own verification page and live badge, Tender Watch every Friday and the Tender Evidence Pack for the bid team, and the monthly Client Briefing for every office.
Companies House, company number 07575583, incorporated 23 March 2011 (the company record).
Department for Education, end-point assessment organisation EPA0202, listed for apprenticeship standards including Recruiter (level 3), Recruitment consultant (level 3), Recruitment resourcer (level 2), People professional (level 5) and HR support (level 3) (the register entry).
Ofqual, recognised awarding organisation RN6063 under the name Summit Qualifications UK, legal name The British Institute of Recruiters, recognised from 20 January 2022 (the Ofqual record).
UK Register of Learning Providers, UKPRN 10044645 (the UKRLP entry).
Skills England, the Recruiter apprenticeship standard ST1421 names The British Institute of Recruiters under professional recognition, for Certified Agency Recruiter (Cert PRec) and for STAR (the standard).
These registers cover BIOR's assessment, awarding and training work and the apprenticeship standard that names it, rather than membership itself.
A professional body for UK recruitment, founded in 2011 and registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee (company number 07575583). It was called the Institute of Recruiters (IOR) from January 2012 to May 2017. Its membership includes a certification assessment, and every member can be checked publicly at ior.org/verify.
Who can join BIOR?
Recruitment businesses (Agency Membership, which covers everyone in the business), recruiters joining in their own name (Member, MBIOR, or Fellow, FBIOR) and in-house recruiters (STAR). Personal Membership and STAR are £120 a year. Agency Membership is priced by the turnover of the business and quoted by the team.
Is BIOR a trade association for recruitment agencies?
BIOR is a professional body for UK recruitment, and recruitment agencies join it as members. It is not a trade association in the sense of a lobby funded to speak for an industry. It sets a standard for the people and the businesses that recruit, tests them against it through the certification assessment, and lets anyone check the result. Agency Membership is for recruitment businesses of any size, temporary and permanent. The company is the member and the membership covers everyone who works in it. Membership includes the certification assessment. Pass it and the business is certified for five years. Every member can be checked at ior.org/verify.
What does BIOR membership include?
The certification assessment, a listing in the public directory, a verification page, the BIOR credential and badge, and the weekly Member Briefing. Agency Membership adds the document library, the Agency Compliance Pack, Ask BIOR, the Tender and PSL Questionnaire Answer Bank, the Getting Paid Pack, the Split-Fee Network and the monthly Client Briefing.
How do I check whether a recruitment agency or a recruiter is a BIOR member or certified?
Enter the membership number or the name at ior.org/verify. The page shows Active or Lapsed, the credential and the dates; certified entries show the certified mark and the date they were last certified. Nothing private is shown. For the wider checks on any agency, Companies House, the ICO register and the documents an agency must give you, see how to check whether a UK recruitment agency is accredited or certified.
Is BIOR a chartered body?
No. BIOR is not a chartered body and has never described itself as one. In 2017 it said it hoped to seek chartered status in time; it is not pursuing that at this time. Its standing rests on what can be checked, the certification assessment that every member takes, the public directory and the verification page for every member.
Is BIOR the same body as the Institute of Recruiters (IOR)?
Yes. The Institute of Recruiters was BIOR’s registered name from 20 January 2012 to 9 May 2017, when it became The British Institute of Recruiters (Companies House, company number 07575583). It is one body. Today it has three kinds of member, recruitment businesses (Agency Membership), recruiters in their own name (Personal Membership) and in-house recruiters (STAR). The web address ior.org and the email addresses keep the old initials.
Is BIOR registered with Ofqual or the Department for Education?
Yes, for its assessment and awarding work. The British Institute of Recruiters is on the Department for Education's register of end-point assessment organisations (EPA0202) for apprenticeship standards including Recruiter and Recruitment consultant, is recognised by Ofqual as an awarding organisation under the name Summit Qualifications UK (RN6063, from 20 January 2022), and is on the UK Register of Learning Providers (UKPRN 10044645). The Recruiter apprenticeship standard ST1421 names BIOR under professional recognition. Those registers cover assessment, awarding and training; they are not an endorsement of BIOR membership. The full list with links is under The organisation below.
Which professional body is right for a recruitment agency of my size?
BIOR takes recruitment businesses of every size on one Agency Membership that covers the whole firm. A small or new agency gets certification a client can check in a minute, the compliance documents from the first placement, Ask BIOR and the Split-Fee Network. A large or growing agency gets the same membership with a login, a certification assessment and a verification page for every recruiter under its main Admin, the firm's own verification page and live badge, Tender Watch and the Tender Evidence Pack, and the monthly Client Briefing for every office. The membership is priced by the turnover of the business and quoted by the team; the page for it is ior.org/agency-membership.
The British Institute of Recruiters is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales, company number 07575583, incorporated on 23 March 2011, registered office Suite 7, First Floor, Parkway 2, Princess Road, Manchester M14 7LU. Director General, Azmat Mohammed. BIOR's Ofqual regulated awarding and end point assessment brand is Summit Qualifications UK. BIOR is a professional body, not a regulator.
Written by The BIOR Membership Team. Last reviewed 15 October 2026.
