PERSONAL MEMBERSHIP & CERTIFICATION
BIOR membership includes the certification assessment. Pass it and you are certified for five years.
Personal membership is for recruiters working in or for an agency, or running their own business, joining in their own name. Membership and certification are how you show clients, employers and candidates that you work to a published standard, the BIOR Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct, and that your processes have been tested against current UK recruitment law.
What you get
- Your listing on the public directory of BIOR members and certified members, and your own verification page that anyone can check in a minute at ior.org/verify.
- Your letters. MBIOR as a Member, FBIOR as a Fellow.
- The BIOR credential on your LinkedIn profile in one click, and the badge for your email signature.
- The weekly Member Briefing. What changed in employment law and what it means for your desk.
- The certification assessment, included. Online, about 40 minutes, taken from your dashboard when you are ready. Pass it and your entry shows Certified, with the Certified Recruiter logo, for five years. Then you take it again, free, and the mark continues without a gap.
Work in an agency?
Agency Membership covers everyone in the business at no extra charge and includes company and personal certification. It adds what personal membership does not, Ask BIOR, the written answers desk (a question on the rules, or a clause pasted for a view, answered in plain English with the government source within five working days, three a month for the business), the member resource library of 2026 templates and guides, the Tender and PSL Questionnaire Answer Bank (the compliance questions clients ask, answered with the evidence to attach), the Getting Paid Pack (the letters and the court route when a client does not pay), the Agency Compliance Pack, the Split-Fee Network (post the roles you cannot fill and fill other members' on a split fee, with BIOR taking nothing), the monthly Client Briefing to send to your clients and the quarterly masterclass. See Agency Membership. In-house recruiter? See STAR.
Choose your grade
Member (MBIOR)
For any recruiter who commits to the BIOR Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct. The assessment is the standard. Pass it and you are a Certified Recruiter.
Fellow (FBIOR)
For senior recruiters with one of these.
- 5 years at a senior level and a Level 3 or above recruitment qualification, or
- 10 years at a senior level
A short Fellowship declaration and a 30-minute professional discussion, then the same annual fee as a Member. About Fellowship.
Questions recruiters ask
What is BIOR Personal Membership?
Membership of The British Institute of Recruiters in your own name, as a Member (MBIOR) or a Fellow (FBIOR). It includes the certification assessment, a listing in the public directory, a verification page anyone can check, the BIOR credential for LinkedIn and email, and the weekly Member Briefing. It is for recruiters working in or for an agency or running their own business; in-house recruiters take STAR.
What is the difference between MBIOR and FBIOR?
Member (MBIOR) is open to any recruiter who commits to the BIOR Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct. Fellow (FBIOR) is the senior grade, for recruiters with five years at a senior level and a Level 3 or above recruitment qualification, or ten years at a senior level, with a short Fellowship declaration and a 30-minute professional discussion. Both include the certification assessment.
How much does it cost?
£120 a year for a Member or a Fellow. Fellowship has a one-off £250 for the professional discussion and the review of the declaration.
How does the certification assessment work?
Online, about 40 minutes, taken from your dashboard when you are ready. It tests your processes against current UK recruitment law and the BIOR Code. Pass it and your directory entry shows Certified with the Certified Recruiter logo for five years; then you take it again, free.
How can a client or employer check that I am a member?
At ior.org/verify, by your membership number or your name. The page shows Active or Lapsed, the credential and the dates, and the certified mark where it applies.
Prefer a PDF? Download the Personal Membership brochure (two pages).
How it works. Join online, log in to your dashboard, complete your profile and take the certification assessment when you are ready. Once it is graded as a pass, your certificate and the Certified Recruiter logo are in your dashboard and your directory entry shows Certified.
Clients and employers. Check any BIOR member or certified recruiter in one minute at ior.org/verify.
Written by The BIOR Membership Team. Last reviewed 28 September 2026.