Table of Contents
What are the conditions for entering the profession?
You must:
- be a holder of a title that gives access to the profession of certified surveyor;
- haven taken the oath.
Are you a citizen of another European Union Member State, the European Economic Area or Switzerland? You can also provide a certificate of skills or a qualification that you have obtained in that country.
What are the conditions for practising the profession?
As a self-employed certified surveyor or employee who is not under the control of a self-employed certified surveyor, you must:
- be registered with the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors;
- comply with a specific code of ethics aimed at ensuring the competence, dignity and probity of the professional;
- be insured for professional liability;
- communicate to the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors proof of training and insurance coverage every year.
Ongoing training
In order to ensure their professional competence, the certified surveyor must keep abreast of the evolution of legislation, as well as the techniques and rules which are used in the pursuit of their profession. You must therefore participate in continuing education courses of at least twenty (20) hours per year, recognised by the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors. For some training courses, only part of the number of hours of the course attended is taken into account. You can find the conditions in the regulations of the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors (PDF, 173.62 KB).
Training Programme
For more information on the training sessions, you need to contact the organiser. You can find in the last column of the table of training courses the number of hours that are actually taken into account by the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors.
- Table of recognised organisers (PDF, 251.75 KB)
- Table of training courses (PDF, 820.73 KB)
- Model certificate of continuing education for certified surveyors (PDF, 13.33 KB)
Insurance requirement
As a certified surveyor, you must be insured for civil liability (with the exception of the ten-year civil liability referred to in articles 1792 and 2270 of the Civil Code). In effect, your clients can rely on the intellectual services that a certified surveyor or their employees have accomplished in a professional capacity.
What are the conditions for practising the profession as a legal entity?
To practice the profession as a legal entity, the articles of association of the legal entity must meet the following conditions:
- over 50 % of the managers, administrators, management board members and, more generally, independent agents working on behalf of the legal entity must be:
- natural persons authorised to practise the profession of certified surveyor; or
- legal entities whose permanent representative under the meaning of Article 2:55 of the Companies and Associations Code is a partner, manager or administrator of this legal entity and is themselves authorised to practise the profession of certified surveyor;
- over 50 % of the voting rights are held, directly or indirectly, by people authorised to practise the profession of certified surveyor;
- the legal entity may only hold shares in other companies or legal entities whose purpose and activities are not incompatible with the practice of the profession of certified surveyor;
- in accordance with the Companies and Associations Code, its purpose states the professional activities that belong to the practice of the profession of certified surveyor, and where applicable, the other activities carried out, which cannot be incompatible with the practice of the profession of certified surveyor.
Any legal entity that meets those conditions is listed in the table of certified surveyors.
Inclusion of the legal entity in the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors' table is not mandatory. The articles of association must be submitted to the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors in advance for approval.
What is the registration procedure?
You need to register with the registrar of the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors.
To submit your application, you can use the form "Application for registration as a certified surveyor".
Complete the form and provide the following two documents:
- a copy of one of the degrees provided for in Article 2, 1° of the Law of 11 May 2003 protecting the title and profession of certified surveyors.
- a copy of the report from the oath-taking as provided for in Article 2, 2° of the same law.
Send those two documents and the completed and signed form:
- by email to geoexp@economie.fgov.be
or
- by post to the following address:
Registry of the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors
City Atrium, 4th floor
Rue du Progrès 50
1210 Brussels
For more information, please telephone: +32 (0)2 277 84 25 or contact an accredited business counter.
The Federal Council must notify its decision on registration within sixty days of receipt of a complete application dossier by registered letter.
Registration costs
The application to the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors is free of charge.
As a certified surveyor on the table of the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors, you have to pay an annual fee of 25 euros.
Recourse if your registration is refused
If the Federal Council refuses to register you, you can lodge an appeal by registered letter with the registrar of the Federal Council of Appeal for Certified Surveyors.
The appeal has a suspensory effect. You must submit your appeal within thirty days of notification of the Federal Council decision (date as per postmark).
What are the sanctions in the event of non-compliance with ethics and the law?
At the ethical level
As a certified surveyor registered with the Federal Council of Certified Surveyors, you must observe the ethical rules.
If it is proven that you have failed in your ethical duties, you are liable to one of the following disciplinary penalties:
- a warning;
- official reprimand;
- suspension for a maximum term of two years;
- being struck off.
At the criminal level
Illegally practising the profession is a criminal offence and is punished with a fine.