Become a Member by Exemption

Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping knowledge and skills (required for Associate Membership AICB) 

• Practical application of double-entry bookkeeping to trial balance
• Completing a bank reconciliation
• Correction of errors
• Applying different rates of VAT

Level 3 Certificate in Bookkeeping and Accounting knowledge and skills (required for full Membership MICB) 

• Preparing VAT returns
• Calculating and posting year-end accounting adjustments (accruals, payments and depreciation)
• Analysing and interpreting financial statements
• Working from trial balance to draft Trading, Profit & Loss accounts (or Income and Expenditure accounts for Not-for-Profits) and Balance Sheets for internal use for a range of different business types including Limited Companies

Level 3 Diploma in Payroll Management knowledge and skills (required for payroll-only membership, Payroll Agent, or additional designation PM.Dip for Associate or Member) 

• Calculating Gross Pay, NIC, PAYE and other deductions (e.g. Student Loans) for employees and Directors
• Making adjustments necessary for benefits-in-kind
• Performing payroll administration including P11, P45 and P60 forms
• Using commercial payroll software to deliver payroll accurately
• CIS

You'll need to upload your CV, or a covering letter, telling us about your work experience to date.

You'll also need to nominate one referee who is familiar with your work throughout the qualifiying period (two consecutive years within the last five) and this should correspond to the information provided on your CV/covering letter.

Your nominated referee must:

• must have worked with you in a professional capacity for at least two out of the last five years.
• cannot be a relative, or be in a personal relationship with you. 
• must be senior to you or had oversight of your work. 
• must be either a qualified or Chartered Accountant, or a Certified Bookkeeper in current valid membership of either AAT, ACCA, AIA, CIMA, CAI, IAB, ICAEW, ICAS, ICB (MICB or above) or IFA. If a member of a non-UK body the body must be a current member of  IFAC.

To apply using your qualifications, your qualification/s must appear in our table below, and your most recent exam must have been passed within the last five years.

Exemptions from other awarding bodies don’t satisfy our requirements, you need to have taken actual exams.

As part of your online application you will be asked to provide copies (not originals) of qualification transcripts, results sheets and, for AAT, your statement of achievement from your online account.

If you don’t have everything to hand you can upload documentation later, as long as you do so within one month of applying.

Qualifications awarded in countries outside the UK will be taken into consideration if they directly correspond to our syllabus. Please contact ICB before submitting your application.

> ICB Syllabus information

If your qualification is not listed, please take a look at our current qualifications and download the syllabuses for a comparison.

If your qualification directly corresponds to the ICB syllabuses, and you think we should consider your qualifications, please get in touch with us on 0203 405 4000.

> ICB Syllabus information

If you are midway through your bookkeeping exams with another body and wish to transfer to ICB, we may be able to fast track you. Please call us on 0203 405 4000 so we can find the best solution for you.

There is a one-off, non-refundable, application fee of £259 payable upon application.

A 25% discount on the exemption application fee is available to:

• Applicants who previously held a grade of membership with ICB
• Current staff of an ICB Practice Licence holder (applicant must be listed on the practice staff list)

The application fee does not form part of your ongoing membership subscription or practice licence fees which will be payable upon acceptance into membership as applicable.

> ICB fees information

The application fee covers your application only and is strictly non-refundable.

Applying for membership by exemption can take between one and three months.

If you wish to engage in public practice as a bookkeeper, payroll agent or accountant, you are legally required to have AML Supervision.

You can get AML Supervision from ICB. Please let us know immediately if you are running a bookkeeping business and need AML supervision or are already covered.

If you have been trading without AML Supervision at the point of application, you will be subject to a Late Registration Penalty.

If you wish to engage in public practice as an ICB member, you must hold an ICB Practice Licence. This applies even if you hold a licence from another body.

As an ICB member we will automatically be your Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Supervisor if you take out a Practice Licence. You can opt out of AML Supervision by ICB if you are supervised by another approved professional body supervisor.

If you are ready to apply for a Practice Licence please let us know once you have submitted your online Membership Application.

Your application will be passed to the Admissions Panel for a decision once all necessary evidence has been gathered, including your documents, Membership Entrance Exam (MEE) results and responses to reference requests if applicable.

You may be granted exemptions from the following ICB qualifications:

Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping
Level 3 Certificate in Bookkeeping and Accounts
Level 3 Diploma in Payroll Management

We do not grant exemptions from ICB Level 4 qualifications and you must complete the exams if you wish to offer Level 4 services once in membership.

A small number of applicants are unsuccessful and are not granted exemptions. We reserve the right to reject an application at our discretion, but please consider the following:

• If you do not meet our current criteria for recent relevant qualifications or work experience, we will not be able to grant exemptions.
• We do not grant exemptions from any ICB exam that you have previously attempted and failed, even if you have subsequently achieved an equivalent qualification from another awarding body.
• We do not grant exemptions based solely on exemptions you may have been granted elsewhere.
• We do not accept references unless they are from a member of good standing of ICB or an IFAC professional body who meets our other criteria.
• Upon application you will be subject to an open-source background check and any adverse media, or disciplinary finding by another professional accountancy body, will be taken into account. 
• Your conduct during your application will be taken into consideration. You can expect our team to be courteous and professional and we will not tolerate threatening behaviour. 

The Fast Track route has been created to bridge the knowledge gap between ICB Level 2 & 3 and AAT Level 2 & 3 qualifications. Specifically, this covers the areas of Not-for-Profits (e.g. charities and clubs) and Limited Companies that are not covered in the AAT syllabus.

You must have sat and passed all the exams for AAT Level 2 and AAT Level 3 Bookkeeping/Accounting qualifications, with AAT Level 3 passed within five years of application.

Applications to take the exam can be made directly with ICB or you can apply through one of two online training providers, Ideal Schools or Training Link, who will be able to assist you with your application.

You will be required to pass the Level 3 Bridging Exam within three months of applying. You’ll have two mocks for practice and three attempts to pass the exam. The pass mark is 85%.