When you upgrade your CIEP membership, you widen your reach as an editor. You’ll be able to display your upgraded logo on your marketing materials and job applications, signalling to clients and potential employers that you’ve met our requirements for that grade. At our professional levels you can advertise your editorial services in our respected online directory.
Upgrading helps you realise your full potential as an editorial professional. Are you ready to upgrade?
What do the CIEP’s membership grades mean?
Our membership grades are a set of progressive standards of excellence that are set, assessed and recognised by the CIEP. Reaching each grade demonstrates that you have met the CIEP’s professional criteria for that level.
Our Professional and Advanced Professional Members can join the CIEP’s Directory of Editorial Services, a trusted source of experienced editors and proofreaders.
The membership grade pathway
Each new member joins us at Entry Level. We then encourage them to progress to our professional grades. The Intermediate grade is a valuable stepping-stone.
Here’s a summary of what each of the grades tells you about our members.
Intermediate Member
- has laid the groundwork for providing services as a proofreader or copyeditor by undertaking high-quality training
- through work experience, has put that training into practice to embed their skills.
Professional Member
- has had high-quality training in proofreading and/or copyediting beyond the introductory level
- has had editorial work experience that’s substantial in quality and over time
- has evidenced their competence with a satisfactory reference from a client or employer.
Advanced Professional Member
- has demonstrated a high level of skill and expertise, backed by long and broad editorial work experience and often enhanced with editorial specialisms
- has supplemented substantial high-quality training with ongoing and recent professional development
- has evidenced their competence with satisfactory references from clients or employers.
How to upgrade your membership
You can begin preparing your upgrade application immediately after joining us. Some members skip a level: for example, upgrading directly from Entry-Level to Professional membership if they meet the requirements.
You’ll submit an application for assessment by the CIEP’s Admissions Panel. Your application will include details of your training and work experience in proofreading and/or copyediting.
Our upgrading guide, available only to members, tells you everything you need to know about how to apply.
How much does upgrading cost?
The current upgrading fees are shown in the table below. We’ll ask you to pay the fee when you submit your finished upgrade application.
| Upgrade stage | Member fees 2024/25 (until 28 February 2025) |
|---|---|
| Upgrade to Intermediate Member | £40 |
| Upgrade to Professional Member | £75 |
| Upgrade to Advanced Professional Member | £75 |
| Reapplication in same year | £50 |
| Upgrade appeal (refunded if appeal successful) | £50 |