Pathways to registration FAQs

Registration means that a practitioner has completed the qualifications and assessments of their knowledge in practice needed to gain entry onto one of our three new registers, as well as complying with the ongoing requirements for the maintenance of their registration.

Registration with CIEH demonstrates to employers and the general public that a practitioner is qualified and committed to ongoing competence and professionalism.

Our registers will be live and online so that registrants’ credentials can be verified by anyone at any time.

Registrants will be issued with their own digital credentials.

• A register of Chartered Environmental Health Practitioners
• A register of Environmental Health Practitioners
• A register of Food Safety Practitioners
• A register of Housing Health Practitioners

In addition to these, we also acquired the registers of the Environmental Health Registration Board (EHRB) when it closed in 2021.

A Registered Environmental Health Practitioner (EHP) has completed an accredited BSc or MSc in environmental health as well as the necessary assessments of their skills in practice such as the EHP Portfolio and Professional Discussion.

A Registered EHP will therefore have demonstrated the knowledge and the application of that knowledge in all five areas of environmental health.

EHPs Registered with CIEH can use the letters REnvH after their name.

There have been a number of different pathways to Chartered Status over the years but all of them have included an accredited degree in environmental health and an in-depth assessment of that knowledge in practice. A Chartered EHP will have been working in environmental health for at least two years post-graduation.

Chartered EHPs can use the letters CEnvH after their name.

The last decade has seen a dramatic decline in the number of people completing the EHRB route to registration.

In addition to this, there was no process for removing EHRB registration after it had been awarded and no requirement for registrants to demonstrate ongoing competence or professional ethics.

We launched the Chartered Practitioner Programme in 2018 as a flexible, inclusive route to registration with CIEH as a Chartered EHP. While this was well received by many candidates and employers, a significant number of our stakeholders did not feel that the programme met their needs for holistic ‘day-one qualified’ EHPs.

In response to this, our new EHP pathway has been produced in collaboration with employers, academics, CIEH assessors and our advisory groups.

Initial registration will also require:

• Membership of CIEH at the appropriate grade
• A commitment to abiding by our Code of Ethics and fitness to practise rules
• A commitment to completing an appropriate amount of Continuing Professional Development

In addition to this, people seeking registration who qualified some years ago will be required to:

1. Submit their CPD records for the previous 3 years
2. Pay a one-off registration fee

Registrants must:

• Maintain their CIEH membership at the appropriate grade
• Comply with their Continuing Professional Development obligations
• Adhere to the requirements of our Code of Ethics and fitness to practise rules

A Registration would lapse when:

• The registrant allowed their membership to lapse
• The registrant requested de-registration
• The registrant did not fulfil their CPD obligations and was not able to resolve this in a satisfactory manner with a CPD compliance panel
• The registrant was found to be in breach of the Code of Ethics and fitness to practise rules by a fitness to practise panel which determined that registration or membership be terminated

Usually yes, although this will depend on the reason for removal.

For example, if it has lapsed simply because of a lapse in membership then rejoining and providing some CPD records would usually be sufficient.

Your details will be removed from the registers and your digital credentials will expire. You should cease referring to yourself as a Registered Environmental Health Practitioner (etc). You should inform your employer, especially if registration is one of the requirements for your role.

However, there is no legal requirement for practitioners to be registered, so in many cases you will be able to continue to work.

You can search by name and registration or membership number on our online register.

Registrants will be issued with their own digital credential and a unique registration number. They will also appear on our online register that is publicly accessible. We will always be happy to confirm whether or an individual is registered and for what.

Yes, our registers are linked to our database so any changes should take effect within one hour.

Our qualification process is overseen by the Learning and Qualifications Advisory Group (LQAG) – a committee of the Board of Trustees. Qualification and initial entry to the registers will be overseen by LQAG.

Membership, ongoing registration, CPD and potential misconduct issues are overseen by our Membership and the Professional Advisory Group (MPAG). Maintenance of Registration, striking off and re-registration will be overseen by MPAG. The process for investigating potential misconduct is set out in our Code of Ethics and fitness to practise rules.

The registers are online can be viewed by anyone with access to the internet. We can also confirm registration by email or telephone, etc.

Your name, membership number, registration number and the types of registration you hold will be viewable.

For Food Safety Practitioners, the type of qualification held (i.e. Higher Certificate in Food Control or Advanced Professional Certificate in Food Hygiene and Standards Control) will be viewable.

For people who have registered via the Chartered Practitioner Programme, the specific sub-disciplines in which competence has been demonstrated will be viewable.

Please contact [email protected]. We rely on members and the general public to inform us of potential breaches of the Code.

No, your registration with EHRB is ongoing. The EHRB registers are now hosted permanently on the CIEH website.

You would need to:

1. Be in membership at the Member or Fellow grade
2. Send us sufficient CPD records from the previous 3 years (NB: this has been waived until the end of 2023)
3. Pay your registration fee (NB: this has been waived until the end of 2023)

There is more information about this and an application form on our EHRB page.

You would then also be Registered with CIEH and would appear on our Register. You would therefore be issued with your use digital credentials to use on online professional profiles, websites, CVs etc.

You would also be entitled to use the designatory letters REnvH.

The Public Health Diploma (aka Environmental Health Diploma) was the environmental health qualification before the EHRB Certificate of Registration. For the purposes of Registration, we class EHPs with the Diploma as equivalent to those with the EHRB Certificate of Registration. All of the content in this section applies to EHPs with the Diploma too.

You do not need to do anything. All current Chartered EHPs (except those paying the retired rate of membership) will automatically be added to our Registered of Chartered EHPs.

There is no expectation that people who have become Registered Chartered EHPs (by any method) would be required to undertake the EHP pathway.

We would be happy to discuss this with you. Please contact us at [email protected] (we strongly recommend that people who have completed a year or more of the programme aim to complete it).

Registration is aimed at practitioners, i.e. those actively practising environmental health. For this reason, registration is tied to ongoing CPD activity and it is not generally expected that retired members will be registered.

You are very welcome to remain a member of CIEH and your membership will not be affected by any of this.

You can choose whether or not to become Registered. On the one hand, Registration may be a good way to advertise your credentials to potential clients. On the other, it will require ongoing CPD activity.

You should continue to with your degree and discuss which registration pathway you wish to pursue with any potential (or actual!) employers.

Most people may enrol on a pathway to registration when they have completed the taught elements of their degree (for example when they are commencing on their dissertation).

People on the BSc EHP Apprenticeship may enrol during the final year of their degree.

People who have a 'year out' work placement as part of their degree may enrol at the beginning of that.

We usually recommend that your portfolio consists of new work. However, relevant material which has been completed no less than three years prior to enrolment can be included in the EHP Portfolio. Exceptional work completed prior to this could potentially be included, subject to the agreement of CIEH.

CIEH offers an equivalency assessment for internationally qualified EHPs where we evaluate their knowledge and experience against our pathway. The candidate should contact us at [email protected] for more information about the application process.

Yes, we continue to recognise REHIS qualifications and you would be welcome to become Registered with CIEH. However, your REHIS qualification and membership are already valid for work in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.