Frequently Asked Questions

YMG stands for Young Members Group. Ciarb supports professional members aged 40 and under who want to build a career in dispute resolution. Ciarb members aged 40 and under automatically become part of the YMG.

You can develop your professional expertise in arbitration and gain Ciarb postnominals (ACIArb, MCIArb, FCIArb) by successfully completing the relevant Ciarb qualifications and training.

You can develop your professional expertise in mediation and gain Ciarb postnominals (ACIArb, MCIArb, FCIArb) by successfully completing the relevant Ciarb qualifications and training.

You can develop your professional expertise in adjudication and gain Ciarb postnominals (ACIArb, MCIArb, FCIArb) by successfully completing the relevant Ciarb qualifications and training.

The easiest way to contact your local Ciarb Branch is via our Branches page.

Ciarb’s international network of Branches is run by our volunteers, who generously donate their time and expertise. Learn more about what our volunteers do. If you’re interested in getting involved with your local Branch, visit our Branches page.

Ciarb does not provide funding. However, we occasionally offer discounts on certain courses. Any discounts that apply will be specified on the relevant course page.

Yes. Visit our work for us page for details of upcoming internship opportunities. If there are no opportunities available, you can join our talent pool. This will ensure you're considered for future roles that align with your skills, and you can receive tailored job alerts straight to your inbox.

To join, submit your updated CV to https://careers.ciarb.org/connect and include details of your areas of interest. 

You can become eligible for Associate membership by completing a Ciarb Introduction course and passing its corresponding assessment. Review our courses.

No, you do not need to take an Introduction course first. If you complete a Module 1 course and pass the assessment, you become eligible to apply for Member grade membership. 

If you meet one of the following criteria, you may not have to take the full Module 2 course and may be eligible for the multiple choice on-demand exemption test:

• You have completed a Ciarb Module 1 course and assessment successfully and have a law degree or practice certificate 
• You have completed a Module 1 equivalent with a Ciarb Recognised Course Provider which makes you eligible for Member grade, and you have a law degree 
• If either points one or two apply and you have completed a Module 2 equivalent with a Ciarb Recognised Course Provider 
• You are a Ciarb Member and have a law degree or relevant legal training 
• You are registered on a Ciarb Diploma course 

We accept qualifications only from a Ciarb Recognised Course Provider for specific accredited courses. 

Ciarb offers training in three alternative dispute resolution (ADR) disciplines: arbitration, mediation, and construction adjudication. These disciplines are the Ciarb pathways.

Our assessments go through two stages: marking, and a quality assurance check before results are released. This takes up to 12 weeks but ensures the highest level of quality assurance and fairness in the assessment process. You will be reminded of the timeline when given access to the assessment area, which is 1-2 weeks prior to the assessment start date depending on which type of assessment you are taking. 

You can access any courses you have registered for on LearnADR, our education and training (E&T) platform. To access LearnADR, login to MyCiarb. From the left-hand panel, select ‘My courses’ and then select ‘LearnADR’. This will take you to our E&T platform where you will find details of your courses.  If you’re unable to find your courses, contact us. 

Accelerated Route to Membership (ARM) is a fast-track assessment programme and Module 1 is a teaching module with a separate assessment.  

ARM is delivered virtually over a period of three days, with assessment workshops on days one and two and an open book examination on day three. Module 1 is delivered virtually through a combination of personal study and virtual sessions over a period of 10 weeks. You may choose to book the assessment on completion of the course. 

We strongly recommend attending the virtual sessions, as recordings are not guaranteed due to data protection and privacy concerns. If you have registered for a course that you have not been able to attend, you may be able to request a deferral to attend the next course.

No, you do not have to retake the course. Instead, you can register to resit the assessment. You can resit the assessment up to three times, after which you may need to register to complete the course again.

Many of our Branches deliver courses and training locally. Contact your local Branch for more information on how to access training locally.  

To create a MyCiarb account, navigate to Ciarb’s homepage and click on the ‘Login/Register’ button in the top right-hand corner of the page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘Sign-up’. Follow the instructions to create your account. 

To become a member, you must complete a relevant Ciarb course and assessment in order to be eligible to apply for membership – both the course and assessment must be completed and passed. There are three different entry routes to become a Ciarb member: the Ciarb assessment route, the Recognised Course Provider (RCP) route, or the experience route. Ciarb has different member grades: Student, Associate, Member, Fellow and Chartered.  

 
To start your online application, login to your MyCiarb account, then visit our membership page and choose the relevant membership grade. Click ‘Apply now’ and follow the instructions. You may need to provide to your application.  

You will be charged a one-off, non-refundable application processing fee of £75 or £130 and prorated membership subscription determined by your country of residence. If you require further support with your application, contact memberservices@ciarb.org.

New applications are subject to a one-off, non-refundable fee of £75 or £130 and prorated membership subscription determined by your country of residence.  
 

When you apply for membership, you must pay the first year’s subscription and a one-off, non-refundable application fee. Details of membership subscription fees for 2025 can be found here, and details of membership upgrade fees for 2025 can be found here. A one-off, non-refundable application fee of £45 also applies to Student members upgrading their membership. 

More information can be found here.  

Ciarb provides digital membership certificates only. If you would like to have a hard copy, we recommend printing the certificate on 180-gsm parchment paper for the best presentation. 

Note: the membership year runs from January to December. This means that all membership certificates are only valid until 31 December. 

Your profile may not be listed for one of the following reasons: 

• You do not have an active membership. If this is the case, check that your membership status is up to date by logging into your MyCiarb account 

• You are a Student member, and only professional members (Associate grade and upwards) are listed in the Member Directory 

• You have a MyCiarb account, but you have never applied for membership 

If none of the above apply, email us at memberservices@ciarb.org.

Ciarb membership operates on an annual subscription basis (January to December). You will receive a yearly reminder in December to renew your membership. At this time, a new membership certificate will be issued, reflecting the updated validity period of your membership. As the membership year runs from January to December, membership certificates are only valid until 31 December.

If you have not logged into your MyCiarb account since May 2024, when Ciarb's website was relaunched, you may need to verify your account and update your details. To do this, follow the instructions below. You must verify your account on the ‘Sign-up’ page at step 2: 

Step 1: Visit Ciarb’s homepage and click ‘Login/Register’ (top right-hand corner) 

Step 2: Scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘Sign-up now’ 

Step 3: Fill in your registered email address, then request a verification code 

Step 4: Retrieve the 6-digit verification code from your mailbox and input in the specified field, then click ‘Verify’ 

Step 5: Update your password using the specified password convention 

Step 6: Update your details 

Step 7: Click ‘Create’ 

If you’re unable to access your account after following these steps, email us at memberservices@ciarb.org. 

Your Student membership application will be on hold if we are awaiting the appropriate supporting documents. Please send one of the following documents as an email attachment (preferably in PDF) to complete your application: 

• Valid student ID 

• Letter of enrolment/admission form from your university or higher-education institution 

If you meet the requirements to upgrade your membership, login to your MyCiarb account, visit the Routes to Membership page and select the relevant grade to start your application. Once you have completed all the application steps, attach your qualifications/supporting documents to your application.  

You will then be prompted to pay an upgrade fee. This fee will be calculated based on your current active membership, so you will only be charged the difference between the two grades. Visit our methods of payment page for information on the easiest ways to pay for membership subscription renewals and membership upgrade fees.