What is the meaning of 'chartered'?

The Word "chartered" has several meanings:

1. A charter (noun) is a contract to hire something, like a ship of aircraft, for a special purpose. Hence a chartered aircraft is one specially hired for a particular purpose.

2. An institute, organization or association that has been awarded a Royal Charter might bear the name, e.g., the Chartered Institute of Housing, etc. A Royal Charter legitimizes the organization, and is granted in recognition of its "pre-eminence, stability and permanence."

3. "Chartered" is also a title (adjective) used to refer to a qualified and experienced professional in a particular field. It often refers to someone who is a member of a professional body/institution that has been granted a Royal Charter by the sovereign. For example, "chartered accountant" describes a qualified member of one of the Chartered accountancy associations in British Commonwealth countries and Ireland. List of some professional associations granted Royal Charters, showing date of grant of Charter, name of professional body, abbreviation, and examples of the professions of their members: * 1881. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RCIS), surveyors. * 1902. Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), company secretaries. * 1965. British Psychological Society (BPS), psychologists * 1974. Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Accountants For example, an appropriately qualified surveyor who has been accepted as a full member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is legally entitled to call himself/herself a "chartered surveyor."

International use of the title 'Chartered'

Whilst the above list shows only a few UK professional associations, the title "chartered" for qualified professionals has international usage, e.g., a "chartered engineer" can be a professionally competent engineer who is:

# registered with the Engineering Council UK, an organization which has oversight of more than 30 different specialist engineering professions, or

# a member of the Institution of Chartered Engineers in Ireland, or

# a member of the Institution of Engineers (India). In Australia and in New Zealand, the designation "chartered professional engineer" is used for members of the respective professional associations in those countries. For more information, see Related links below this box.