CIAT and MCIAT: what an architectural technologist does and how the role differs
CIAT is the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, and MCIAT after a name means a chartered member of it. An architectural technologist designs the technical side of a building and draws it for planning and Building Regulations. The other familiar title for a house designer is protected by law, so we never use it for our work.
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What CIAT and MCIAT stand for
CIAT is the professional body for architectural technologists. A person who has passed its assessment becomes a chartered member and may put MCIAT after their name. That is the qualification behind the drawings DrawingsDirect produces for London and Essex homes.
People often search for MCIAT against RIBA. Both are professional memberships, held by people in different professions, so one is not a grade of the other. The practical question for a homeowner is not which letters are better but which kind of help the project needs.
What an architectural technologist does
The job is turning a design into a set of drawings that a council can assess and a builder can build from. For a house that means measured existing plans, proposed plans, elevations and sections, plus the location and block plans a council wants on a planning application. For building control it extends to construction details and a specification.
Our own work sits in two services: planning drawings and building regulations drawings. The guide to the difference between the two sets explains why a planning approval alone does not let a builder start.
Government planning guidance on making an application is plain on the drawings: they must be drawn to an identified scale, and plans must show the direction of north.
Why we never use the protected title
Section 20(1) of the Architects Act 1997 says that a person shall not practise or carry on business under any name, style or title containing the protected word unless registered. The Architects Registration Board keeps that register. The full text is on legislation.gov.uk.
Section 21 makes breaking that rule an offence, punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale. So we describe ourselves as chartered architectural technologists, and we suggest anyone comparing quotes checks that whoever they hire uses a title they are entitled to.
What a planning application needs drawn
Government planning guidance on making an application is plain on the drawings: they must be drawn to an identified scale, and plans must show the direction of north. The detail is in the planning practice guidance. A set that misses either can be returned by the council before anyone looks at the design.
Our starting fixed fee for an existing and proposed set of architectural drawings is £745, from the published price list. The council charges separately: from 1 April 2026 a householder application for the enlargement, improvement or alteration of a single dwellinghouse costs £548.
Which kind of help your project needs
If you want a full design service from a blank page, with interiors and administration of the building contract, ask any practice you approach whether it offers that, and check the Architects Registration Board's register for anyone using the protected title. If you know what you want built, or have a design and need it drawn to the standard councils and building control expect, an architectural technologist is the direct route.
Many householder projects are the second kind: a rear or side extension, a loft or a garage conversion. Our step-by-step planning guide shows where the drawings fit, and how long a decision takes shows what happens after you apply.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Architects Act 1997 | Architects Act 1997 s20(1): a person may not practise or carry on business under a name, style or title containing the word "architect" unless registered (source wording: "A person shall not practise or carry on business under any name, style or title containing the word") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| level 4 | Architects Act 1997 s21: contravening s20(1) is an offence with a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale on summary conviction (source wording: "a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| identified scale | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 023: plans and drawings must be drawn to an identified scale and plans must show the direction of north (source wording: "must be drawn to an identified scale") | www.gov.uk |
| £548 | Fees for planning applications in England from 1 April 2026 (MHCLG, SI 2012/2920 as annually indexed), category 6(1): householder application for the enlargement, improvement or alteration of a single dwellinghouse (source wording: £548) | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| £745 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for an existing and proposed set of architectural drawings, from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |