Full Practising Member

Full Practising Membership is the RCHM's core membership category, and the one the majority of members hold. It is for practitioners who have completed accredited training in Chinese Herbal Medicine and are practising professionally in the UK, whether independently or alongside other therapies such as acupuncture.

Qualification

The main route to Full Practising Membership is graduation from a course accredited by the European Herbal and Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (EHTPA). Graduates who apply within 24 months of graduating from an EHTPA-accredited course are automatically eligible.

Applicants outside that window, those who trained on a non-EHTPA-accredited UK course taken at least seven years ago, or those who trained overseas to an equivalent standard, apply via the interview route instead. These applications are assessed case by case, with the applicant's training considered alongside any additional experience and study undertaken since.

Fee

The annual membership fee is £405 (2026 rate). Most members pay by quarterly direct debit, £101.25 per quarter, collected at the start of each quarter from 1 January. Annual payment is also accepted by bank transfer, cheque, or card via Stripe, due by 1 January. Payments received after 31 January incur a £10 administrative charge.

Entitlements

Full Practising Members have:

• A listing on the RCHM's public directory

• The right to use the letters MRCHM

• Use of the RCHM and EHTPA Herbmark logos

• Access to reduced-rate professional insurance through Balens, which can also cover acupuncture

• Membership of the RCHM Practitioner Share Group and forum

• For newly qualified members, access to the New Practitioners' Scheme (NPS), offering a mentor and reduced financial obligations for the first two years of practice. NPS status is not visible to the public, and members can opt out into standard Full Practising Membership at any time if they prefer

• Access to the Approved Supplier Scheme

• The RCHM Journal, twice yearly

• Twice-yearly research summaries on safety issues relevant to Chinese herbal medicine

• Access to the member-only safe practice video archive and free video library

• Access to the member-only document archive, covering dispensary best practice, herbal medicines law, and restricted substances

• Individual support on questions of safe practice, and support in the rare event of legal action

• Access to the annual conference, member events at the Bristol Chinese Herb Garden, and other events throughout the year

• Access to the RCHM's research community and annual research conference

• Regular office newsletters

• Connection to a global network of herbal medicine bodies and institutions

Requirements

Full Practising Membership carries a set of professional responsibilities, in place to protect the public and maintain trust in the profession:

• Professional insurance covering Chinese herbal medicine and any other therapies the member is registered with the RCHM as practising, with a duty to notify the office within 28 days of any lapse, claim, or refusal of insurance, and to provide insurance documents to the RCHM on request

• Compliance with the RCHM Code of Ethics and Practice, the Dispensary Codes of Practice, and, where relevant, the Code of Practice for Acupuncture

• Compliance with the RCHM's prohibition on the use of illegally traded animal or plant material in practice, in line with the RCHM's stance against the illegal trade in endangered species

• A duty to notify the office within 28 days of any relevant convictions, including spent convictions (the RCHM is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, as members work with children, older people, and vulnerable adults), the outcome of civil or disciplinary proceedings relating to their practice, or voluntary surrender, suspension, or resignation of a practising licence

• A duty to notify the office within 28 days of any health condition or disability affecting the member's ability to practise safely (this does not extend to conditions that do not affect safe practice, or that the member is able to manage by adapting, limiting, or pausing their practice)

• Completion of CPD each year, either independently or through RCHM CPD, as set out in the CPD Brief (members' area), with the record provided to the office on request

• Company membership (the RCHM has been a company limited by guarantee since April 2022), including liability of up to £1 towards the company's debts if it is wound up while a member, or within 12 months of leaving

Annual process

There is no annual form to complete. Each year, members are asked to review the Annual Membership Requirements and confirm they continue to meet them (see the full Annual Membership Requirements and declarations wording, linked here). Continued payment of membership is taken as confirmation of compliance, so members only need to contact the office if something has changed. The office carries out compliance checks on a proportion of members each year.

Members are also expected to comply with the RCHM Membership Rules (linked here) and the current Late Payments Policy (linked here, updated periodically and issued alongside the annual fee notice).