Institute of Administrative Management
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First Editions · approved and published · in effect from 1 January 2027

The IAM Professional Standards

The Institute’s professional framework, approved by the Board of Directors and published on 11 September 2026: six documents that describe the discipline, the ethics that govern it, the grades and CPD that recognise it, and the safeguards behind every decision. They take effect on 1 January 2027.

The framework

Six documents, one framework


The seven Competency Domains of the IAM Professional Standards around the four Career Stages Domain 1: Administrative Operations and Office ManagementAdministrativeOperations andOfficeManagementDomain 2: Communication and Stakeholder EngagementCommunicationand StakeholderEngagementDomain 3: Digital Proficiency, Technology and DataDigitalProficiency,Technology andDataDomain 4: People Development, Leadership and TeamworkPeopleDevelopment,Leadership andTeamworkDomain 5: Financial Acumen and Resource ManagementFinancialAcumen andResourceManagementDomain 6: Governance, Risk and Organisational ComplianceGovernance,Risk andOrganisationalComplianceDomain 7: Strategy, Innovation and Professional AdvocacyStrategy,Innovation andProfessionalAdvocacy Four Career Stages Practitioner Professional Strategic Professional Strategic Leader
The seven Competency Domains of the Professional Standards, around the four Career Stages. The Progression Matrix sets out what competence looks like at each intersection.

Together these six documents describe the discipline, the ethics that govern it, the grades and CPD that recognise it, and the safeguards behind every decision. Each is a First Edition, approved by the Board of Directors, and can be read online in full.

ReferenceDocumentWhat it doesRead
IAM-PS-2026-001Professional Standards for Administrative ManagementSeven Competency Domains, four Career Stages, nine Professional Values, and the Progression Matrix against which every grade is assessed.Read online
IAM-COE-2026-001Code of EthicsThe nine Principles binding every member, the responsible-use provisions, and the disciplinary consequences of breach.Read online
IAM-MEM-REG-2026-001Membership RegulationThe eleven categories, the three routes to every assessed grade, admission evidence and decision periods, Good Standing, renewal, and discipline.Read online
IAM-CPD-REG-2026-001CPD RegulationThe 30-hour requirement, the Structured, ethics, and sustainability minima, recording, audit, exemptions, and non-compliance.Read online
IAM-APP-2026-001Appeals and Complaints PolicyHow decisions are appealed, how complaints are handled, and the administrative review available to refused applicants.Read online
IAM-PIS-2026-001Public Interest StatementWhat the Institute owes to the public that relies on its credentials, and how it discharges that duty.Read online

Start here if you are short of time

The Lite Edition


A condensed edition of the Professional Standards for readers who want the architecture — the Domains, the Stages, the Values, and how the Progression Matrix works — without every descriptor. It is the fastest way to understand what is being proposed before you respond.

Read the Lite Edition

Read it against your own practice

The Grade Navigator


The Standards are easier to read once you have seen where you sit within them. The IAM Grade Navigator turns your qualifications and experience into a grade and route recommendation against the draft Progression Matrix. It runs entirely on your own device and sends nothing anywhere.

Open the Grade Navigator

One framework, in effect from 1 January 2027

Read the documents, find your grade, and apply.