How to get an MBE?

Anyone can be nominated to receive an MBE so long as they meet the necessary King’s Honour criteria.

An MBE award can be given for all types of achievements, but it is often given in recognition of community achievements or for a local “hands-on” service that has set an example to others.

A BEM (British Empire Medal) can also be awarded for sustained local achievements and high-impact work of a shorter duration.

When you recommend someone for an award, it is not necessary to specify the name of the honour in your nomination, as this will be decided by the committee judging the nomination.

Examples of individuals with an MBE include:

• Dr Andrea Joanne Cullen and Lorna Lee Armitage, co-founders of cyber security training company Capslock, were each appointed MBE for services to Cyber Security in the 2026 New Year Honours.
• Margaret Peacock received an MBE for services to the community in Coleraine, County Londonderry, in the 2026 New Year Honours. Alongside a team of volunteers, she has spent 40 years providing Christmas Day lunches for people who would otherwise be isolated.

You can’t nominate yourself for an MBE, you can only be nominated for an MBE by someone else; for example a friend, family member or colleague who would like to see your achievements formally recognised with a King’s honour.

If someone would like to make a nomination for you, they can either do this themselves or they can enlist the help of Awards Intelligence to gather all the evidence, details and material for the nomination and give it the very best chance of success. We have probably drafted more successful nominations than anyone else in the world.

Competition for an MBE is strong. On average, only around 10% of nominations are successful, as every nomination is assessed purely on the evidence it presents. How clearly it shows the nominee’s impact, and how their contribution stands out from their peers, makes a real difference. Our success rate is 68%.

As soon as possible! Honours nominations for MBEs are considered all year long. However, the honours process involves a consideration period of around 12 – 18 months from receipt of your nomination, and the nominee must still be involved in the service for which they are being nominated, so it is important to get the nomination in the queue as soon as possible.

Too many people wait to put forward their nomination and are disappointed when an unexpected change or delay prevents their nominee from getting the honour they deserve.

Any further achievements the nominee has during the consideration process can always be added to the existing nomination later on, so don’t delay your nomination because you are waiting for a project to finish or until the nominee retires or they may never get the award they deserve!

There are different honours committees available to judge nominations for specific types of work and achievement, (for example health, education or the economy) and the main Honours Committee who review all types of honours nominations.

The committees are made up of independent experts as well as senior civil servants, and it is these individuals who decide whether a person should receive an MBE, OBE, CBE, knighthood or damehood.

Absolutely not. Awards Intelligence offers a highly professional service that is transparent, objective and fair. 

Awards Intelligence has never embarked upon a lobbying campaign and has no connection with any government department or committee.

The Awards Intelligence team work entirely independently from the government and any other group. It is always important to remember that honours are open to all, they cannot be bought.

We do not decide who should and shouldn’t be awarded an honour, however we will ensure that the nominee meets all the relevant criteria before offering to help with the nomination.

An MBE nomination should accurately and persuasively inform the honours committees about the nominee’s roles, contributions and achievements.

An Awards Intelligence nomination does exactly this, maintaining an evidence-based, factual yet compelling approach at all times.

Many nominees have reported that getting an MBE in recognition of their work has made a real difference to the work they are doing and to their lives:                         

• Receiving an MBE can provide much needed positive publicity to the nominee’s chosen charity, community effort or profession, allowing them to build on their achievements and contribute even more to society
• A raised personal profile and enhanced reputation is also enjoyed by many individuals with an MBE award.
• MBE recipients may enjoy a greater degree of trust, respect and acceptance of their ideas, work and projects.
• Attracting new business or personal opportunities may be another benefit of receiving an MBE.

Making an MBE nomination is free. Anyone can complete the official nomination form and submit it to the Honours and Appointments Secretariat themselves, and honours can never be bought.

If you would prefer expert support, Awards Intelligence can manage the whole nomination for you. On average, only around 10% of honours nominations are successful, while our success rate is 68%. Our Royal Honours drafting fees start at £4,900 + VAT. Every package includes a dedicated consultant, a professionally written nomination and letters of support. You can see the full breakdown on our Personal Recognition Fees page.

To be nominated for an MBE the nominee must have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their work or community and benefitted others through their achievements, wherever these are.

Non-UK citizens can be considered for an honour for their work within the UK.

UK citizens can be considered for achievements that either benefit UK citizens at home or abroad, or if they bring distinction to the UK through their work.

Nominees living abroad can be nominated through the Foreign Secretary’s Overseas List. The List is made up of awards given to UK citizens and citizens of a Commonwealth country of which HM The King is Head of State.

A nomination can be made for professional achievements, business triumphs, personal expertise, charitable or volunteer commitments – in short, anything that demonstrates a positive impact and influence on peers, the community or society as a whole.

Around 800 people in total receive an MBE every year!

MBE awards are given out twice a year – in the King’s Birthday Honours List in June and in the New Year’s Honours List on the 1st January.

MBE recipients are then invited to attend an investiture ceremony at either Buckingham Palace or one of the Royal households, where they will receive their MBE medal from The King or his representative from The Royal Family.

No. Every single nomination is considered by the appropriate honours committee and will only be judged on the merit of the candidate’s achievements – not on who the nominator is, or on who drafted the nomination. 

The Cabinet Office are aware when a nomination has been professionally drafted and ensure that all nominations are considered equally. 

Awards Intelligence will make sure your nominee has the best chance of being awarded the recognition they deserve by putting their case forward in the most compelling, appropriate and relevant manner.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini can be useful for organising your thoughts or summarising information. What they can’t do is produce a nomination capable of standing out to the honours committee. A successful MBE nomination is built on detailed research into the nominee’s achievements, supporting letters that we gather by contacting and liaising with each supporter directly, and the judgement to present it all in the most compelling way. These are things AI simply can’t do.

We will never knowingly divulge whose nominations have been professionally produced. All of our services are treated with a high level of discretion and we will treat your nomination with the same level of confidentiality.

We constantly receive feedback from our happy clients, for example:

“Just wanted to say a big thank you to you and your team for delivering a fantastic nomination for… He was delighted to receive an MBE and when I showed him a copy of the nomination he was bowled over. It was the best birthday present I could ever have arranged for my father.”

You can see more examples of our happy clients’ testimonials here.

When you make a nomination it is not necessary to stipulate which level of honour you think the nominee deserves. However it can be helpful to understand the level of award they may be eligible to be considered for: 

In short, levels tend to be considered according to the spread of the nominee’s work and achievements, for example; the BEM and MBE are mainly awarded for local, hands-on achievement; the OBE and CBE tend to be awarded for work and achievements that have had a wider impact on society, for example, influencing a profession, industry, region or nation; and a knighthood or damehood is the highest level of award given for the widest impact, for example an inspirational impact on a profession, industry, country, or charitable cause. 

A criminal record will not prevent a person from being considered for an MBE or any other level of honour, so long as there is no outstanding issue.

Showing how the nominee has turned their life around and used their experience in a positive way can make for a great nomination and there are many examples of people who have done just this and gone on to receive an honour for their achievements. 

To start your MBE nomination we simply need to make sure the nominee meets all the requirements of the King’s honours criteria. Simply call Awards Intelligence on 01444 230130 or email enquiries@awardsintelligence.co.uk for your free honours assessment.