Statutory regulators
A regulator may require registered professionals to maintain competence, keep a current activity record, reflect on learning or provide evidence when selected for audit.
CPD requirements by industry, profession and role.
There is no single CPD rule for every career. This guide explains who sets professional development requirements, how hours and evidence differ, and what learners and course providers should check.
Start with the rule that applies to the learner.
Continuing Professional Development is used across regulated professions, chartered memberships, technical work and everyday workplace training. The purpose is broadly similar: to keep knowledge current, develop capability and support safe, effective practice. The way that purpose is measured changes from one role to another.
One professional may need a fixed number of CPD hours. Another may need a balanced portfolio of activities, an annual competence declaration or a reflective account. An employer can also add mandatory training or refresher requirements beyond those set by a professional body.
Before choosing training, identify your professional body, membership or registration category and reporting period. Check whether it requires specific subjects, participatory learning or verifiable evidence. Our explanation of CPD hours, points and credits helps you interpret the terms; the body setting your requirement decides what counts.
Four places a CPD requirement can come from.
The same learner may need to consider more than one source, particularly in a regulated or safety-sensitive role.
Professional and membership bodies
A membership or chartered body may set annual hours, points, activity categories, ethics learning, reflective practice or evidence requirements as a condition of membership.
Employers and commissioners
An employer, public body, client or insurer may require role-specific training, refresher learning or competence checks in addition to any professional scheme.
The professional learner
Where no formal target applies, people can still use a development plan to address changes in their role, knowledge gaps, career goals and responsibilities.
Some schemes count hours. Others assess continuing competence.
Hour-based schemes may specify an annual or multi-year total and sometimes divide it into verifiable, structured or subject-specific learning. In these schemes, course duration and completion evidence need to be stated accurately.
Outcome-based schemes begin with professional need. The learner identifies a gap, completes relevant development, reflects on the result and records how it supports practice. Time can still be useful evidence, but the number alone does not prove competence or impact.
Current UK approaches show this difference. The HCPC asks registrants to keep a continuous, current and accurate CPD record. The SRA focuses on reflection, identified learning needs and maintaining competence rather than a universal course-hour target.
Understand CPD hours and recordsProfessional sectors we cover.
We can review CPD learning across these sectors when the course evidence and relevant subject expertise support the application.
Business & management
Leadership, operations and workplace management courses with current CPD approval.
Compliance & risk
Compliance, governance and risk courses with clear learning and completion records.
Construction
Construction and technical courses for site, trade and supervisory development.
Creative & office skills
Creative practice, administration and practical workplace skills courses.
Digital learning
Online learning and digital skills courses delivered through structured programmes.
Education
Teaching, training and learner-support courses built around defined outcomes.
Finance
Finance, accounting and commercial practice courses for professional development.
Food safety & hospitality
Food safety, hospitality and service courses for operational workplace standards.
Healthcare
Healthcare and wellbeing courses where accurate learning and records matter.
Social care
Care and support courses for continuing professional development in practice.
CPD hours and evidence by profession
The examples below distinguish named professional schemes from general workplace guidance. Official sources checked on 21 October 2026; follow the linked body for current rules and exceptions.
Healthcare and social care CPD
For NMC revalidation, nurses, midwives and nursing associates need 35 hours of relevant CPD over three years, including at least 20 hours of participatory learning. This is one part of revalidation, not the whole requirement. Other health and care roles follow different rules: do not apply the NMC total to every healthcare worker.
NMC CPD requirementsLegal, finance and compliance CPD
The SRA continuing-competence approach has no minimum annual hours requirement: solicitors need to reflect on their practice and address learning needs. Accountancy schemes can be different. ACCA members following the unit route normally complete 40 units each year, including 21 verifiable units. Check the route and any individual exceptions that apply to you.
ACCA CPD routes and requirementsEducation, training and leadership CPD
Start with the requirements for your role, employer and jurisdiction. A teacher, workplace trainer and assessor may have different development needs. For example, learning about assessment feedback could be followed by a revised marking approach and a reflection on learner responses. Record the purpose and outcome rather than treating attendance as the only evidence.
Our assessor approval requirementsConstruction, engineering and safety CPD
Engineering Council registrants must record their CPD and reflect on learning. Its CPD Code does not set a minimum annual number of hours, although an individual professional institution may provide additional requirements. Keep technical development relevant to your scope of work. Site training and other safety obligations need to be checked separately.
Engineering Council CPD guidanceTechnology, data and cyber CPD
Check your professional membership, certification scheme and employer requirements separately. A vendor certification may have its own renewal rules. Record the system or framework studied, its version and what you practised. A completed lab or a reflection on a new security procedure can help explain the learning without exposing confidential systems or client data.
Keeping a CPD recordHospitality, service and operational CPD
Identify the task and the applicable workplace requirement first. Customer service, food safety and supervisory learning serve different purposes. A course certificate can document completion, while supervised practice or a manager’s feedback may help show how learning was applied. Check any mandatory training requirements separately from a general CPD claim.
What a CPD certificate recordsKeep evidence you can use at renewal or audit
Keep the activity title, subject, date, provider, delivery method and active learning time. Add the certificate, attendance record, assessment result or other completion evidence supplied by the provider.
Where the scheme expects reflection, record why the activity was chosen, what was learned, how it applies to the role and whether further development is needed. This creates a stronger record than a folder of certificates with no professional context.
Records should be completed while the learning is fresh and retained for the period required by the relevant scheme. If more than one body sets requirements, organise the evidence so it is clear which activity supports each obligation.
For example, after a workshop on giving feedback, keep the completion evidence and note one change you tried in practice. Record what happened and what you still need to improve. An anonymised reflection may be more useful than uploading workplace documents containing personal or confidential information.
See CPD certificate guidance
Providers should design industry CPD around evidence.
A credible course should make its audience, learning value, duration and completion record easy to understand without overstating what accreditation means.
Name the audience and learning level
State which roles the course supports, whether it is introductory or advanced and any knowledge learners need before they begin.
See course evidenceSupport every time and content claim
Calculate active learning time realistically and keep dated sources, author credentials and a review record for technical or regulated subjects.
See how evidence is reviewedIssue a clear completion record
Use consistent course titles, dates, hours, provider details and approval references so a learner can identify and explain the activity later.
See certificate guidance
Check course approval and professional acceptance separately
Course accreditation reviews a named learning activity, including its purpose, content, active learning time and completion evidence. Provider approval reviews the organisation and its training controls. Neither route becomes approval from a separate regulator or professional body.
An accredited course may contribute to a learner's professional development when it is relevant and their scheme accepts the activity. It does not automatically create a regulated qualification, professional registration, licence to practise or guaranteed number of accepted points.
Use the accredited course directory to check the published course record, then confirm acceptance under your own scheme. If your goal is a formal qualification or entry to a regulated role, read our CPD and regulated qualifications guide before choosing a programme.
Explore course accreditationQuestions about CPD requirements by industry.
Practical answers about professional CPD hours, accepted activities, evidence and accredited training.
Are CPD requirements the same in every industry?
No. Requirements vary by profession, regulator, professional body, employer and role. Some schemes set hours or points, while others focus on competence, reflection, learning outcomes or a mixture of evidence.
How many CPD hours do I need each year?
There is no universal annual CPD total. Check the current rules of your regulator, professional body and employer because the target, reporting period and accepted activities can differ even within the same industry.
What counts as CPD in a regulated profession?
Relevant courses, seminars, work-based learning, research, mentoring, professional discussion and reflection may count. The activity and evidence must meet the rules of the particular regulator or professional scheme.
Can one course count towards more than one CPD requirement?
It may, when the learning is relevant and each scheme accepts the activity and evidence. The learner should record the course against each requirement separately and avoid counting it twice where a scheme prevents this.
Do online courses and webinars count as CPD?
They can. The activity should have a clear learning purpose, suitable content, realistic active learning time and reliable completion evidence. The learner must still check whether their own scheme accepts that format.
Does an accredited CPD course automatically meet my professional requirements?
No. Accreditation supports the quality and clarity of a named learning activity, but the learner’s regulator, professional body or employer decides whether it meets their particular CPD requirement.
What should I keep as CPD evidence?
Keep the activity title, date, provider, learning time, certificate or other completion evidence, and a short reflection explaining relevance, learning and any effect on your practice.
How often should a provider update an industry CPD course?
Review it on a planned cycle and whenever law, regulation, standards, technology or accepted practice changes. The right frequency depends on how quickly the subject changes and the risk of learners relying on outdated material.
