Course accreditation evidence
The complete learning activity, including its purpose, materials, sources, delivery, active learning time, completion checks and certificate wording.
View course accreditationEvidence requirements for CPD approval.
Prepare the documents and learning materials for your course, provider or assessor application. This page explains what to submit and how to organise it for review.
Evidence turns an approval claim into a record that can be checked.
An application form identifies what someone wants approved. The supporting evidence shows whether the course, organisation or professional background can support that request.
The evidence should be relevant, readable and connected to the route under review. Large policy packs and polished presentations are not automatically stronger than clear working documents. The reviewer needs to understand what happens in practice and verify the important claims.
Course, provider and assessor applications need different information because each approval means something different. Confirming the correct route first avoids unnecessary documents and keeps the final approval scope accurate.
Prepare evidence for the approval route you need.
Each route answers a separate question and produces its own approval record.
Provider approval evidence
The organisation behind the training, including its identity, responsible people, development process, learner support, records and certificate controls.
View provider approvalAssessor approval evidence
The applicant’s identity, education, qualifications and professional experience needed to confirm a credible subject-specific assessor scope.
View assessor approval
Course evidence must show the learning itself.
A course page or syllabus can summarise the offer, but it cannot show whether the full learning experience supports the CPD claim. Submit the material a learner receives, together with the evidence behind its content, timing and completion record.
The depth should be proportionate to the subject and delivery method. Technical, regulated and safety-sensitive material normally needs stronger source control and more specific expertise than a general introductory topic.
Understand course accreditationCourse Accreditation Submission Pack
For each course, normally provide the following evidence. Items should be proportionate to the subject and delivery method; explain clearly where an item does not apply.
Course specification
Provide the title, purpose, target audience, expected starting point or entry requirements where relevant, delivery method, stated learning duration, learning outcomes and assessment method. Calculate active learning time realistically, excluding breaks and unrelated activity.
Complete learning materials
Include the manuals, presentations, workbooks, handouts, exercises, reading and learner resources used for delivery. Supply complete relevant recordings, video and digital learning material where applicable. A course outline, syllabus or marketing page alone is not sufficient.
Assessment materials
Provide the examinations, quizzes, assignments, practical assessments, observation documentation or other completion checks used to establish achievement.
Answer / marking guidance
Include answer keys, marking criteria or rubrics, pass requirements and reassessment or resit arrangements where applicable.
Trainer / author competence
Where relevant, provide CVs or professional history, qualifications, professional registration, industry experience or other appropriate evidence of subject competence.
Learner resources
Include reference material, templates, checklists and supporting resources supplied as part of the course. Clearly identify these within the learning materials; duplicate copies are not needed.
Learner evaluation
Provide example feedback forms or explain the learner evaluation arrangements where applicable.
Certificate
Supply the proposed certificate or template issued following successful completion, with the intended wording and completion details.
Technical / regulatory basis
Where relevant, identify legislation, regulations, standards, codes of practice, industry guidance and technical or professional sources relied upon. Show how the currency of relevant information was checked.
External claims
Identify any external certification, regulatory approval, authorisation, professional recognition or similar status referenced or claimed by the course, and provide evidence supporting those claims.
CPD Qualifications™ accreditation must not be used to imply external regulatory or professional approval that has not independently been obtained.
Match the evidence to the delivery method
Supply enough of the actual learning experience to make the course understandable, including its completion and assessment arrangements.
Classroom
Course and trainer materials, together with assessment or completion evidence.
Live online
Learning materials, delivery arrangements and assessment or completion evidence.
Recorded video
Complete relevant video or recording material, supporting resources and assessment evidence.
LMS / e-learning
Learning content and sufficient access or evidence to review learner navigation, progression and assessment where relevant.
Blended
Evidence covering the relevant components of each delivery method used within the course.
Practical
Practical learning and assessment arrangements, including observation records and appropriate competence evidence where relevant.
Submit the version you want accredited
Submit the complete current version intended for accreditation. Clearly identify course and document versions where possible. If material changes during assessment, send the revised version and identify what has changed.
Accreditation applies to the final version and scope accepted through the assessment.
Learning-outcome mapping
If you already maintain a learning-outcome mapping document, you may submit it with the application. It is not mandatory where the necessary relationship between learning outcomes, content and assessment can be established from the submitted materials.
Do not repeat accepted organisational evidence
Evidence already accepted as part of an active Provider Approval does not normally need to be resubmitted with every individual course unless it has changed, is directly relevant to the course assessment or is specifically requested.
Provider evidence shows the organisation behind the training.
The review looks for a real, repeatable process that connects course development, learner support, records and certificate issue.
Organisation and responsibility
Provide the current legal or trading details and identify who owns the training process, approves content, supports learners and controls certificates.
Development and quality control
Show how subjects are selected, authors are chosen, material is researched and reviewed, and policies for quality, equality and data handling work in practice.
Learner support and records
Explain access, adjustments and complaints, then show how attendance, progress, assessment, corrections and certificate issue are recorded.
New providers can use proportionate procedures and real working examples. Evidence should describe the organisation as it operates today rather than presenting policies it does not follow.
Read about provider approvalAssessor evidence confirms expertise for a specific field.
Becoming an approved assessor is free. The application is based on the person's education, qualifications, professional history, industry experience and the subjects they want to assess.
Claims may be checked against the documents supplied and reasonable professional, issuing-body or public records where available. If the evidence supports only part of the requested field, approval can be limited to that subject scope.
Private evidence is used for verification and is not published in the assessor listing. Public profile information is handled separately and requires the assessor's agreement.
See how assessor approval works
Personal and contact information
Provide the identity and contact details needed to manage the application and distinguish the applicant from another professional with a similar name.
Education and qualifications
Supply degree, certificate, registration or other education evidence relevant to the subject area requested for assessor approval.
Industry and professional experience
Explain the roles, responsibilities, practice history, teaching, quality work or specialist experience that supports professional judgement in the field.
Requested assessor scope
Name the subjects and level of material the applicant can review confidently. Approval is limited to the scope the verified evidence supports.
Make the submission easy to follow.
A well-organised evidence file reduces avoidable questions and helps the reviewer connect each claim to the right document.
Use original working files where possible
Send readable documents, slides, links, recordings or exported learning files in the form used for delivery. Avoid screenshots when the source document is available.
Label every item clearly
Use filenames and a short contents list that connect each document to the course, organisation or person under review.
Explain gaps before review
If an item is still being prepared or does not apply, say so. A clear explanation allows the reviewer to decide whether an alternative is suitable.
Remove unrelated personal data
Do not include learner information or third-party records that are not needed for the application. Redact unnecessary details before submission.
Ready for the review stage?
This page covers what to provide. Our process page explains how we check the evidence, raise findings, review responses and record an outcome.
See how we review your evidence
Private evidence is restricted and retained for a defined purpose.
Application evidence is used for assessment, verification and related administration. It is not published as part of an approval listing or shared with learners, providers, competitors or unrelated third parties as a public record.
Depending on the route, an assessment record may contain submitted course materials, an evidence register, assessment materials, competence evidence, clarification correspondence, assessment findings, corrective-action responses, revised evidence, review records, the final decision and accreditation documentation.
These records may be used for assessment, verification, quality assurance, renewal, complaints or appeals, and confirming the basis on which approval was granted. Private assessment evidence is not published as part of the public accreditation listing.
Provider evidence is retained while approval is active and for 12 months after expiry or withdrawal. Course evidence is retained while approval is active and for 12 months after rejection or withdrawal.
Original assessor certificates and identity documents are deleted within 30 days of the decision. A separate verification decision record is retained so the approval can be managed without keeping every original document.
Read the full data retention policyQuestions about CPD evidence requirements.
Answers for course creators, training providers and assessor applicants preparing a submission.
Do I need every document before making an enquiry?
No. Start with a clear description of the course, provider or assessor route. The assessment office can confirm the evidence list before the full submission is made.
Is a course outline enough for CPD accreditation?
No. A reviewer needs the actual learning materials and supporting evidence, including outcomes, sources, delivery, learning time, completion checks and proposed certificate wording.
Does provider approval automatically cover every course?
No. Provider evidence establishes the organisation and its training controls. Individual course accreditation remains a separate review for each named course presented as approved CPD.
Does it cost anything to submit assessor evidence?
No. Applying, completing the assessor verification process and receiving approved assessor status are free. The optional PDF assessor certificate costs £9.99 after approval.
What happens when evidence is incomplete?
The application can be returned with specific questions or actions. The applicant can provide the missing information or clarify the existing evidence before a final decision is made.
Is submitted evidence made public?
No. Private application documents are not published as part of an approval listing. Any public assessor profile uses separate agreed profile information rather than the underlying verification documents.
How long is application evidence kept?
Provider evidence is kept while approval is active and for 12 months after expiry or withdrawal. Course evidence is kept while approval is active and for 12 months after rejection or withdrawal. Original assessor certificates and identity documents are deleted within 30 days of the decision, while a separate decision record is retained.
