Continuing Professional Development requirements vary significantly across UK industries and professional sectors. Eight major sectors compared — with the regulators, annual hours, and structured-learning expectations that apply to each.
Covering
8 Major UK Sectors
Including
GMC, NMC, SRA, FCA, ICAEW
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The CPD Register
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Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements vary significantly across industries and professional sectors. Some professions have mandatory, regulated CPD requirements with specific annual hour targets and requirements for structured learning. Others have voluntary guidelines set by professional bodies. This guide provides an overview of CPD requirements across the major professional sectors in the UK, and explains how CPD accreditation from The CPD Group is relevant across all of them.
For training providers, understanding CPD requirements by industry is essential for developing courses that meet the needs of professional audiences and qualify for CPD accreditation. For professionals, knowing your sector's requirements helps you plan your annual CPD effectively. The CPD Group accredits learning activities across all of the sectors below.
Healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated sectors for CPD in the UK. Specific requirements include:
Doctors
GMC
50 CPD hours per year as part of the revalidation framework
Nurses and midwives
NMC
35 hours of CPD every three years, including at least 20 hours of participatory learning
Allied health professionals
HCPC
No set hour requirement, but evidence of a mix of learning activities must be provided at every two-year renewal
Dentists
GDC
100 CPD hours over a five-year cycle, including verifiable CPD in specific clinical areas
Pharmacists
GPhC
Nine CPD entries per year, reflecting structured and reflective learning
Healthcare CPD must be directly relevant to professional practice and must be evidenced with certificates or records. The CPD Group accredits healthcare training courses, conferences, webinars, and educational podcasts, providing the verifiable CPD certificates that healthcare professionals need for their regulatory requirements.
Legal professionals in the UK have specific CPD requirements depending on their role and jurisdiction:
Solicitors in England and Wales
SRA
The SRA moved away from a set hour requirement in 2016, requiring solicitors instead to demonstrate competence through ongoing learning. However, most firms continue to require 16 hours of CPD per year as internal policy.
Solicitors in Scotland
Law Society of Scotland
20 CPD hours per year, of which at least 15 must be verifiable CPD
Barristers
BSB
45 CPD hours over the first three years of practice under the New Practitioners Programme
Legal executives
CILEX
8 CPD hours per year for Fellows
Licensed conveyancers
6 to 12 CPD hours per year depending on licence type
The CPD Group accredits legal CPD training courses, compliance update webinars, and professional development events, all of which can contribute to solicitors' and barristers' ongoing development requirements.
Financial services is among the most regulated sectors for CPD due to the FCA's requirements and the complexity of the regulatory environment:
FCA-regulated professionals
FCA
The FCA requires firms to ensure staff have the knowledge and competence to carry out their roles, typically resulting in 35 CPD hours per year
Chartered accountants
ICAEW
40 CPD hours per year, of which 21 hours must be verifiable
ACCA members
ACCA
40 CPD hours per year as part of the ACCA CPD requirement
CIMA members
CIMA
120 CPD units per three-year rolling cycle
Insurance professionals
CII
Chartered Insurance Institute: 35 hours per year for most members
The CPD Group accredits financial services training, compliance and regulation update courses, and professional development programmes for accountants and financial advisors.
HR professionals are guided primarily by CIPD requirements:
CIPD members
CIPD
No set minimum hour requirement, but members are expected to demonstrate ongoing reflective learning and professional development appropriate to their level (Foundation, Associate, Chartered Member, or Fellow)
Internal HR targets
Employer
Many HR departments set internal CPD targets of 30 to 40 hours per year
The CPD Group accredits HR-focused training courses, L&D programmes, employment law update webinars, and leadership development events across the full spectrum of people management topics.
Engineering and construction have well-established CPD frameworks:
Chartered engineers
Engineering Council
A minimum of 30 CPD hours per year, documented in a CPD record
Building services engineers
CIBSE
21 hours of CPD per year
Chartered surveyors
RICS
20 hours per year, of which at least 10 must be formal learning
Construction professionals
CIOB
35 hours of CPD per year
The CPD Group accredits engineering CPD courses, technical update events, construction industry conferences, and professional development webinars across civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering disciplines.
CPD requirements for educators vary across the four UK nations:
Scotland
GTCS
35 CPD hours per year is mandatory for teachers registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)
England
School-led
No statutory minimum, but schools typically expect teachers to engage in CPD as part of performance management; five INSET days are built into the working year
Wales and Northern Ireland
School-led
No statutory minimum, with CPD guided by school and institutional policy
The CPD Group accredits education sector CPD including teaching methodology courses, safeguarding training, SEND provision, leadership development, and subject-specific continuing education.
Verifiable CPD certificates accepted across every sector on this page.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) requires members to complete 35 CPD hours per year as part of maintaining chartered marketer status. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) requires members to complete 30 CPD hours annually. The CPD Group accredits marketing, digital marketing, PR, communications, and content creation CPD for professionals working in these fields.
Chartered marketers
CIM
35 CPD hours per year as part of maintaining chartered marketer status
PR professionals
CIPR
30 CPD hours per year
The technology sector does not have a single regulated CPD body, but many IT professionals hold certifications from bodies including BCS (the Chartered Institute for IT), which recommends 30 CPD hours per year. Many technology employers set internal CPD expectations of 20 to 40 hours annually. The rapid pace of change in technology makes ongoing CPD particularly important for keeping skills current. The CPD Group accredits technology, cybersecurity, data, AI, and digital skills training.
The CPD Group accredits learning activities across every professional sector covered in this guide. For training providers, our accreditation confirms that your courses and activities meet the quality standards required by your delegates' professional bodies. For professionals, our accreditation ensures that the time you invest in learning generates verifiable CPD credits that will be accepted by your employer or regulatory body.
Every activity accredited by The CPD Group is listed on The CPD Register with a unique accreditation number. Delegates receive a personalised CPD certificate confirming the number of credits earned. As the first and only accreditation organisation certified by The CPD Register, The CPD Group's accreditation is the most independently verified mark of CPD quality in the UK.
Whether you train healthcare professionals, solicitors, accountants, engineers, teachers, or anyone in between — The CPD Group accredits learning that meets your delegates' professional body requirements.