What are CPD requirements?
CPD requirements are the rules or expectations that apply to a person's continuing professional development. Depending on the context, they may describe how much CPD should be completed, the kinds of learning that count, when it must be completed, what evidence must be retained and how the professional should report or declare it.
Some requirements arise from a regulator or professional body. Others may be linked to membership, a practising certificate, a licence, an employer policy or a particular professional role. The source of the requirement matters because that source also decides what evidence and learning it accepts.
Why CPD requirements differ by profession
Different professions have different risk profiles, competency frameworks, regulatory structures and membership arrangements. As a result, one profession may use an annual hours requirement while another uses credits, defined learning categories, multi-year cycles, reflective practice, mandatory topics or a different evidence model.
The field you work in may have its own professional standards or competency expectations.
A statutory or sector regulator may set requirements for people within its remit.
Membership grades or professional designations may carry their own CPD rules.
Some obligations can depend on the work you perform or the status you hold.
Organisations can set internal learning requirements in addition to external obligations.
A person may need to satisfy both professional-body and employer requirements at the same time.
CPD hours and CPD credits are not always the same thing
Many CPD systems use time as a starting point, but the terminology is not universal. One body may refer to hours, another to credits or points, and another may apply its own conversion or category rules.
Do not assume that one hour of learning automatically equals one credit for every profession. Likewise, an accredited course carrying a stated number of CPD hours does not guarantee that a particular regulator or body will recognise the same number towards its own scheme.
For a CPD Ireland-accredited course, CPD Ireland determines the approved structured learning hours attached to that course. The professional body, regulator or employer remains responsible for deciding whether and how those hours count towards its own requirements.
Learn how structured learning time is considered for CPD Ireland accreditation →
Formal and informal CPD
Professional development can include structured courses and events, but learning can also occur through other activities such as reading, research, professional discussions, reflective practice or workplace learning. Whether an activity counts, and in what category, depends on the rules that apply to the individual.
Where your CPD scheme distinguishes between formal, structured, informal, unstructured or other categories, use the definitions issued by that scheme rather than assuming a universal definition.
Read the plain-English guide to Continuing Professional Development →
Verifiable CPD and self-recorded CPD
Evidence can strengthen a CPD record, but not all evidence proves the same thing. A provider-issued certificate can evidence completion of a course. An attendance record can evidence presence. An assessment result can provide evidence of learning or competence within the scope of that assessment.
Professionals may also record CPD themselves, particularly where the activity is not linked to a formal certificate. A self-recorded entry can still be useful, but the individual should retain enough information to explain what they did, when they did it, what they learned and any supporting evidence required by their own CPD scheme.
Terms such as “verifiable” have scheme-specific meanings. Always use your own professional body's or regulator's definition when deciding whether a particular activity satisfies that category.
Annual CPD cycles and reporting periods
Many CPD schemes organise requirements around a defined reporting period, often a year, but the start/end date, carry-over rules, categories and declaration process can differ. Some schemes may operate on a different cycle altogether.
Before planning your CPD, confirm the dates of your current cycle and whether any specific categories, minimums, maximums or mandatory subjects apply. If you belong to more than one body, check whether their cycles align or need to be tracked separately.
What evidence should professionals retain?
The definitive evidence rules come from the body that sets your CPD requirement. As a practical record-keeping approach, it is useful to retain enough information to identify the activity and explain why it belongs in your CPD record.
Retention periods differ. Follow the current record-retention and audit requirements of the organisation that governs your CPD obligation.
Using MyCPD to maintain a CPD record
MyCPD is CPD Ireland's free private learner record. Eligible CPD Ireland Verified certificates can appear after secure email ownership is proved, and you can add external professional development yourself with optional private supporting evidence.
The record keeps CPD Ireland Verified activity and Self-recorded CPD visibly distinct and can generate an annual CPD record for your own use.
MyCPD records evidence. It does not determine whether you have met the rules of a regulator, professional body, employer or membership organisation, and it does not convert one body's hours or credits into another body's scheme.
Where should you check your actual CPD requirement?
Start with the organisation that has authority over the requirement you are trying to satisfy. Its current published rules should be your controlling source.
Requirements vary by profession and professional body. Always check the current rules issued by your regulator or membership body.
CPD requirements by profession
The body that sets your CPD requirement matters. These guides use current official Irish regulator and professional-body sources and define the exact scheme or professional group they cover rather than applying one body's rule to an entire occupation.
Some professions involve multiple schemes, professional bodies or changing requirements, so a single universal figure would be misleading. We will add further guidance only when the scope and current official rules are sufficiently clear and maintainable.
Always choose the guide for the body, registration status or membership route that actually applies to you.