CPD Requirements in Ireland
Understand who sets CPD obligations, how hours and credits differ, and what evidence professionals should keep.
Read the requirements guide →What is CPD?
CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development: structured learning that helps people maintain, develop or extend the knowledge and skills they use in their professional lives.
Continuing Professional Development
Professional learning does not have to look like a traditional course
CPD can take many forms. What matters is that the learning has a genuine professional purpose, is appropriately structured, and gives participants a meaningful opportunity to develop knowledge, skills or professional capability.
For providers, CPD accreditation gives independent evidence that a defined learning activity has been reviewed against published standards. CPD Ireland assesses the learning design, evidence and integrity of the submitted activity rather than simply accepting a claimed number of hours.
Good CPD is purposeful
- Relevant to a professional audience or role
- Built around clear learning outcomes
- Supported by genuine structured learning time
- Delivered with suitable content and expertise
- Backed by appropriate participation and evaluation evidence
Different formats, the same quality test
What can be submitted for CPD accreditation?
CPD is not limited to classroom training. A wide range of structured professional learning formats can potentially be accredited, provided the activity can demonstrate appropriate learning outcomes, content, duration, delivery and evidence.
Training courses
Instructor-led classroom or virtual courses, short programmes and structured professional training.
Webinars & live online sessions
Live digital learning, professional updates and expert-led sessions with a defined learning purpose.
Seminars & briefings
Focused professional sessions built around a particular subject, update, skill or area of practice.
Workshops
Interactive and practical learning where participants develop, apply or practise knowledge and skills.
Conferences & training events
Structured conference sessions or professional events where the learning content, duration and participation can be evidenced.
Online & eLearning courses
Self-paced digital learning, virtual programmes and blended learning combining online and facilitated elements.
A format is not automatically accreditable simply because it is described as CPD. Each submitted activity must meet the applicable CPD Ireland Course Accreditation Standard.
What makes it suitable?
We look beyond the delivery format
A one-hour webinar and a multi-day programme can both contain valuable professional learning. The assessment question is whether the activity has been designed and evidenced well enough to support a credible CPD claim.
- Clear purpose, audience and measurable learning outcomes
- Relevant, credible and appropriately structured content
- Suitable trainer, facilitator or subject-matter expertise
- Meaningful learner engagement or participation
- Appropriate verification, evaluation or assessment where relevant
- Controlled course/activity version and supporting evidence
The published Standard is the authority
CPD Ireland uses the same defined accreditation framework across delivery formats. The Standard covers purpose, outcomes, content, structure, trainer credibility, learner engagement, evidence, CPD-hours integrity, governance and accuracy of claims.
CPD hours
How are CPD hours considered?
Approved CPD hours should represent genuine structured learning time. CPD Ireland considers the submitted activity and supporting evidence rather than treating total event duration as automatically equivalent to CPD hours.
Breaks, promotional content, unrelated activity, administration and unsupported non-learning time are not treated as genuine CPD learning time.
An important distinction
CPD Ireland can determine the approved CPD hours attached to an accredited activity. Whether those hours are accepted towards a particular professional body's, employer's or regulator's CPD requirement remains subject to that organisation's own rules.
Who can get accredited?
For organisations delivering professional learning
CPD Ireland works with training businesses, consultants, eLearning providers and internal learning & development teams that want independent accreditation of structured professional learning.
If you are unsure whether your webinar, seminar, workshop, event or programme is suitable, the simplest first step is a suitability conversation.
What CPD accreditation does not mean
- It is not an academic qualification or regulatory approval
- It does not guarantee acceptance by every professional body
- It does not mean CPD Ireland has assessed an individual learner
- It does not remove the provider's responsibility for delivery and completion records
For learner completion certificates, the Provider verifies completion. CPD Ireland verifies the accredited activity and approved CPD hours.
Continue in the Knowledge Hub
What do you need to understand next?
CPD requirements and course accreditation are different questions. Use the guide that matches your role.
How to Get a Course CPD Accredited
Prepare for independent accreditation from course definition and evidence through review and maintenance.
Read the provider roadmap →MyCPD
Keep CPD Ireland Verified certificates and self-recorded professional development together in a free private record.
Explore MyCPD →Have something you would like to accredit?
Tell us what you deliver and we’ll confirm whether it looks suitable and what evidence you would need to submit.