Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Requirements for Mental Health Professionals

---

 

Executive Summary

This report sets out mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for mental health professionals in the jurisdictions named below. It deals with statutory CPD obligations, meaning development legally tied to registration or licence renewal, and separates those from CPD that a professional association recommends or requires of its own members.

Scope of verification, and what it does not cover. In August 2026 we re-checked 92 individual claims on this page against the regulator's own published requirement, rule or standard. Where a claim survived that check, the figure below is cited to the document it came from. Where it did not, the figure has been corrected or removed. Several parts of the page were not reached by that check and are marked in place; we have removed the numbers from those parts rather than leave a figure standing that nobody has confirmed. Regulators revise CPD standards regularly, sometimes mid-year, so always confirm your own requirement with your own regulator before you plan around it. One live example: at the time of checking, 14 Australian National Boards were reviewing their CPD and recency-of-practice registration standards, with public consultation closed on 17 July 2026.² Australian figures on this page may change as a result.

Key Findings

1. Prevalence of mandatory CPD

Mandatory CPD follows statutory regulation. Where a profession is regulated by a government body, CPD is almost always a condition of renewal. Where it is not, CPD is set by an association and binds only its members.
- Regulated, with mandatory CPD in every jurisdiction checked: psychiatry (through medical registration), psychiatric nursing, occupational therapy, psychology
- Regulated in some jurisdictions and not others: social work, psychotherapy and counselling
- Rarely regulated: creative and expressive therapies, addiction counselling

2. CPD hours by profession, verified figures only

| Profession | Verified requirement | Cycle | Jurisdiction |
|-----------|---------------------|--------------|-------------------|
| Psychiatry | 50 hours | Annual | Australia, Medical Board of Australia⁴ and RANZCP⁵ |
| Psychiatry | 50 hours | Annual | Ireland, Medical Council professional competence²⁶ |
| Psychiatry | 250 credits | 5 years | Canada, Royal College MOC¹⁷ |
| Psychiatry | No GMC hours figure; 50 credits recommended by the royal colleges | 5-year revalidation | United Kingdom⁴⁷ |
| Psychology | 30 hours, of which 10 peer consultation | Annual | Australia, Psychology Board¹ |
| Psychology | 50 hours | 2 years | Ontario, CPBAO¹⁴ |
| Psychology | 24 hours | Annual | Alberta, CAP¹⁵ |
| Psychology | 30 CEUs, of which 5 ethics | Annual | South Africa, HPCSA⁴³ |
| Psychology | 20 to 40 hours, varying by state; see 3.5 for the eight states checked | 2 or 3 years | United States |
| Psychology | No hours specified, outcome-based | 2 years | United Kingdom, HCPC⁴⁶ |
| Occupational Therapy | 20 hours, of which 5 interactive | Annual | Australia, OT Board⁷ |
| Occupational Therapy | 30 CPD credits | 12 months | Ireland, CORU²⁵ |
| Psychiatric Nursing | 35 hours, of which 20 participatory | 3 years | United Kingdom, NMC⁴⁸ |
| Psychiatric Nursing | 20 hours, 30 for endorsed nurse practitioners | Annual | Australia, NMBA⁹ |
| Social Work | 2 pieces of CPD, one with peer reflection | Annual | England, Social Work England³⁴ |
| Social Work | Annual learning, no hours specified | Annual declaration | Scotland, SSSC³² |
| Social Work | 90 hours | 3 or 5 years | Northern Ireland, NISCC³⁷ |
| Social Work | 20 hours, one activity supporting work with Māori | Annual | New Zealand, SWRB³⁸ |
| Social Work | 30 CPD credits | 12 months | Ireland, CORU²⁴ |
| Social Work | 40 hours | Annual | British Columbia, BCCSW²¹ |
| Psychotherapy | 40 hours | 2 years | Ontario, CRPO¹⁸ |
| Psychotherapy | 90 hours, of which 5 supervision or consultation | 5 years | Quebec, Ordre des psychologues¹⁹ |
| Psychotherapy | 250 CPD points | 5 years | Germany, contract psychotherapists²⁹ |
| Psychotherapy | 20 hours plus 10 hours supervision, association requirement | Annual | Australia, PACFA¹³ |
| Counselling | 30 hours, association requirement | Annual | United Kingdom, BACP⁴⁹ |
| Psychometry | 30 CEUs, of which 5 ethics | Annual | South Africa, HPCSA⁴³ |
| Addiction counselling | 20 CEU hours | Annual | Canada, CACCF²² |

Creative and expressive therapies are not listed because the only statutory regime we could verify is the HCPC in the United Kingdom, which sets no hours figure.

3. CPD models

A. Input-based, counting hours or points. The most common model. A minimum is set per cycle, sometimes with mandatory components inside it. Examples: the Psychology Board of Australia at 30 hours a year with 10 in peer consultation,¹ and the NMC at 35 hours over three years with 20 participatory.⁴⁸ Clear and auditable, but it measures participation rather than what changed in practice.

B. Outcome-based, portfolio and competence. No hours are set. The registrant shows that learning was relevant and that it improved practice and benefited service users. The HCPC in the United Kingdom is the clearest example, with five standards and a two-year cycle.⁴⁶ The New Zealand Psychologists Board runs a comparable continuing competence programme with no hours specified.³⁹

C. Revalidation. CPD sits inside a wider periodic review of fitness to practise, alongside appraisal, colleague feedback and patient feedback. UK doctors revalidate every five years. The GMC does not mandate a number of CPD points or hours for revalidation.⁴⁷

D. Recertification. A time-limited certificate renewed on a cycle. ABPN diplomates in the United States complete 20 article exams per certification every three-year cycle from 2025.⁶⁹ ANCC requires 75 continuing education contact hours plus at least one of eight professional development categories.⁷⁰

4. CPD cycle patterns

| Cycle | Where | Examples |
|--------------|-----------|-------------|
| Annual | Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Alberta | Ahpra boards, HPCSA, Social Work England,³⁴ SWRB, College of Alberta Psychologists¹⁵ |
| Annual declaration, no hours | Scotland | SSSC continuous professional learning³² |
| Biennial | United Kingdom, Ontario, many US states | HCPC,⁴⁶ CPBAO,¹⁴ CRPO¹⁸ |
| Triennial | United Kingdom nursing, New York | NMC,⁴⁸ NYSED triennial registration⁵² |
| Three or five years | Northern Ireland | NISCC, depending on registration date³⁷ |
| Five years | Canada, United Kingdom medicine, Quebec, Germany | Royal College MOC,¹⁷ GMC revalidation, Ordre des psychologues,¹⁹ KBV²⁹ |

Social Work England is annual, running 1 December to 30 November, and has not been on a three-year cycle since 2023.³⁴ Registration in Wales lasts up to three years.³⁶

5. Audit and compliance

| Body | How compliance is checked | Records kept for |
|--------------|------------|------------------|
| Ahpra, Australia | Random selection at renewal. No audit rate is published.³ | Psychology 5 years;¹ medicine 3 years after each cycle⁴ |
| HCPC, United Kingdom | Random sample of each profession at renewal, written profile required | Previous 2 years, the length of the cycle⁴⁶ |
| NMC, United Kingdom | Confirmer at revalidation, plus NMC verification | Evidence must be kept for the confirmer; no retention period published⁴⁸ |
| GMC, United Kingdom | Annual appraisal, five-yearly revalidation recommendation | Ongoing through appraisal⁴⁷ |
| PBANZ, New Zealand | Audit at least once every five years⁴¹ | Portfolio maintained |
| CPBAO, Ontario | Quality assurance review | At least 5 years¹⁴ |
| CRPO, Ontario | Attestation and self-assessment each cycle | Current and previous cycles, four years¹⁸ |
| OCSWSSW, Ontario | Continuing competence programme, not hour-counted | Portfolio retained ten years²⁰ |
| HPCSA, South Africa | Annual declaration with random audit | Portfolio maintained⁴⁴ |

6. Emerging trends

- Online CPD: broadly accepted since 2020, including virtual conferences and webinars
- Shorter modules: increasingly accepted where documented and reflected on
- Cultural competence: mandatory in New Zealand, where the SWRB requires at least one activity a year supporting competence to work with Māori³⁸
- Named content minima: Ontario psychologists must include at least 10 hours ethics and jurisprudence and at least 5 hours equity, diversity and inclusion inside their 50¹⁴
- Peer consultation: 10 of the 30 Australian psychology hours must be peer consultation¹
- Away from hours: Social Work England moved to a minimum of two pieces of CPD a year,³⁴ Social Care Wales dropped its hours target from 1 April 2025,³⁵ and the SSSC now specifies no number of hours³³

7. Where the frameworks are strongest

1. Australia: a single national scheme, with each National Board setting its own CPD registration standard
2. United Kingdom: several models running side by side, covering medicine, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy and the creative therapies
3. New Zealand: competence-based programmes across the regulated health professions, with cultural competence built in
4. Ireland: CORU applies one CPD approach across its regulated professions, with a stated minimum of 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period²⁴
5. South Africa: HPCSA sets a per-register CEU minimum; psychologists, psychometrists and registered counsellors are on 30 CEUs a year⁴³

8. Where mandatory CPD is absent

- Australian social work: not a registered profession nationally, and the title is not protected¹⁰
- Australian counselling and psychotherapy: no statutory regulation; PACFA sets CPD as a condition of its own registration¹³
- United Kingdom counselling and psychotherapy: no statutory regulation; BACP and UKCP run accredited voluntary registers⁴⁹
- United States and Canada: no federal or national mandate in either country; every requirement is set at state or provincial level
- Addiction counselling: rarely statutory outside certain US states; mostly certification-based

What has been verified, and what has not

- Claims re-checked against the regulator, August 2026: 92
- Confirmed: 39. Corrected: 43. Could not be established from a primary source, so removed or marked: 10
- Not reached by the check, and marked in place: the United States social work state figures other than New York, US state music therapy licensure, US addiction counselling hours, the South African social work requirement, and several mandated-topic sub-hours inside US state totals
- Every figure below is cited to the regulator's own document. Where no such document could be reached, the figure has been taken out rather than left standing

---

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose and Scope

This report documents mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for nine mental health professions in the jurisdictions listed at 1.5. The focus is statutory CPD, meaning professional development legally tied to registration or licensure renewal. Association requirements are included only where they are named as such.

1.2 Why CPD Matters

Continuing Professional Development serves several purposes in mental health regulation:

1. Public protection: practitioners keep their knowledge and practice current
2. Professional competence: learning continues across a working life
3. Service quality: development is linked to what clients and patients receive
4. Accountability: fitness to practise is demonstrable to a regulator
5. Career Development: specialisation and progression are supported

1.3 Mandatory vs. Voluntary CPD

The distinction matters, and this page keeps it explicit.

| Type | Authority | Enforcement | Examples |
|------|-----------|-------------|----------|
| Mandatory CPD | Statutory regulator | Registration or licence renewal depends on it | Ahpra National Boards, HCPC, GMC, NMC, HPCSA, CORU |
| Association CPD | Professional association | No legal consequence, but membership, accreditation or insurance may depend on it | BACP and UKCP (UK), PACFA and AASW (Australia), NAADAC (USA) |

One caution about the second row. An association requirement is not always optional in practice. PACFA registrants in Australia, for instance, must meet a CPD minimum as a condition of renewing their registration, even though no statute obliges them to be registered at all.¹³

1.4 Professions in Scope

1. Psychology - clinical, counselling, educational, forensic and other specialist psychologists
2. Psychiatry - medical doctors specialising in mental health
3. Social work - generalist and clinical or mental health social workers
4. Counselling and marriage and family therapy
5. Occupational therapy, including mental health occupational therapy
6. Psychiatric and mental health nursing, including advanced practice roles
7. Psychometry
8. Creative and expressive therapies - art, music and drama therapy
9. Addiction counselling

1.5 Jurisdictions Covered

This page carries a documented CPD requirement, or a documented absence of one, for the following:

- Australia (national scheme, plus association requirements where the profession is unregulated)
- United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have separate regulators for social work
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Canada - Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec, plus the national specialist college
- United States - named states only, plus the national certification boards
- South Africa
- Germany - psychotherapy within the statutory health insurance system

Singapore, Hong Kong and unnamed European Union states appeared in an earlier coverage tier with no requirement stated for any of them, and have been removed. If you practise in a jurisdiction not on the list above, this page does not cover you, and you should go to your regulator directly.

1.6 Method

Sources. Every figure is taken from the regulator's own published standard, rule, statute or CPD page, not from a summary of one. Where the best available source is one step off the regulator, that is said at the point of use.

Currency. The 92 claims described in the Executive Summary were checked in August 2026. Sections that say so carry a dated line to that effect. Sections without that line were not re-checked, and the numbers in them have been removed rather than carried forward.

Excluded. Employer-imposed CPD, trainee and student requirements, and specialty board programmes that are neither statutory nor a condition of registration, except where named as an association requirement.

---

2. CPD Models and Frameworks

Regulators use four broad models. The differences are not cosmetic. They change what you have to record, and what an auditor will ask you for.

2.1 Input-Based CPD Models

Philosophy: CPD is counted in hours or points.

Key features:
- A minimum per cycle
- Often a required breakdown by activity type, or a required topic
- Quantifiable and straightforward to audit

Advantages: clear, transparent, easy to track, comparable across jurisdictions.

Disadvantages: counts participation rather than change, invites tick-box completion, and can sit awkwardly with part-time practice.

Australia, Psychology Board of Australia
- Total: a minimum of 30 hours of CPD activities annually
- Of which: at least 10 hours peer consultation
- Cycle: 1 December to 30 November, tied to renewal by 30 November
- Records: portfolio kept for five years in case of audit¹

United Kingdom, Nursing and Midwifery Council
- Total: 35 hours of CPD in the three-year period since registration was last renewed
- Of which: at least 20 hours must be participatory learning⁴⁸

South Africa, HPCSA
- Psychologists and psychometrists: 30 CEUs per 12-month cycle, made up of 25 clinical and 5 in ethics, human rights or health law⁴³
- Both thresholds bind. Falling short on either component leaves you non-compliant even if the total is met⁴³
- Cycle: twelve months, and CEUs are valid for twelve months⁴⁴
- Other HPCSA registers carry different minimums. Do not read 30 across from psychology to another board

United States, state psychology boards
- Range: 20 to 40 hours per renewal cycle across the eight states checked
- Worked figures: Massachusetts 20,⁵⁷ Ohio 23,⁵⁶ Illinois 24,⁵⁵ Pennsylvania 30,⁵⁴ California 36,⁵¹ New York 36,⁵² Texas 40,⁵³ Florida 40⁵⁰
- Any state not named here was not checked

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

2.2 Outcome-Based CPD Models

Philosophy: the registrant shows that learning maintained competence and improved practice. Hours are not counted.

Key features: no set minimum, relevance to practice, portfolio evidence, reflection, and a demonstrated benefit to service users.

Advantages: quality and relevance are the measure; flexible across practice contexts.

Disadvantages: more subjective, harder to audit, and less portable between jurisdictions.

Primary example: the HCPC, United Kingdom. The HCPC uses an outcome-based model for the professions it regulates, including practitioner psychologists, occupational therapists and the arts therapies. Registrants must meet five standards.

Standard 1: maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of CPD activities. No set format. Supporting evidence is needed.

Standard 2: demonstrate that CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice.

Standard 3: seek to ensure that CPD has contributed to the quality of practice and service delivery.

Standard 4: seek to ensure that CPD benefits the service user.

Standard 5: on request, present a written profile explaining how the standards have been met, with evidence.

Cycle and audit: two years, tied to renewal. A random sample of each profession is audited at each renewal, and the audit looks at what was done over the previous two years, the length of one cycle.⁴⁶

What counts: work-based learning, professional activity, formal education, self-directed learning, and other activity that supports development.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

2.3 Revalidation Models

Philosophy: a periodic review of fitness to practise, with CPD as one strand alongside appraisal and feedback.

Key features: a regular cycle, several evidence types, employer and colleague involvement, and a link to clinical governance.

Primary example: GMC medical revalidation, United Kingdom. Every licensed doctor, psychiatrists included, revalidates every five years.

Revalidation rests on annual appraisal, continuing professional development, quality improvement activity, colleague feedback, patient feedback, and review of significant events and clinical outcomes.

On the CPD strand specifically: the GMC states that it does not mandate the number of CPD points a doctor should collect for revalidation.⁴⁷ The familiar figure of 50 credits a year is a royal college and Academy recommendation, and psychiatrists most often meet it through the Royal College of Psychiatrists CPD framework.

Similar models: the Medical Council of New Zealand requires vocationally registered doctors to take part in their college's recertification programme on an ongoing basis,⁴⁰ and the Medical Board of Australia sets CPD as a condition of annual registration.⁴

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

2.4 Recertification Models

Philosophy: a certificate that expires, renewed through CPD, assessment or both. Usually run by a specialty or certification board rather than a regulator, and usually voluntary in law while being close to compulsory in employment.

ABPN, United States. Certification by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology is voluntary but is commonly required for hospital privileges and insurance credentialing. Under the article-based continuing certification pathway, diplomates must successfully complete 20 article exams per certification every three-year cycle, starting in 2025.⁶⁹ Diplomates must also hold an unrestricted licence and meet their own state board's CME requirement; ABPN adds none of its own.

ANCC, United States. For psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner certification, 75 continuing education contact hours are mandatory, of which 25 must be pharmacology for nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist roles. In addition, the renewal requires at least one of eight professional development categories. Practice hours are one of those eight options and are explicitly not required.⁷⁰ Earlier versions of this page presented 75 contact hours and 1,000 practice hours as a single conjunctive requirement. They are not.

IC&RC, addiction counselling. IC&RC is a certification consortium, not a regulator, and its member boards set their own recertification requirements. We could not verify a single hours figure or ethics minimum that holds across member boards, so no figure is given here. Ask the member board that issued your credential.

---

3. Psychology CPD Requirements

3.1 Australia - Psychology Board of Australia (Ahpra)

Regulatory body: Psychology Board of Australia, within the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme administered by Ahpra
Type: Government statutory regulator
CPD status: mandatory for all registered psychologists

Total: a minimum of 30 hours of CPD activities annually.¹

Of which:
1. Peer consultation: at least 10 hours a year, individually or in a group, with another registered psychologist or a suitably qualified professional¹
2. Other CPD: the remaining hours, across formal learning, self-directed learning and active involvement such as teaching, presenting or research

CPD year and renewal: 1 December to 30 November, with registration renewed by 30 November.¹

Records: the CPD portfolio must be kept for five years in case of audit.¹

Audit: registrants are randomly selected when they apply to renew their registration.³ Ahpra does not publish an audit rate.

Which standard applies. The current CPD registration standard has a date of effect of 1 December 2015.²

Currency warning. Fourteen National Boards are reviewing their recency-of-practice and CPD registration standards. Public consultation closed on 17 July 2026.² The Australian figures in this section may change.

Exemptions: non-practising registration carries no CPD requirement. Pro-rata arrangements apply to new registrants, and exemptions may be sought for parental leave, illness and comparable circumstances.

If you do not comply: renewal may be refused, conditions may be imposed, and the matter may be referred to fitness to practise proceedings.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

3.2 United Kingdom - Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Regulatory body: Health and Care Professions Council
Type: Government statutory regulator
CPD status: mandatory for all practitioner psychologists, including clinical, counselling, educational, forensic, health, occupational, and sport and exercise psychologists

CPD model: outcome-based. No hours are set.

Requirement: the five HCPC CPD standards, set out in full at 2.2.

Registration cycle: two years.

Audit window: the audit looks at the previous two years, the length of one registration cycle.⁴⁶

Audit process: a random sample of each profession is selected at renewal. Those selected submit a written CPD profile with supporting evidence, which is assessed by the HCPC. Outcomes are approval, a request for more information, or referral into fitness to practise.⁴⁶

How this differs from the Australian model. The HCPC asks whether CPD improved practice. The Psychology Board of Australia asks whether 30 hours were completed. Both are mandatory. They are different questions, and a portfolio built for one does not automatically answer the other.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

3.3 New Zealand - New Zealand Psychologists Board (NZPB)

Regulatory body: Te Poari Kaimatai Hinengaro o Aotearoa, the New Zealand Psychologists Board
Type: Government statutory regulator
CPD status: mandatory, through the Continuing Competence Programme

No hours are specified. The Board's position is that each psychologist should do as much learning as is needed to maintain their core competencies.³⁹

Programme elements:
1. Self-review against the Board's competencies
2. Professional development plan built from that review
3. CPD activities, recorded with their outcomes
4. Supervisor involvement, with the plan sighted by a supervisor
5. Annual declaration of compliance at practising certificate renewal

Registration cycle: annual practising certificate.

Cultural competence. The Board has prescribed and published core competencies for the psychologist scope, including minimum standards of cultural competency.³⁹ If cultural supervision matters to your practice, check the Board's separate core competencies document, which is where any such requirement would sit.

Audit: random and targeted audits, assessed on portfolio evidence.³⁹

If you do not comply: the practising certificate may not be issued or renewed, and a competence review may follow.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

3.4 Ireland - CORU (Psychologists Registration Board)

Regulatory body: CORU, Psychologists Registration Board
Type: Government statutory regulator
CPD status: will be mandatory once the registers open. They have not opened.

Where this actually stands. The first three registers, for clinical, counselling and educational psychologists, are now expected to open in 2027.²³ Technical amendments to the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 are still required, and CORU says it is in the final stages of developing its CPD requirements for the three registers.

What CORU CPD looks like elsewhere. CORU registration boards set a minimum of 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period, at roughly one credit per hour of new or enhanced learning.²⁴ Earlier versions of this page described the CORU model as having no set minimum hours across its professions. That is the page's most-repeated Irish error, and it is wrong: the 30-credit floor is published and CORU audits against it.

Expected cycle: annual, in line with other CORU boards. Nothing is settled until the Board publishes its own CPD standard.

What to do in the meantime: watch the Psychologists Registration Board page for the register-opening date and the CPD standard. Do not plan a portfolio against the figures for another CORU profession.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

3.5 United States - State Psychology Licensing Boards

Regulatory structure: state licensing boards. There is no federal CPD requirement, and no national body that sets one.
CPD status: mandatory in every state checked

Range: 20 to 40 hours per renewal cycle across the eight states below.

Florida is not an exception. Earlier versions of this page said three times, including in the Executive Summary, that Florida requires no CPD and that mandatory CPD applies in 49 of 50 states. Florida in fact requires 40 CE hours per biennium, which is more than California, New York or Pennsylvania.⁵⁰ The 49-of-50 count rested on that error and has been removed; we have not counted the states ourselves and do not offer a replacement figure.

| State | Hours | Cycle | Named sub-requirements |
|-------|----------------|-------|--------------|
| California | 36 | 2 years | At least 4 hours laws and ethics, and at least 4 hours cultural diversity or social justice, both inside the 36⁵¹ |
| Florida | 40 | 2 years | 35 general, 2 prevention of medical errors, 3 professional ethics and Florida psychology law; plus 2 domestic violence every third biennium, counted within the 40⁵⁰ |
| Illinois | 24 | 2 years | Not verified⁵⁵ |
| Massachusetts | 20 | 2 years | Not verified⁵⁷ |
| New York | 36 | 3 years | Not verified |
| Ohio | 23 | 2 years | Not less than 4 hours ethics or specified related areas⁵⁶ |
| Pennsylvania | 30 | 2 years | At least 3 hours ethics, 1 hour suicide prevention, 2 hours child abuse recognition and reporting, all required of every psychologist⁵⁴ |
| Texas | 40 | 2 years | At least 6 hours ethics, rules or professional responsibility, and a further 6 hours in distinct populations⁵³ |

Read the sub-requirement column carefully. Texas was understated by half in earlier versions of this page: it is 6 and 6, not 3 and 3, so a reader working from the old figures would have come up six hours short on a mandatory component.

States not in that table were not checked. Confirm your own state with your own board.

Approved providers: typically APA-approved sponsors, accredited universities, and state-specific approved providers. Requirements differ by state.

Telehealth across state lines: a psychologist treating a client located in another state is generally subject to that state's requirements. PSYPACT eases mobility but does not remove state CPD obligations.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026, for the eight states named.

3.6 Canada - Provincial Regulatory Colleges

Regulatory structure: provincial and territorial colleges. There is no national requirement.
CPD status: mandatory in the provinces checked, on materially different terms

Ontario - College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO)

Total: 50 CPD hours during each two-year quality assurance cycle.¹⁴

The 50 must include:
- Section A professional interaction and interdisciplinary activities: minimum 15 hours
- Section B continuing education, professional training and self-directed learning: minimum 15 hours
- Section C additional professional development: optional¹⁴

Content minima inside the 50: at least 10 hours ethics and jurisprudence, at least 5 hours equity, diversity and inclusion, and at least 3 hours supervision for those who supervise. No more than 10 hours may be claimed for any one unique activity.¹⁴

Pro rata: part-time registrants are not on a reduced total.

Records: keep all records of quality assurance participation, tracking sheets and supporting documentation, for at least five years.¹⁴ Earlier versions of this page omitted the ethics, equity and supervision minima entirely, which meant a registrant could complete 50 hours exactly as this page described and still fail the requirement.

Other provinces

| Province | College | Verified requirement |
|----------|-------------------|-----------------|
| Alberta | College of Alberta Psychologists | 24 hours of continuing competency education and training each year. The year runs 1 April to 31 March and hours cannot be carried forward or back¹⁵ |
| British Columbia | College of Health and Care Professionals of British Columbia | Psychologists have been regulated by CHCPBC since 28 June 2024. The College of Psychologists of BC no longer exists¹⁶ |
| Quebec | Ordre des psychologues du Québec | Psychologists practising psychotherapy must complete at least 90 hours of psychotherapy CPD per five-year reference period, of which at least 5 hours must be formal consultation or individual supervision¹⁹ |
| Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the rest | Provincial colleges | Not checked. Go to the college directly |

Two corrections worth naming. Earlier versions of this page gave Alberta as 40 hours a year and 120 over three years. Neither figure appears anywhere in the College's programme; the requirement is 24 a year and it does not accumulate.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026, for Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.

3.7 South Africa - Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)

Regulatory body: HPCSA, Professional Board for Psychology
Type: Government statutory regulator
CPD status: mandatory for all categories of psychologist

Total: 30 Continuing Education Units a year for psychologists, made up of 25 clinical CEUs and 5 CEUs in ethics, human rights or health law.⁴³

Both components bind. If either falls below its threshold, the practitioner is non-compliant even where the total of 30 is met.⁴³ This is stronger than an encouragement to include some ethics, which is how earlier versions of this page put it.

CEU conversion: one hour of activity generally equals one CEU.

Cycle and validity: the CPD programme runs on a twelve-month cycle, and CEUs are valid over a period of twelve months.⁴⁴

There is no three-year accumulation. Earlier versions of this page described banking up to 90 CEUs across three years, with a 60-CEU annual ceiling and a 10-CEU annual floor, and gave a worked example of 60, 20 and 10 as compliant. No part of that survives the current rules. A practitioner following that example would have been non-compliant in years two and three. Even under the superseded rules the validity window was 24 months, never 36.

Activity categories: formal accredited activity, non-formal activity such as journal clubs, peer review and case discussion, and service to the profession such as examining or peer reviewing.

Audit: annual declaration of compliance, with random audits. A false declaration is a serious offence and can bring fines or suspension.

Other HPCSA registers. The 30-CEU figure is the psychology and psychometry figure. HPCSA publishes a separate minimum for each of its twelve professional boards, and some are lower. Do not read 30 across from psychology to another board.⁴⁴

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

3.8 Summary: Psychology CPD Requirements

| Jurisdiction | Requirement | Cycle | Mandatory components | Model |
|----------------|--------------|-------|---------------------|------------|
| Australia | 30 hours | Annual | 10 hours peer consultation¹ | Input-based |
| United Kingdom (HCPC) | No hours set | 2 years | Five standards, outcomes shown⁴⁶ | Outcome-based |
| New Zealand | No hours set | Annual | Self-review, plan, supervisor sight³⁹ | Competence-based |
| Ireland | Registers not open; CORU's general floor is 30 credits per 12 months²⁴ | To be set | To be set | To be set |
| United States | 20 to 40 hours in the eight states checked | 2 or 3 years | Vary by state, see 3.5 | Input-based |
| Ontario | 50 hours | 2 years | 15 Section A, 15 Section B, 10 ethics, 5 EDI¹⁴ | Input-based |
| Alberta | 24 hours | Annual, 1 April to 31 March | No carry-forward¹⁵ | Input-based |
| South Africa | 30 CEUs | Annual | 25 clinical and 5 ethics, both binding⁴³ | Input-based |

What stands out:
- Hours totals are not comparable on their own. Ontario's 50 over two years is 25 a year, less than Australia's 30
- The binding detail is often inside the total, not the total itself: peer consultation in Australia, ethics and equity in Ontario, the 25 and 5 split in South Africa
- Two regulators set no hours at all and ask a different question entirely
- Provincial and state variation is wide enough that a national figure for Canada or the United States would be misleading, so none is given

---

4. Psychiatry CPD Requirements

Context. Psychiatrists are medical doctors, so two sets of requirements apply at once: the CPD attached to medical registration, and the programme of the specialty college. In several jurisdictions the college programme is the vehicle through which the registration requirement is met. Keeping the two apart matters, because the numbers are not the same and the wrong attribution has consequences at audit.

4.1 Australia - Medical Board of Australia and RANZCP

Regulatory body: Medical Board of Australia, within the national scheme
Specialty college: Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), a recognised CPD home
CPD status: mandatory for all registered medical practitioners

Medical Board requirement: a minimum of 50 hours per year of CPD relevant to your scope of practice.⁴

The Board's allocation of those 50 hours:
- At least 12.5 hours, being 25 per cent of the minimum, in educational activities
- At least 25 hours, being 50 per cent of the minimum, in activities focused on reviewing performance and measuring outcomes, with a minimum of five hours in each of those two categories
- The remaining 12.5 hours across any type⁴

This is not the same as the RANZCP structure. Earlier versions of this page printed a five-part breakdown under the Medical Board heading: a 2-hour professional development plan, 10 hours formal peer review, 5 hours practice improvement, 12.5 hours self-directed learning and 12.5 hours educational activities. That is the RANZCP programme, not the Board standard. The Board sets no 2-hour plan allocation and no 10-hour peer review category. A doctor planning against Board requirements from the old page would have mis-allocated hours.

Registration cycle: annual, with medical registration renewal on 30 September.⁶

Records: retain records of annual CPD activity for audit by your CPD home and the Board for three years after the end of each one-year cycle.⁴ Note the difference from psychology, where the portfolio is kept five years.

CPD home: every doctor must be linked to a CPD home that supports and monitors their CPD. RANZCP is a recognised CPD home for psychiatrists.

RANZCP CPD programme. All medical practitioners in the programme complete 50 hours of CPD each year,⁵ structured as:
- Section 1 professional development plan: 2 hours
- Section 2 formal peer review: minimum 10 hours
- Section 3 practice improvement: minimum 5 hours
- Sections 2 and 3 together: 23 hours in total
- Section 4 self-guided learning: 12.5 hours
- Section 5 additional activities: 12.5 hours⁵

The combined 23-hour requirement across Sections 2 and 3 was missing from earlier versions of this page. Meeting the two separate minima of 10 and 5 is not enough on its own.

Currency warning: the Ahpra-wide standards review noted at 3.1 covers 14 National Boards. Australian figures in this section may change.²

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

4.2 United Kingdom - General Medical Council and Royal College of Psychiatrists

Regulatory body: General Medical Council
Specialty college: Royal College of Psychiatrists
CPD status: CPD is part of revalidation, which is mandatory for all licensed doctors

Revalidation cycle: every five years.

The GMC sets no CPD hours or points requirement. In its own words, it does not mandate the number of CPD points you should collect for revalidation.⁴⁷

What revalidation does require:
1. Annual appraisal with a trained appraiser
2. Continuing professional development, recorded and reflected on
3. Quality improvement activity
4. Colleague feedback
5. Patient feedback
6. Review of significant events and clinical outcomes

Royal College of Psychiatrists: 50 CPD credits a year is the college recommendation, and it is the source of the familiar 50 figure. Participation in the college framework is not itself a statutory requirement, but it is how most psychiatrists evidence the CPD strand of revalidation. Credits are generally counted at one per hour, across a mix of internal and external activity.

Appraisal and the recommendation: the appraiser reviews the CPD portfolio each year, and the Responsible Officer at the doctor's designated body makes the five-yearly revalidation recommendation to the GMC. Psychiatrists without another connection can be connected through the college.

If you do not comply: the licence to practise may be withdrawn for non-engagement, conditions may be applied, or a fitness to practise investigation may follow where there are competence concerns.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

4.3 New Zealand - Medical Council of New Zealand

Regulatory body: Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa, the Medical Council of New Zealand
CPD status: mandatory, through recertification

There is no three-year recertification cycle. Doctors on a vocational scope of practice must participate in and satisfy all the requirements of the recertification programme offered by their medical college, on an ongoing basis.⁴⁰ The Council's strengthened requirements specify a structured conversation with a peer, colleague or employer at least annually. Earlier versions of this page said recertification happens every three years and that the Council reviews applications on that cycle. Neither is supported.

Recertification components: participation in an approved CPD programme, peer review, practice review, and a professional development plan.

For psychiatrists: the RANZCP programme is the recognised route, and requires 50 hours of CPD each year.⁵ See 4.1 for its structure.

Differences from Australia: Council recertification requirements apply in addition to the college programme, and cultural competence in relation to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori health is expected.

If you do not comply: vocational registration may not be maintained, which removes the ability to practise independently as a specialist.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

4.4 United States - State Medical Boards and ABPN

Regulatory structure: state medical licensing, which is mandatory, plus ABPN board certification, which is voluntary in law and close to compulsory in employment.

State CME requirements, verified states only

| State | CME | Cycle | Named sub-requirements |
|-------|-----------|-------|---------------------|
| California | 50 hours | 2 years | Not verified⁵⁸ |
| Florida | 40 hours | 2 years | Mandated topics apply; the individual topic hours were not verified⁶¹ |
| Illinois | 150 hours | 3 years | Not verified. Sourced to the Illinois State Medical Society rather than IDFPR, which does not publish the figure in retrievable form⁶³ |
| Massachusetts | No fewer than 100 CME credits | 2 years | Set by regulation at 243 CMR 2.06⁶⁵ |
| New York | No general CME hours requirement | n/a | Medicine does not appear on the state list of professions with a continuing education requirement. Only mandated coursework applies, on infection control and child abuse identification and reporting⁵⁹ |
| Ohio | 50 hours | 2 years | Not verified⁶⁴ |
| Pennsylvania | 100 credit hours in total | 2 years | 20 of the 100 must be AMA PRA Category 1; at least 12 of the 100 must be patient safety or risk management⁶² |
| Texas | 48 credits | 24 months | 2 formal hours in medical ethics or personal development⁶⁰ |

Three corrections in that table are worth naming. Massachusetts was previously shown as having no state CME requirement; it has one of the highest totals in the table. Pennsylvania's two sub-figures were previously swapped, and all 100 credits were labelled Category 1 when only 20 must be. Texas medical ethics is 2 formal hours, not 1.

ABPN continuing certification. Under the article-based pathway, diplomates must successfully complete 20 article exams per certification every three-year cycle, starting in 2025.⁶⁹ Alongside that: an active unrestricted licence in at least one state, the CME required by that state board, and annual attestations. ABPN imposes no CME beyond the state requirement. Completing the pathway removes the need for the ten-year examination, which remains available as an alternative route.

Why it matters despite being voluntary: board certification is commonly required for hospital privileges, insurance credentialing and some posts.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026, for the eight states named and for ABPN. Mandated-topic sub-hours were not separately verified except where shown.

4.5 Canada - Provincial Medical Regulators and the Royal College MOC Programme

Regulatory structure: provincial medical licensing, plus Royal College specialty certification through the Maintenance of Certification programme.

Provincial licensing: each province sets its own requirements for licence renewal, typically combining CPD with quality assurance and peer assessment. Ontario's College of Physicians and Surgeons, for example, requires participation in a quality assurance programme. Individual provincial figures were not verified in this pass and none are given.

Royal College MOC: a five-year cycle.

The requirement is a minimum of 250 credits over a five-year cycle, a minimum of 25 credits annually, and a minimum of 25 credits at the end of the five-year cycle in Section 3, including one Feedback Received activity.¹⁷

This is the largest single numeric correction on the page. Earlier versions stated 400 credits over five years, an average of 80 a year, with minimums of 25 credits in each of Sections 1, 2 and 3 and an annual ceiling of 60 credits in Section 1. That reproduces the pre-2024 framework and overstates the current total requirement by 60 per cent. There are no Section 1 or Section 2 minimums, and no published Section 1 annual maximum.

The three sections:
- Section 1, group learning: accredited group events, conferences, rounds, journal clubs
- Section 2, self-learning: self-assessment programmes, reading, online modules, simulation
- Section 3, assessment: knowledge and performance assessment, multi-source feedback, chart audit. This is the section carrying the 25-credit end-of-cycle minimum and the Feedback Received requirement

Records and monitoring: activities are logged in the Royal College MOC portal and credits are reviewed at the end of each cycle. Non-compliance affects fellowship status and may be reported to the provincial regulator.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026, for the Royal College programme only.

4.6 Ireland - Medical Council of Ireland

Regulatory body: Medical Council of Ireland. CORU does not regulate doctors.
CPD status: mandatory, through maintenance of professional competence

The requirement is a minimum of 50 hours of CPD activity annually in total, made up as follows:
- Planning CPD: minimum 5 credits
- Practice review: minimum 10 credits
- Work-based learning: minimum 15 credits
- Accredited continuing education: minimum 20 credits²⁶

Domains and the year: all eight Domains of Good Professional Practice must be assigned at least once every three years, and the professional competence year runs 1 May to 30 April.²⁶ Requirements sit under the Maintenance of Professional Competence Framework, underpinned by the MPC Rules, S.I. 176 of 2025. The older claim of a formal review every five years is unsupported; the framework specifies a three-year domain cycle.

Clinical audit: annual participation.

Peer review: as required by the scheme.

For psychiatrists: the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland operates the professional competence scheme most psychiatrists enrol in, and reports compliance to the Medical Council.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

4.7 Summary: Psychiatry CPD Requirements

| Jurisdiction | Bodies | Requirement | Cycle | Model |
|---------|-----------------|----------------|-------|-------|
| Australia | Medical Board and RANZCP | 50 hours a year, with 25 of them on reviewing performance and measuring outcomes⁴ | Annual, renewal 30 September | Input-based with a CPD home |
| United Kingdom | GMC and RCPsych | No GMC hours figure; 50 credits a year recommended by the college⁴⁷ | Annual appraisal, 5-year revalidation | Revalidation |
| New Zealand | MCNZ and RANZCP | 50 hours a year through the college programme⁵; ongoing recertification, structured conversation at least annually⁴⁰ | Ongoing, not three-yearly | Recertification |
| United States | State boards and ABPN | State CME varies widely; New York sets no general hours figure⁵⁹; ABPN 20 article exams per 3-year cycle⁶⁹ | 2 or 3 years | State CME plus recertification |
| Canada | Provincial regulators and Royal College | 250 credits over 5 years, 25 a year minimum, 25 in Section 3¹⁷ | 5 years | Maintenance of Certification |
| Ireland | Medical Council and CPsychI | 50 hours a year, split 5 planning, 10 practice review, 15 work-based, 20 accredited²⁶ | Annual, 1 May to 30 April | Professional competence |

The 50-hour figure recurs, but it is not universal and it is not always the regulator's. In the United Kingdom it is a college recommendation, not a GMC mandate. In Canada the regulator-equivalent figure is 250 credits over five years, an average of 50 a year, which happens to land in the same place by a different route. In New York there is no general state figure at all.

---

5. Social Work CPD Requirements

Context. Social work is the profession where requirements diverge most sharply. Two of the four UK nations dropped their hours targets in 2025, one never had a numeric target in the form this page once claimed, and Australia does not register social workers at all. Read the jurisdiction, not the average.

5.1 England - Social Work England

Regulatory body: Social Work England
CPD status: mandatory for all registered social workers in England
Jurisdiction: England only

The requirement is a minimum of 2 different pieces of CPD per registration year, at least one of which must include a peer reflection.³⁴ The peer reflection element was missing from earlier versions of this page.

Registration year: 1 December to 30 November, and CPD must be recorded by 30 November each year.³⁴ This is an annual cycle. Earlier versions of this page listed Social Work England under a three-year cycle in the Executive Summary. It has not been triennial since the 2023 change.

What counts: formal training, conferences, e-learning, reading, peer support and group supervision, reflective practice, teaching, research, and service user feedback.

Recording: CPD is recorded in the Social Work England online account, with a description, dates, and reflection on learning and impact.

If you do not comply: renewal may be refused and fitness to practise proceedings may follow. Practising under the protected title without registration is a criminal offence.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

5.2 Scotland - Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)

Regulatory body: Scottish Social Services Council
CPD status: mandatory for all registered social workers in Scotland
Jurisdiction: Scotland only

There is no hours figure. Everyone registered with the SSSC must do continuous professional learning every year, and the SSSC does not specify a number of hours.³²

What is required: learning every year covering the core learning elements for your role, including mandatory learning on trauma and on adult and child protection, confirmed at the annual declaration.³³

Cycle: an annual declaration, not a five-year submission.

The 160-hour figure was wrong, and it was wrong in three places. Earlier versions of this page stated 160 hours over a five-year registration period, an average of 32 a year, and repeated it in the Executive Summary hours table and in the cycle-pattern table. The Post Registration Training and Learning scheme it referred to has been replaced by continuous professional learning, and the page's cited SSSC link now returns a 404. Even under the retired scheme the figure was never 160 hours. A Scottish social worker planning 32 hours a year against this page would have been working to a target that does not exist, while potentially missing the mandatory trauma and protection learning that does.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

5.3 Wales - Social Care Wales

Regulatory body: Social Care Wales, Gofal Cymdeithasol Cymru
CPD status: required, with the hours target removed in 2025
Jurisdiction: Wales only

From 1 April 2025 there is no hours target. Social Care Wales confirmed that registrants no longer need to provide evidence of having completed 45 or 90 hours of training every three years, depending on the part of the register.³⁵ For social workers the retired figure was 90.

Current requirement: engage in CPD that maintains and develops your skills, linked to the Code of Professional Practice, with records available for audit.

Registration cycle: registration lasts for up to three years.³⁶

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

5.4 Northern Ireland - Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC)

Regulatory body: Northern Ireland Social Care Council
CPD status: mandatory
Jurisdiction: Northern Ireland only

The requirement is 90 hours of Post Registration Training and Learning per registration period, with registration renewed for a further three or five year period depending on registration date.³⁷

What is required: PRTL linked to the NISCC Standards of Conduct and Practice, evidenced in a portfolio and submitted at renewal. Formal learning, work-based learning, professional activity and self-directed learning all count.

Northern Ireland is now the only UK nation with a numeric hours target for social work. England, Scotland and Wales have all moved away from one.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

5.5 New Zealand - Social Workers Registration Board (SWRB)

Regulatory body: Social Workers Registration Board
CPD status: mandatory

The requirement is a minimum of 20 hours of CPD during the year, and at least one activity must address practice that supports your competence to work with Māori.³⁸

Registration cycle: annual practising certificate.

What counts: formal professional development, competence reviews, supervision, self-directed learning, professional reading, conferences and workshops. Professional supervision is a separate requirement in its own right and can also count toward CPD.

The cultural element is not optional and it is not a general aspiration. It is a specific, auditable requirement of at least one activity a year, and it reflects Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. Te reo Māori learning, tikanga Māori and Māori social work models are all recognised routes.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

5.6 Ireland - CORU Social Workers Registration Board

Regulatory body: CORU, Social Workers Registration Board
CPD status: mandatory

There is a minimum, and it is 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period, at approximately one credit per hour of new or enhanced learning.²⁴

This corrects the page's most-repeated Irish claim. Four separate places in earlier versions stated that CORU sets no minimum hours and that registrants determine their own appropriate amount: this section, the social work summary table, the Ireland country analysis, and the emerging trends section. The 30-credit floor is published in the Board's CPD guidance and CORU audits against it. An Irish social worker relying on the old page would not have known the floor existed.

Registration cycle: annual renewal.

What is required alongside the credits: CPD relevant to your scope of practice, records with evidence, reflection on learning and its impact, and self-assessment against the Standards of Proficiency.

Audit: random selection, with the portfolio submitted for review.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

5.7 United States - State Variation

Regulatory structure: state licensing boards. There is no federal requirement.
CPD status: varies by state

Only one state figure on this page has been verified against the licensing authority.

| State | Requirement | Cycle | Applies to |
|-------|--------------|-------|-------|
| New York | 36 hours of approved continuing education | Triennial registration period | Both LMSW and LCSW⁶⁸ |

What this page does not carry. This page carries no figure for California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania. Those six rows were not re-checked in this pass. Given that five of the eight psychology rows and four of the eight medicine rows on this page turned out to be wrong, carrying them forward unverified would not be safe. This is a stated gap, not a claim that no requirement exists.

What to do instead: go to your own state licensing board, or the Association of Social Work Boards directory, and confirm the current figure and any mandated topics before you plan.

Common patterns where CPD is mandatory: an ethics component, and increasingly cultural competency. Some states mandate suicide prevention or child abuse recognition. No hours figures are given for these because none were verified.

Association credentials: NASW offers voluntary credentials with their own CPD conditions. These are membership and credential requirements, not licence requirements, and no figure is given here because none was verified.

5.8 Canada - Provincial Variation

Regulatory structure: provincial regulatory colleges. There is no national requirement.
CPD status: mandatory in the provinces checked, on very different terms

British Columbia - BC College of Social Workers. All registrants in the full, clinical or provisional class must complete a minimum of 40 hours of CPD in the annual cycle running 1 November to 31 October: 31 hours general, 3 hours ethical conduct, 3 hours cultural safety and anti-discriminatory practice, and 3 hours Indigenous-specific learning, with a maximum of 15 hours claimable per activity category.²¹

Note that social work was not part of the 2024 amalgamation that dissolved the College of Psychologists of BC, so the BC College of Social Workers is still the right body.

Ontario - Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. The Continuing Competence Program is not credit-based or hour-based: the College states that it is not necessary to collect either.²⁰ The College recommends a minimum of 25 hours a year spent on learning goals, and requires the portfolio to be retained for ten years.²⁰

Alberta - Alberta College of Social Workers. A continuing competence programme applies, with an annual learning plan and portfolio. This was not verified against the College in this pass, and no figure is given. Confirm with the College directly.

Other provinces: not checked.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026, for British Columbia and Ontario only.

5.9 Australia - No Statutory Regulation

Social work is not a registered profession nationally in Australia, and the title is not protected.¹⁰ There is therefore no statutory CPD requirement.

Professional association: Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)

CPD is not a requirement of ordinary AASW membership. It applies to Accredited Social Workers and to credential holders.¹¹

For Accredited Mental Health Social Workers, the requirement is 30 hours a year: 10 hours Category 1 supervision, 15 hours Category 2 skills and knowledge, and 5 hours Category 3 professional identity.¹² This is the group most relevant to readers of this page, since it is the credential attached to Medicare-funded mental health work.

Currency note: South Australia has moved on state-level registration, so a flat statement that social work is unregulated anywhere in Australia will not stay true indefinitely.

Checked against the association's published requirements, August 2026.

5.10 South Africa - SACSSP

Social workers in South Africa are regulated by the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP), which is established to regulate the education, training, development and professional conduct of the social service professions.⁴⁵

There is no HPCSA Professional Board for Social Workers. Earlier versions of this page named one, and said that some social workers fall under the HPCSA and others under SACSSP. The HPCSA CPD register table lists the registers of all twelve of its professional boards, and none of them is social work. No social workers are registered with, or CPD-regulated by, the HPCSA.⁴⁴

No CPD figure is given here. The SACSSP requirement was not established from a primary source in this pass, and we will not put a number on the page that nobody has checked. Confirm your own requirement directly with the SACSSP.

5.11 Summary: Social Work CPD Requirements

| Jurisdiction | Body | Requirement | Cycle | Mandatory |
|----------------|-----------------|----------------|-------|------------|
| England | Social Work England | 2 pieces of CPD, one with peer reflection³⁴ | Annual, 1 Dec to 30 Nov | Yes |
| Scotland | SSSC | Annual learning covering core elements, including trauma and protection. No hours specified³² | Annual declaration | Yes |
| Wales | Social Care Wales | No hours target since 1 April 2025³⁵ | Registration up to 3 years³⁶ | Yes |
| Northern Ireland | NISCC | 90 hours PRTL³⁷ | 3 or 5 years | Yes |
| New Zealand | SWRB | 20 hours, one activity supporting work with Māori³⁸ | Annual | Yes |
| Ireland | CORU SWRB | 30 CPD credits²⁴ | 12 months | Yes |
| British Columbia | BCCSW | 40 hours, with 3 ethics, 3 cultural safety, 3 Indigenous-specific²¹ | Annual, 1 Nov to 31 Oct | Yes |
| Ontario | OCSWSSW | Not hour-counted; 25 hours a year recommended²⁰ | Annual | Yes, as a programme |
| New York | NYSED | 36 hours⁶⁸ | Triennial | Yes |
| South Africa | SACSSP⁴⁵ | Not established here. Confirm with the Council | Not established | Regulated profession |
| Australia | None. AASW credentials only | 30 hours for Accredited Mental Health Social Workers¹² | Annual | No statutory requirement¹⁰ |

What stands out:
- Three of the four UK nations no longer set an hours figure for social work. Only Northern Ireland does
- The two jurisdictions with the most prescriptive requirements are British Columbia and Ireland, not the United Kingdom
- New Zealand is the clearest case of a mandatory cultural competence element written into the CPD rule itself
- Australia remains the outlier among comparable countries in not registering social workers at all

---

6. Counselling and MFT CPD Requirements

Context. Counselling and psychotherapy are statutorily regulated in fewer places than the other professions on this page, and where they are regulated it is often under a specific title rather than the general activity. Mandatory CPD follows the regulation.

6.1 Ontario, Canada - College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO)

Regulatory body: College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario
CPD status: mandatory for all registrants
Jurisdiction: Ontario only

The requirement is at least 40 hours of professional development learning activities during the two-year professional development reporting cycle, an average of 20 hours a year, plus at least one self-assessment and an attestation.¹⁸

What counts: formal courses and workshops, conferences, clinical supervision as supervisee, peer consultation groups, self-directed learning, teaching and training, research and publication, and a limited amount of committee work.

Records: maintain the records in your professional portfolio for the current and previous reporting cycles, that is four years.¹⁸ Earlier versions of this page said records should be retained for the duration of registration plus two years, which is neither the rule nor a safe approximation of it.

Audit: random selection under the Quality Assurance Program, with documentation submitted for review by the QA Committee. Remedial CPD may be required where evidence is deficient.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

6.2 Quebec, Canada - Ordre des psychologues du Québec

Ontario is not the only Canadian province that regulates psychotherapy. Quebec regulates the practice of psychotherapy through the psychotherapist's permit issued by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec.

The requirement is at least 90 hours of psychotherapy CPD for each five-year reference period, of which at least 5 hours must be formal consultation or individual supervision.¹⁹ It binds psychologists who practise psychotherapy and holders of the psychotherapist's permit alike. The current reference period runs 21 June 2022 to 20 June 2027.

This matters because the consequence is not administrative. Non-compliance suspends the right to practise psychotherapy. Earlier versions of this page said in three places that only Ontario regulates counselling and psychotherapy in Canada. A psychotherapist in Quebec reading that would have concluded no CPD obligation bound them.

Also regulated: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island regulate counselling therapists. Their requirements were not checked in this pass and no figures are given.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

6.3 New Zealand - Psychotherapists Board of Aotearoa New Zealand (PBANZ)

Regulatory body: Psychotherapists Board of Aotearoa New Zealand
CPD status: mandatory for registered psychotherapists

The distinction to hold onto: in New Zealand psychotherapists are statutorily regulated, and counsellors are not. NZAC offers voluntary membership for counsellors.

No hours are set. Participation in the Board's annual recertification programme requires engagement in continuing professional development.⁴¹

What the programme involves: CPD relevant to practice, peer review and ongoing supervision, self-assessment against the competencies, cultural competence with particular reference to Te Ao Māori and bicultural practice, and an annual practising certificate declaration. Plans are sighted by the clinical supervisor.⁴¹

Audit: psychotherapists can expect to be audited at least once every five years.⁴¹

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

6.4 Ireland - CORU Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board

Regulatory body: CORU, Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board
CPD status: will be mandatory once the registers open

Standards of Proficiency were published in July 2025.²⁷ That much of the earlier page was correct.

No opening date exists. CORU states that it is not possible to provide a definitive date for the opening of the registers for counsellors and psychotherapists.²⁸ The Board has set a four-year period for education providers to align their programmes with its requirements. Programme approval begins only after that, and the registers can open only once approved qualifications exist.

What to expect on CPD: CORU registration boards publish their own CPD guidance, and the boards that have done so set a minimum of 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period.²⁴ Nothing binds counsellors and psychotherapists until this Board publishes its own standard.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

6.5 United States - State Licensing Board Variation

Regulatory structure: state licensing of professional counsellors and marriage and family therapists, under a range of titles including LPC, LPCC, LCPC and LMHC.
CPD status: mandatory, on state-specific terms

Verified state figures

| State | Licence | Requirement | Cycle |
|-------|---------|----------------|-------|
| New York | LMHC | 36 hours of approved continuing education per triennial registration period⁶⁷ | 3 years |
| Texas | LPC | 24 hours per renewal period, of which at least 6 ethics and a further 3 distinct populations and competency⁶⁶ | 2 years |

Read the Texas components, not just the total. The 6 ethics hours and the 3 distinct-populations hours are specified requirements inside the 24, not general guidance.

Other states were not verified. This page carries no figure for California, Florida, Illinois or Ohio, no general LMFT band, and no figure for NBCC national certification. Confirm with your own board.

Approved providers: typically NBCC-approved, AAMFT-approved, APA CE sponsors and state-approved providers, varying by state.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026, for New York and Texas only.

6.6 Germany - Psychotherapy

Regulatory position: psychotherapy is a protected title and a protected activity. Counselling, Beratung, is generally not statutorily regulated.

The binding requirement is federal and uniform, not regional. Contract psychotherapists must evidence at least 250 CPD points, Fortbildungspunkte, to their Kassenärztliche Vereinigung within each five-year period.²⁹ The same 250-point rule applies in the hospital sector, of which at least 150 points must be profession-specific.³¹

Statutory basis: section 95d of SGB V. The federal associations set the appropriate scope of the five-year CPD requirement in agreement with the chambers at federal level.³⁰ The chambers issue the certificate that evidences compliance. They do not set the level.

Earlier versions of this page said 50 to 100 hours over five years and framed the requirement as varying by Land. That understates the requirement by a factor of between 2.5 and 5, and the framing is what allowed the page to avoid naming the one number that actually binds.

The consequence of falling short is financial and then existential: fee reductions of 10 per cent and then 25 per cent, and ultimately the loss of the practice authorisation.

Checked against the published rules and statute, August 2026.

6.7 United Kingdom - No Statutory Regulation

There is no statutory regulation of counsellors or psychotherapists in the United Kingdom. Registers are voluntary and accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

BACP: the association normally expects registered members to undertake at least 30 hours of CPD a year.⁴⁹ This is a condition of registered membership, not a legal requirement.

UKCP: CPD requirements are set by the member organisation, so they differ between colleges. No UKCP-published hours figure could be located, and a single range would in any case not be consistent with requirements that vary by member organisation. Ask your own member organisation.

Checked against the association's published requirements, August 2026, for BACP only.

6.8 Australia - No Statutory Regulation

There is no statutory regulation of counsellors or psychotherapists in Australia.

PACFA: a minimum of 20 CPD hours a year, at least 10 of which must be Category A, plus a separate 10 hours of formal supervision annually, rising to 15 hours where more than 400 client hours are accrued.¹³

Two corrections here. Earlier versions of this page gave PACFA as typically 30 hours a year and described CPD as recommended. The figure is 20 with a mandatory Category A component, the supervision hours sit outside it, and for PACFA registrants CPD is a condition of renewal rather than a recommendation.

ACA: the Australian Counselling Association also offers voluntary membership with its own CPD conditions. These were not verified in this pass and no figure is given.

Checked against the association's published requirements, August 2026, for PACFA only.

6.9 Summary: Counselling and Psychotherapy CPD Requirements

| Jurisdiction | Status | Requirement | Cycle |
|----------------|-------------------|----------------|-------|
| Ontario | Statutory | 40 hours¹⁸ | 2 years |
| Quebec | Statutory | 90 hours, of which 5 supervision or consultation¹⁹ | 5 years |
| New Zealand, psychotherapy | Statutory | No hours set; annual recertification⁴¹ | Annual |
| Ireland | Statutory, registers not open | To be published; no opening date²⁸ | To be set |
| United States | Statutory, state level | New York 36 per 3 years;⁶⁷ Texas 24 per 2 years⁶⁶ | 2 or 3 years |
| Germany | Statutory | 250 CPD points²⁹ | 5 years |
| United Kingdom | Not statutory | BACP 30 hours a year for registered members⁴⁹ | Annual |
| Australia | Not statutory | PACFA 20 hours plus 10 supervision¹³ | Annual |

What stands out:
- Statutory regulation of psychotherapy is broader in Canada than a single-province picture suggests
- Germany carries by far the heaviest verified requirement in this profession, and it is enforced through billing rights rather than through a register alone
- Where regulation is absent, association requirements can still be binding in practice, because registration is what clients, employers and insurers look for

---

7. Occupational Therapy CPD Requirements

Occupational therapy is regulated in every jurisdiction covered here, and CPD is mandatory in all of them. The models differ more than the professions do.

7.1 Australia - Occupational Therapy Board of Australia

Regulatory body: Occupational Therapy Board of Australia
CPD status: mandatory

The standard does set a minimum, and it is 20 hours. Registrants must complete at least 20 hours of CPD each year, including a minimum of five hours of CPD in an interactive setting with other practitioners.⁷

Pro rata: five hours for every three months of registration remaining.⁷

Registration standard: the revised standard took effect on 1 December 2019.⁸ Records are kept for five years.

This corrects the page in three places at once. Earlier versions said the standard sets no minimum hours and that guidelines suggest approximately 30 hours a year as reasonable for full-time practice, and repeated the 30 figure in the Australia country analysis and the Executive Summary table. An occupational therapist following the old page would have over-planned by half while missing the mandatory interactive-setting component entirely.

Currency warning: the Ahpra-wide standards review noted at 3.1 applies here too.²

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

7.2 United Kingdom - HCPC

Regulatory body: HCPC
CPD status: mandatory

Outcome-based, with no hours set. The five standards at 2.2 apply in full, on a two-year cycle, with a random sample audited at each renewal and a written profile required from those selected.⁴⁶

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

7.3 New Zealand - Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand

Regulatory body: Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand
CPD status: mandatory

No hours are specified. The ePortfolio is the recertification programme, and each ePortfolio cycle runs for a two-year period.⁴² The practising certificate is renewed annually and carries a CPD compliance declaration.

Note the two-year cycle sitting behind the annual declaration: an annual declaration alone does not tell you what period the evidence has to cover.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

7.4 Ireland - CORU Occupational Therapists Registration Board

Regulatory body: CORU, Occupational Therapists Registration Board
CPD status: mandatory

There is a minimum, and it is 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period.²⁵ Portfolio-based, subject to audit.

Earlier versions of this page described the CORU occupational therapy model as self-directed with no set minimum hours, in this section and again in the Ireland country analysis. That comes from the same misreading of the CORU model as hours-free that affected the social work section.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

7.5 United States and Canada

Not verified in this pass. Occupational therapy is licensed at state level in the United States and regulated by provincial colleges in Canada, and CPD is generally required in both. This page carries no hours figure for either, because none was checked against a licensing board or college. Go to your own state board or provincial college.

---

8. Psychiatric Nursing CPD Requirements

Psychiatric and mental health nurses are covered by general nursing CPD requirements in every jurisdiction here. Separate requirements appear only at advanced practice level.

8.1 United Kingdom - Nursing and Midwifery Council

Regulatory body: NMC
CPD status: mandatory for all nurses, mental health nurses included

The requirement is 35 hours of CPD in the three-year period since registration was last renewed, of which at least 20 must have included participatory learning.⁴⁸

Evidence: keep evidence of your CPD to show to your confirmer at revalidation.⁴⁸ No retention period is published on the NMC CPD page.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

8.2 Australia - Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia

Regulatory body: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
CPD status: mandatory

The requirement is a minimum of 20 hours of CPD per registration period.⁹

Mental health nurse practitioners need more. Nurse practitioners and nurses holding a scheduled-medicines endorsement require 10 additional hours, 30 in total.⁹ Mental health nurse practitioners fall in that group, which is why it belongs on this page. Earlier versions gave only the flat 20.

Currency warning: the Ahpra-wide standards review noted at 3.1 applies here too.²

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

8.3 United States - State Nursing Boards and ANCC

State requirements: set by each state board of nursing and not verified in this pass, so this page carries no figure for them. Confirm with your own board.

ANCC recertification for PMHNP-BC: 75 continuing education contact hours are mandatory, of which 25 must be pharmacology for nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist roles, plus at least one of eight professional development categories.⁷⁰

Practice hours are an alternative, not an addition. Practice or work hours are one of the eight categories, and ANCC states that they are an option to renew your certification but are not required.⁷⁰ Earlier versions of this page presented 75 contact hours plus 1,000 practice hours as a single joined requirement, in three separate places. A nurse practitioner reading that would have believed 1,000 practice hours were compulsory when they are one of eight ways to satisfy the second element.

Checked against the certifying body's published requirements, August 2026, for ANCC only.

8.4 Canada - Provincial Nursing Colleges

Not verified in this pass. Provincial colleges require CPD as part of continuing competence, and registered psychiatric nurse regulation exists as a distinct register in the western provinces. No figures are given because none were checked.

---

9. Psychometry CPD Requirements

Psychometry is rarely regulated as a standalone profession. In most jurisdictions psychological testing is done by registered psychologists under psychology regulation.

9.1 South Africa - HPCSA

South Africa is the clearest case of a separate psychometrist register.

Regulatory body: HPCSA, Professional Board for Psychology
CPD status: mandatory for registered psychometrists

The requirement is 30 CEUs a year: 25 clinical plus 5 in ethics, human rights or health law, the same structure as for psychologists.⁴³ Both components bind independently, as set out at 3.7.

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

9.2 Other Jurisdictions

Most countries: psychometry is practised by registered psychologists, so the psychology CPD requirement applies. See section 3.

United States: voluntary certification exists and may carry its own recertification conditions. These were not verified and no figures are given.

---

10. Creative and Expressive Therapies CPD Requirements

Art, music and drama therapy are statutorily regulated in very few places.

10.1 United Kingdom - HCPC

The HCPC is the clearest example of statutory regulation for this group, covering art therapists, music therapists and dramatherapists.

CPD status: mandatory, on the same outcome-based standards described at 2.2. Two-year cycle, no hours set, random sample audited at renewal.⁴⁶

Checked against the regulator's published requirements, August 2026.

10.2 United States - State Variation

Music therapy: licensed in some states, with CPD requirements set by each. This page carries neither a count of those states nor an hours figure, because neither was verified against a primary source.

Art therapy and drama therapy: few states license these, and CPD is mostly a matter of voluntary credentialing.

What to do: check whether your state licenses your therapy, and if it does, take the figure from the licensing board rather than from a summary.

10.3 Other Countries

Professional associations offer voluntary credentialing with CPD conditions attached. No statutory scheme comparable to the HCPC was identified.

---

11. Addiction Counselling CPD Requirements

Addiction counselling is rarely regulated at national level. CPD is usually attached to a certification or a state licence rather than to a national register.

11.1 IC&RC Recertification

Organisation: International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium
Type: certification consortium, not a statutory regulator

Member boards set their own requirements and they are autonomous. This page carries no cycle length, hours figure or ethics minimum for IC&RC, because none was verified against IC&RC or a member board. Ask the member board that issued your credential.

11.2 NAADAC and the NCC AP

Organisation: the National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals, NAADAC's certification arm
Type: certification body, not a statutory regulator

Not verified in this pass. This page carries no hours figure for NCC AP recertification. Confirm current requirements with the NCC AP.

11.3 United States - State Licensing Boards

Some states license addiction counsellors and attach CPD to renewal. The named examples are the Texas LCDC, the New York CASAC, and California certification overseen by the Department of Health Care Services.

No hours figures are given. No figure was verified for any of the named boards. Take the number from your own board.

11.4 Canada - CACCF

Organisation: Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation
Type: certification body, not a statutory regulator

Certified members require 20 CEU hours every year to maintain their certification, regardless of how many certifications they hold.²²

Checked against the certifying body's published requirements, August 2026.

Summary: the only verified figure in this section is the CACCF requirement. Everything else rests with a state board or a member board, and this page does not carry a number for any of them.

---

12. Country-by-Country Comparative Analysis

12.1 Australia

System: one national registration scheme, with each National Board setting its own CPD registration standard.

Verified requirements:
- Psychology: 30 hours a year, 10 of them peer consultation¹
- Psychiatry, through medical registration: 50 hours a year⁴
- Occupational therapy: 20 hours a year, 5 of them in an interactive setting⁷
- Nursing: 20 hours a year, 30 for nurse practitioners and endorsed nurses⁹

Not regulated: social work,¹⁰ counselling and psychotherapy, and addiction counselling. Association requirements apply to members and credential holders.

Audit: random selection at renewal. Ahpra publishes no audit rate.³

Currency: 14 National Boards are reviewing their CPD and recency-of-practice standards, with consultation closed 17 July 2026.² Every Australian figure above is liable to change.

12.2 United Kingdom

Four nations, and for social work four regulators.

Models in use:
- GMC revalidation for doctors: five-year cycle, annual appraisal, and no GMC-mandated CPD hours figure⁴⁷
- HCPC outcome-based for psychologists, occupational therapists and the arts therapies: two-year cycle, no hours⁴⁶
- NMC for nursing: 35 hours over three years, 20 participatory⁴⁸
- Social work: England 2 pieces a year;³⁴ Scotland annual learning with no hours;³² Wales no hours target since April 2025;³⁵ Northern Ireland 90 hours PRTL³⁷

Gap: counselling and psychotherapy are not statutorily regulated. Accredited voluntary registers are the only assurance mechanism.

12.3 New Zealand

Regulatory model: competence-based, under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.

Verified requirements:
- Psychology: Continuing Competence Programme, no hours specified³⁹
- Psychotherapy: annual recertification, no hours specified, audited at least once every five years⁴¹
- Occupational therapy: ePortfolio on a two-year cycle, no hours specified⁴²
- Social work: 20 hours a year, with at least one activity supporting competence to work with Māori³⁸
- Psychiatry: RANZCP 50 hours a year, alongside ongoing Medical Council recertification⁴⁰

Cultural competence: written into the requirements rather than encouraged alongside them, most explicitly in social work.

Gap: counsellors, as distinct from psychotherapists, are not regulated.

12.4 Ireland

System: CORU regulates 13 professions under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act, with doctors regulated separately by the Medical Council.

CORU sets a floor, and it is 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period.²⁴ That applies to social work²⁴ and occupational therapy.²⁵

Registers not yet open: psychologists, now expected in 2027;²³ counsellors and psychotherapists, with no date CORU is willing to give.²⁸

Doctors: 50 hours a year under the Medical Council's professional competence framework, with a specified internal split.²⁶

12.5 United States

No federal CPD mandate. Every requirement is set by a state board or a national certification body.

| Profession | What is verified here | Where |
|-----------|----------------------|-------------|
| Psychology | 20 to 40 hours per cycle across the eight states checked | 3.5 |
| Psychiatry, state CME | Wide variation, from no general hours figure in New York to 150 over three years in Illinois | 4.4 |
| Psychiatry, ABPN | 20 article exams per 3-year cycle⁶⁹ | 4.4 |
| Counselling | New York 36 per 3 years; Texas 24 per 2 years | 6.5 |
| Social work | New York 36 per 3 years. Six other state rows were removed as unverified | 5.7 |
| Psychiatric nursing, ANCC | 75 contact hours plus one of eight categories⁷⁰ | 8.3 |
| Occupational therapy, creative therapies, addiction counselling | Not verified. No figures given | 7.5, 10.2, 11.3 |

The claim that mandatory CPD applies in 49 of 50 states, with Florida as the exception, has been removed. Florida requires 40 CE hours per biennium for psychologists.⁵⁰ We have not counted the states and do not offer a replacement count.

Challenge: a practitioner working across state lines, including by telehealth, is generally subject to the requirements of each state where clients are located.

12.6 Canada

Constitutional position: health regulation is provincial.

Verified requirements:
- Psychiatry: Royal College MOC, 250 credits over five years, 25 a year minimum¹⁷
- Psychology, Ontario: 50 hours per two-year cycle with named content minima¹⁴
- Psychology, Alberta: 24 hours a year, no carry-forward¹⁵
- Psychotherapy, Ontario: 40 hours per two-year cycle¹⁸
- Psychotherapy, Quebec: 90 hours per five-year reference period¹⁹
- Social work, British Columbia: 40 hours a year with named content minima²¹
- Social work, Ontario: not hour-counted, 25 hours a year recommended²⁰

Two corrections that reach beyond a single row. The old generalisation that psychology in Canada is typically 40 to 50 hours per cycle is contradicted by Alberta at 24 and does not hold. The old statement that only Ontario regulates psychotherapy is contradicted by Quebec, where non-compliance suspends the right to practise.

Regulator names change. Psychologists in British Columbia have been regulated by the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC since June 2024.¹⁶ Social work there was not part of that amalgamation.

12.7 South Africa

System: the HPCSA regulates health professions through twelve professional boards. Social workers are regulated separately by the SACSSP.⁴⁵

Verified requirement: psychologists and psychometrists complete 30 CEUs per 12-month cycle, made up of 25 clinical and 5 ethics, human rights or health law, with both components binding independently.⁴³

There is no three-year accumulation. The cycle is twelve months and CEUs are valid for twelve months.⁴⁴

Do not generalise the 30. HPCSA publishes a minimum per register and they are not all the same.⁴⁴

---

13. Audit and Compliance Mechanisms

13.1 Audit Models

Random selection at renewal. The most common model. Ahpra selects registrants randomly when they apply to renew, and publishes no rate.³ The HCPC audits a random sample of each profession at each two-year renewal.⁴⁶ The New Zealand Psychologists Board runs random and targeted audits.³⁹

Scheduled audit. PBANZ states that psychotherapists can expect audit at least once every five years.⁴¹ That is the clearest published frequency on this page.

Confirmation by another person. NMC revalidation turns on evidence shown to a confirmer.⁴⁸ GMC revalidation turns on annual appraisal and a Responsible Officer's recommendation.⁴⁷

Self-declaration with spot check. HPCSA takes an annual declaration and audits a sample; a false declaration is a serious offence.⁴⁴ The SSSC confirms continuous professional learning at the annual declaration.³³

A note on audit rates. Very few regulators publish one. Plan on the assumption that you may be selected, not on an estimate of how likely it is.

13.2 Record-Keeping Requirements

Verified retention periods:
- Australia, psychology: five years¹
- Australia, medicine: three years after the end of each one-year cycle⁴
- Australia, occupational therapy: five years⁸
- United Kingdom, HCPC: the previous two years, the length of one cycle⁴⁶
- Ontario, CPBAO: at least five years¹⁴
- Ontario, CRPO: current and previous cycles, four years¹⁸
- Ontario, OCSWSSW: ten years²⁰

Two things follow. Retention periods are not derivable from the cycle length: Ontario social work is annual and requires ten years. And they differ between professions in the same country, so a psychologist and a doctor in Australia are on different rules.

Evidence typically required: certificates of completion, a CPD log, reflections on learning, and something showing how the learning reached practice.

13.3 Compliance Consequences

Registration: renewal refused, conditions imposed, suspension or removal from the register, or a requirement to complete remedial CPD.

Financial: late fees, penalties for false declarations, and the cost of fitness to practise proceedings. In Germany the consequence is graduated fee reductions of 10 and then 25 per cent, and ultimately loss of the practice authorisation.²⁹

Professional: fitness to practise investigation, inability to practise, and in Quebec specifically, suspension of the right to practise psychotherapy.¹⁹

13.4 Exemptions and Special Provisions

Commonly available: non-practising registration status, parental leave, medical leave, sabbatical, military service and retirement status. Terms differ by regulator and most require an application rather than applying automatically.

Pro rata: available in several schemes for late registration in a cycle. The Occupational Therapy Board of Australia sets five hours for every three months of registration remaining.⁷ Part-time practice does not generally reduce the requirement.

---

14. Exemptions and Special Provisions

14.1 Non-Practising Registration

Available in most jurisdictions. It usually carries no CPD requirement or a reduced one, a lower fee, and a bar on using the practising title. Converting back to practising registration generally requires CPD compliance first.

14.2 Parental Leave

Requirements are commonly pro-rated for time away. Extended absence may bring a competence requirement or a supervised return to practice.

14.3 Medical Leave and Illness

Application-based exemptions are typically available. Extended illness may lead to non-practising status, and a competence assessment may be required on return.

14.4 New Graduates

Several jurisdictions pro-rate the first year against months registered rather than applying the full annual figure from day one.

14.5 Retirement and Reduced Practice

Options are usually non-practising registration, a reduced scope of practice where the regulator offers one, or removal from the register.

---

15. Emerging Trends in CPD

15.1 Online CPD

Restrictions on online learning that were common before 2020 have largely gone. Virtual conferences, webinars, online courses and remote peer consultation are widely accepted, and the change looks settled rather than temporary.

15.2 Shorter and Modular CPD

Short focused modules, including podcast-based learning, are increasingly accepted where the activity is documented and reflected on. The documentation is what makes them count, not the format.

15.3 Cultural Competence and Equity Requirements

New Zealand: the SWRB requires at least one CPD activity a year addressing practice that supports competence to work with Māori.³⁸ Cultural competence also runs through the psychology and psychotherapy programmes.

Ontario: psychologists must include at least 5 hours of equity, diversity and inclusion within their 50-hour cycle.¹⁴

British Columbia: social workers must include 3 hours cultural safety and anti-discriminatory practice and 3 hours Indigenous-specific learning within their annual 40.²¹

United States: California requires at least 4 hours of cultural diversity or social justice for psychologists,⁵¹ and Texas requires 6 hours in distinct populations.⁵³

15.4 Telehealth-Specific CPD

Telehealth ethics, technology competence, the remote therapeutic relationship and risk management are appearing as CPD categories. We did not verify a jurisdiction that mandates telehealth CPD as a separate quota, so none is named.

15.5 Peer Consultation and Supervision

Australia: 10 of the 30 psychology hours must be peer consultation.¹

Ontario: at least 15 of the 50 hours must be professional interaction and interdisciplinary activity.¹⁴

Quebec: at least 5 of the 90 hours must be formal consultation or individual supervision.¹⁹

Australia, PACFA: 10 hours of formal supervision a year, rising to 15 above 400 client hours, separate from the CPD requirement.¹³

Peer learning is not a soft category in these schemes. It is a hard minimum inside the total, and it is the component most often missed.

15.6 From Hours to Outcomes

United Kingdom: the HCPC has run an outcome-based model with no hours for years.⁴⁶

Social work across the UK: England moved to a minimum of two pieces of CPD a year,³⁴ Wales dropped its hours target from 1 April 2025,³⁵ and the SSSC now specifies no number of hours.³²

New Zealand: psychology, psychotherapy and occupational therapy all run competence-based programmes without an hours figure.

Ireland is the counter-example. CORU is self-directed and outcome-focused in its philosophy, but it still sets a floor of 30 credits in every 12-month period.²⁴ Outcome-focused does not reliably mean hours-free.

15.7 Integration with Quality Improvement

United Kingdom: quality improvement activity is one of the six strands of GMC revalidation.⁴⁷

Australia: at least 25 of a doctor's 50 hours must go to activities focused on reviewing performance and measuring outcomes.⁴

Canada: the Royal College requires at least 25 credits in Section 3, assessment, including one Feedback Received activity.¹⁷

The pattern is consistent across medicine: half or more of the requirement is being moved away from attending things and toward looking at your own results.

---

16. Gaps in CPD Regulation

16.1 Social Work

Regulated with mandatory CPD: all four UK nations, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Canadian provinces checked. South Africa regulates social workers through the SACSSP.⁴⁵

Not registered nationally: Australia, where the title is not protected.¹⁰ South Australia has moved on state-level registration, so this may not hold indefinitely.

Variable: the United States, where requirements are set state by state and only New York was verified here.

16.2 Counselling and Psychotherapy

Statutory regulation with mandatory CPD: Ontario,¹⁸ Quebec,¹⁹ New Zealand for psychotherapy,⁴¹ Germany within the statutory insurance system,²⁹ and US states through LPC and LMHC licensure. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island also regulate counselling therapists.

Coming, without a date: Ireland.²⁸

Not regulated: the United Kingdom and Australia, where accredited voluntary registers carry the assurance function.

Austria regulates psychotherapy under the Psychotherapiegesetz. We did not verify its CPD requirement, so no figure is given and the mention here is descriptive only.

16.3 Addiction Counselling

Rarely statutory outside certain US states. Where CPD applies it usually attaches to a voluntary certification, and this page carries a verified figure for one of those bodies only.²² For a field with this much public health weight, that is a thin regulatory picture.

16.4 Creative Therapies

The HCPC is the only statutory scheme verified here, covering art, music and dramatherapists in the United Kingdom.⁴⁶ Some US states license music therapists. Elsewhere assurance rests on voluntary credentialing.

16.5 Federal Systems

The United States and Canada both leave this to states and provinces, so a practitioner moving jurisdiction faces a different requirement each time and there is no national figure to quote. This page reflects that by naming states and provinces rather than countries wherever a number appears.

---

17. Practical Implications for Practitioners

17.1 Confirm With Your Own Regulator

CPD requirements are jurisdiction-specific and they change. This page cites the regulator's own document for every figure it carries, which is exactly so that you can go and read it yourself. Identify your regulator, open its current standard, and note the cycle dates, the total, any mandatory components inside the total, and the retention period.

17.2 Read the Components, Not Just the Total

The most common way to fail is to hit the total and miss a component. Ontario psychologists can complete 50 hours and still fail if the ethics, equity and section minima are not met.¹⁴ South African practitioners are non-compliant if either the clinical or the ethics half falls short, even at 30 CEUs.⁴³ RANZCP participants need 23 hours across Sections 2 and 3 together, not just 10 and 5 separately.⁵

17.3 Plan Against the Cycle Dates

Cycles do not all run to the calendar year. Australian psychology runs 1 December to 30 November.¹ Alberta runs 1 April to 31 March and hours cannot be carried forward or back.¹⁵ British Columbia social work runs 1 November to 31 October.²¹ Ireland's medical year runs 1 May to 30 April.²⁶

17.4 Keep Records for the Right Period

Retention periods range from two years to ten across the schemes verified here, and they do not track cycle length. Keep the log, the certificates, the reflections and something showing how the learning reached your practice.

17.5 Quality Over Volume

Outcome-based regulators ask what changed in your practice, not how many hours you sat through. Even input-based schemes increasingly ask for reflection alongside the count.

17.6 Cultural Competence

In several schemes this is a hard requirement with its own hours, not a general encouragement. New Zealand, Ontario, British Columbia, California and Texas all set one.

17.7 Telehealth Competence

If you work remotely, telehealth ethics, technology and risk management are worth including whether or not your regulator has caught up with them.

17.8 Practising Across Borders

Where clients are located in another state, province or country, you are generally subject to that jurisdiction's requirements as well as your own. Compacts such as PSYPACT ease mobility without removing CPD obligations. If you plan to move, look up the destination requirement early.

---

18. References and Sources

Every numbered reference below was fetched and read during the August 2026 verification. Each is the regulator's, statute's or certifying body's own document, except where the entry says otherwise.

References

1. [1] Psychology Board of Australia. Continuing professional development registration standard. psychologyboard.gov.au
2. [2] Psychology Board of Australia. Registration standards (date of effect of the current CPD standard, and the multi-Board standards review with consultation closed 17 July 2026). psychologyboard.gov.au
3. [3] Ahpra. Registration audit. ahpra.gov.au
4. [4] Medical Board of Australia. Registration standard: continuing professional development, effective 1 January 2023. ahpra.gov.au
5. [5] RANZCP. CPD programme overview. ranzcp.org
6. [6] Medical Board of Australia. Registration renewal. medicalboard.gov.au
7. [7] Occupational Therapy Board of Australia. Continuing professional development registration standard. occupationaltherapyboard.gov.au
8. [8] Occupational Therapy Board of Australia. Continuing professional development (revised standard effective 1 December 2019). occupationaltherapyboard.gov.au
9. [9] Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. Continuing professional development registration standard, effective 1 June 2016. nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au
10. [10] Australian Association of Social Workers. Submission to the Parliament of Australia on the registration of social workers. aph.gov.au
11. [11] Australian Association of Social Workers. CPD FAQs. aasw.asn.au
12. [12] Australian Association of Social Workers. Notification of AMHSW (Accredited Mental Health Social Worker CPD categories). aasw.asn.au
13. [13] PACFA. CPD and supervision requirements. pacfa.org.au
14. [14] College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario. Continuing professional development. cpbao.ca
15. [15] College of Alberta Psychologists. Continuing competence. cap.ab.ca
16. [16] Government of British Columbia. News release, New college to regulate health and care professionals, 2024. news.gov.bc.ca
17. [17] Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Maintenance of Certification programme. royalcollege.ca
18. [18] College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Quality Assurance Program. crpo.ca
19. [19] Ordre des psychologues du Québec. Obligation de formation continue en psychotherapie. ordrepsy.qc.ca
20. [20] Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Continuing Competence Program. ocswssw.org
21. [21] BC College of Social Workers. Continuing professional development. bccsw.ca
22. [22] Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation. CEU information. caccf.ca
23. [23] CORU. Statutory regulation of psychologists. coru.ie
24. [24] CORU Social Workers Registration Board. Guidance on continuing professional development (PDF). coru.ie
25. [25] CORU Occupational Therapists Registration Board. Guidance on the CPD framework (PDF). coru.ie
26. [26] Medical Council of Ireland. Professional competence (Maintenance of Professional Competence Framework; MPC Rules S.I. 176 of 2025). medicalcouncil.ie
27. [27] CORU Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board. Standards and criteria, published July 2025. coru.ie
28. [28] CORU Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board. FAQ B: opening of the registers. coru.ie
29. [29] Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung. Fortbildung (250 CPD points per five-year period for contract doctors and contract psychotherapists). kbv.de
30. [30] Sozialgesetzbuch V, section 95d. gesetze-im-internet.de
31. [31] Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss. Vereinbarung zur Fortbildung (hospital sector: 250 points, of which at least 150 profession-specific) (PDF). g-ba.de
32. [32] Scottish Social Services Council. Continuous professional learning. learn.sssc.uk.com
33. [33] Scottish Social Services Council. CPL quick guide and FAQ (PDF). learn.sssc.uk.com
34. [34] Social Work England. CPD guidance for the registration year 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2026. socialworkengland.org.uk
35. [35] Social Care Wales. We've changed our CPD requirements to make it simpler. socialcare.wales
36. [36] Social Care Wales. Registration renewal. socialcare.wales
37. [37] Northern Ireland Social Care Council. Renewing your registration. niscc.info
38. [38] Social Workers Registration Board (New Zealand). Continuing professional development. swrb.govt.nz
39. [39] New Zealand Psychologists Board. Continuing Competence Programme: guide for participants (PDF). psychologistsboard.org.nz
40. [40] Medical Council of New Zealand. Recertification for doctors on a vocational scope of practice. mcnz.org.nz
41. [41] Psychotherapists Board of Aotearoa New Zealand. Recertification and recertification audit. pbanz.org.nz
42. [42] Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand. ePortfolio reference guide. otboard.org.nz
43. [43] Health Professions Council of South Africa, Professional Board for Psychology. CPD (per-register CEU table). hpcsa.co.za
44. [44] Health Professions Council of South Africa. CPD (twelve-month cycle and CEU validity; register table across the twelve professional boards). hpcsa.co.za
45. [45] South African Council for Social Service Professions. sacssp.co.za
46. [46] Health and Care Professions Council. Standards of continuing professional development. hcpc-uk.org
47. [47] General Medical Council. Continuing professional development (guidance on supporting information for revalidation). gmc-uk.org
48. [48] Nursing and Midwifery Council. Revalidation: CPD requirements. nmc.org.uk
49. [49] British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Guide to CPD. bacp.co.uk
50. [50] Florida Board of Psychology. Psychologist renewal. floridaspsychology.gov
51. [51] California Board of Psychology. Continuing professional development FAQs. psychology.ca.gov
52. [52] New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions. Psychology: continuing education. op.nysed.gov
53. [53] Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Renewing a psychology license. bhec.texas.gov
54. [54] Pennsylvania Department of State, State Board of Psychology. Renewal information. pa.gov
55. [55] Illinois Administrative Code, Title 68, Section 1400.600. ilga.gov
56. [56] Ohio Revised Code, section 4732.141. codes.ohio.gov
57. [57] Massachusetts. 251 CMR 4: continuing education (PDF). mass.gov
58. [58] Medical Board of California. Continuing medical education. mbc.ca.gov
59. [59] New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions. Training and continuing education (list of professions with a continuing education requirement; medicine is not on it). op.nysed.gov
60. [60] Texas Medical Board. Continuing education requirements for physicians. tmb.texas.gov
61. [61] Florida Board of Medicine. Medical doctor renewal. flboardofmedicine.gov
62. [62] Pennsylvania Department of State. CME requirements, MD unrestricted license (PDF). pa.gov
63. [63] Illinois State Medical Society. Medical license requirements. One step off primary: IDFPR does not publish the figure in retrievable form. isms.org
64. [64] State Medical Board of Ohio. Physician licensure and renewal. med.ohio.gov
65. [65] Massachusetts. 243 CMR 2.06, via the Cornell Legal Information Institute. law.cornell.edu
66. [66] Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Renewing an LPC license. bhec.texas.gov
67. [67] New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions. Mental health counselors: continuing education. op.nysed.gov
68. [68] New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions. Licensed master social worker: continuing education. op.nysed.gov
69. [69] American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Article-Based Continuing Certification pathway. abpn.org
70. [70] American Nurses Credentialing Center. Certification renewal requirements (PDF). nursingworld.org

---

Conclusion

1. CPD is a condition of registration wherever the profession is regulated. The exceptions on this page are not exceptions to CPD. They are places where the profession itself is not registered.

2. Totals are not comparable across borders, and they are not the whole requirement. The component inside the total is what most often catches people out: peer consultation in Australia, ethics and equity in Ontario, the clinical and ethics split in South Africa, and the combined section total in the RANZCP programme.

3. Four models are in use. Input-based counting, outcome-based portfolios, medical revalidation, and certification renewal. Which one applies changes what you have to be able to show, not just how much.

4. Some familiar figures do not belong to the body they are usually attached to. The 50 hours a year for UK doctors is a royal college recommendation, not a GMC mandate. The five-part Australian breakdown is RANZCP's, not the Medical Board's.

5. The trend is away from hours and toward evidence of change, most visibly in UK social work and in the medical schemes, where a large share of the requirement now sits in reviewing your own performance.

6. Federal systems have no national answer. In the United States and Canada the number that binds you is set where you are licensed, and this page names states and provinces rather than countries for that reason.

One closing caution. Every figure here is cited to the document it came from, and everything that could not be sourced has been taken out and said so. That is still not a substitute for opening your own regulator's current standard before you plan a cycle. Requirements change, sometimes mid-year, and the consequence of working to an out-of-date figure falls on you.