CPD requirements by profession

RCVS CPD requirements for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses

Last reviewed 27 October 2026

Veterinary CPD has an unusual shape. The RCVS sets a firm minimum number of hours — unlike several professions that have moved to outcomes alone — but it is almost entirely relaxed about what counts towards them, and it is firm about one thing hours alone cannot satisfy: reflection. Understanding that balance is the difference between a CPD year that is simply logged and one that actually meets the requirement.

Hours, plus reflection

The requirement sits in the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct, which obliges veterinary surgeons to maintain and develop the knowledge and skills relevant to their practice. The CPD policy turns that into numbers:

Two details are easy to miss. First, the requirement is the same whether you work full-time or part-time, and it applies equally to a vet approaching retirement who carries out only a few procedures a year: if you are on the practising Register, the 35 hours apply. Second, the figures are a minimum — the RCVS itself notes that most vets do considerably more. The nurse figure here is taken from the RCVS’s CPD page; the detailed policy text we reviewed is the veterinary surgeons’ policy, so nurses should confirm their own policy on the RCVS site.

Plan, do, record, reflect

The RCVS describes its approach as outcomes-based, and it is built on a four-step cycle that must be followed in addition to meeting the hours:

1. Plan — identify your learning needs and set objectives.
2. Do — undertake the learning activities.
3. Record — log them on 1CPD.
4. Reflect — consider what you learned and what changed.

The plan, the recording of activities and the reflections all need to be captured on 1CPD unless you have been granted an exemption. The RCVS is explicit about why: records based on inputs alone — hours spent in a lecture — do not prove that any significant learning has taken place or that it will improve practice. Reflection is not meant to be heavy; the 1CPD app offers guided reflection, open text boxes or voice notes, and the RCVS suggests three prompts: how the CPD related to your learning needs and plan, the key things you learned, and what impact it has had on you in your role.

What counts as CPD

This is where veterinary CPD is unusually generous. The RCVS does not specify the subjects or activities that must be covered, nor the type of CPD undertaken — it is a matter for the individual to identify the most appropriate learning for their practice. Anything relevant to and of benefit to any aspect of your professional life can be recordable, and the guidance gives examples across three groups:

Notably, there is no restriction on the number of hours of self-directed learning that can count, provided you reflect on it, and you do not need to complete 35 hours of face-to-face learning from an external provider. The RCVS also points out that skills beyond clinical medicine — practice management, communication, mentorship, stress management — can be as valuable as directly clinical CPD. Because so much is open to judgement, the burden shifts to you: the RCVS says it is your responsibility to keep a record of your learning plans and activities and documented evidence of participation.

New registrants, part-time vets and time away

The RCVS has a set of specific rules for people whose year does not look standard:

• New registrants. Your requirement starts from your registration date and is calculated pro-rata for the first year. Register in July and you are expected to complete 17.5 hours that year, then the full 35 hours in later years.
• New graduates. Enrol in the Veterinary Graduate Development Programme (VetGDP), formerly the Professional Development Phase. The RCVS treats completing it as a year’s worth of CPD, equivalent to 35 hours.
• Pausing CPD. If you must stay on the Register but cannot meet the requirement — for parental leave, serious ill health, a planned sabbatical and similar — you can apply to pause CPD for up to six months, and the hours are pro-rated. You can apply through 1CPD, there is no limit on the number of times you can pause, but applications cannot be made retrospectively. A personal learning plan should be developed within a month of the absence beginning.
• Non-practising status. Registrants who move to the non-practising category have no CPD obligation, though keeping up with the profession is advised if you plan to return.
• Overseas members. The same 35 hours and the same plan-do-record-reflect cycle apply; overseas members are recommended, but not required, to use 1CPD if they record CPD with their national authority.

Records, sampling and consequences

Recording on 1CPD is mandatory for UK-registered veterinary surgeons, with a route to apply for an exemption; if an exemption is granted, records must be uploaded to your RCVS My Account by 15 January each year. The RCVS may carry out random sampling of CPD records, so you could be asked to submit yours at any time. CPD records also have to be submitted with applications for RCVS certificates, diplomas and Advanced Practitioner or Specialist status, are viewed during inspections under the Practice Standards Scheme, and can be requested in investigations and disciplinary proceedings. That is a wider net than most professions — your CPD record is more than an annual formality.

On what happens if you fall short, the RCVS says registrants who have not met the requirement might be included in a CPD audit, where it checks your records and whether you have a plan to meet the requirement. The practical lesson is that a documented plan carries real weight. The RCVS also expects employers to consider both their own and their employees’ CPD needs, which is why practice owners and clinical directors have a stake in how their teams record CPD.

Where CPD accreditation fits — and where it doesn't

This is the part most training providers get wrong, so it is worth being blunt about it.

The RCVS does not itself accredit any CPD courses. Neither we nor any other CPD accreditation body can make a course “RCVS-approved”. A provider that tells you otherwise is overstating what it holds, and a vet who repeats that claim in a record is the one exposed if it is questioned.

What independent accreditation actually does is narrower and more useful. Because the RCVS leaves the judgement of what counts to you, and expects you to keep documented evidence, an independently assessed course gives you something solid to record against: stated learning outcomes, a CPD-hour figure assessed as proportionate rather than self-declared, and a certificate anyone can check. An AssuredCPD-accredited course carries all three, with a unique verification code. We are explicit in our own rules about what providers may and may not claim — see what you can and can't claim once a course is CPD accredited.

Practices should note the RCVS explicitly lists in-house training as valid CPD. If your practice runs its own training, our guide to whether in-house training can be CPD accredited explains how that works.

What to look for in a course

Whatever body you report to, the same four questions separate learning that will stand up from learning that won't:

• Are the learning outcomes written down? You cannot reflect on what a course changed if it never said what it intended to teach — and reflection is part of the requirement.
• Is the hour claim justified, or just asserted? An inflated figure is the single most common reason a course fails our assessment, and it is the figure you will be recording against your 35.
• Was anything actually assessed? A completion certificate for watching a video is not evidence of learning.
• Can the certificate be checked by someone else? A PDF proves nothing on its own. A reference a third party can verify does — and with random sampling and practice inspections, someone else may well check.

Under the RCVS’s outcomes-based cycle the first question does most of the work: a course that states what it intends to teach gives you something specific to plan around and reflect on.

How the UK bodies compare

CPD requirements are set independently by each body, and they differ far more than most people expect. Across the fourteen below, several set no hours target at all; several count records, pieces or outcomes rather than time; two require a set share of the total to be verifiable; and one fixes nearly half the requirement to named subject areas. The RCVS sits in a distinctive spot: a firm hours minimum, almost no restriction on what counts, and mandatory reflection. Knowing which model you are under matters more than knowing any single number.

Three practical points fall out of that table. First, a figure from one body tells you nothing about another — 35 RCVS hours a year, 35 NMC hours over three years and two Social Work England pieces are not comparable quantities. Second, several bodies now specify not just how much CPD but what kind: verifiable units for ACCA and the GDC, named themes for CIOB, participatory hours for the NMC, and mandatory reflection for the RCVS. Third, if you hold dual registration you are under both regimes at once, and the stricter one governs your planning.

Five mistakes that cost people their CPD year

These come up across every regime, and all five are avoidable at no cost.

1. Planning against the wrong year. The RCVS runs on the calendar year, January to December, while others run from a renewal date or a fixed deadline. Diarise your date, not a colleague's.
2. Logging hours without reflection. Reflection is part of the RCVS requirement, not an optional extra. Hours with no reflection record attendance, not learning.
3. Collecting certificates that prove attendance but not learning. If the certificate does not state learning outcomes and hours, you are reconstructing the detail from memory months later.
4. Leaving it until the end of the year. The RCVS expects CPD to be relevant to your role and to occur on a regular basis throughout the year, not to be crammed into December. A plan made in January and updated as you go is the safeguard.
5. Believing a provider's claim of regulator approval. The RCVS does not accredit CPD courses. A course advertised as “approved” by it is misdescribed, and repeating that claim in your own record is your exposure, not the provider's.

Common questions

How many CPD hours do veterinary surgeons need?

A minimum of 35 hours per calendar year for as long as you stay on the practising Register, whether you work full-time or part-time. The RCVS also requires you to follow its outcomes-based cycle of plan, do, record and reflect, so the hours must be recorded and reflected on.

How many CPD hours do veterinary nurses need?

RCVS sets a minimum of 15 hours a year plus reflection for registered veterinary nurses, measured over the calendar year. Check the RCVS CPD page for the current nurse requirement before you plan your year.

What does RCVS count as CPD?

Almost any learning relevant to your professional life. The RCVS does not specify subjects or types of CPD. Courses, conferences, clinical skills labs and distance learning count, and so do in-house training, significant event analysis, clinical audit, peer review and self-directed reading, with no cap on self-directed hours as long as you reflect on them.

Do I have to record my CPD in 1CPD?

Yes. 1CPD is the RCVS recording platform, available as a web portal and mobile app, and recording on it is mandatory for UK-registered veterinary surgeons. You can apply for an exemption, in which case your records must be uploaded to your RCVS My Account by 15 January each year.

What is the CPD requirement for new graduates and new registrants?

Your requirement starts from your registration date and is calculated pro-rata for the first year, so registering in July means 17.5 hours that year. New graduates enrol in VetGDP, and the RCVS treats completing it as a year’s worth of CPD, equivalent to 35 hours.

Can I pause my CPD for parental leave or illness?

Yes. If you need to stay on the Register but cannot meet the requirement because of a planned absence such as parental leave or exceptional circumstances such as serious ill health, you can apply to pause CPD for up to six months, and the hours are pro-rated. Applications cannot be made retrospectively. Non-practising registrants have no CPD obligation.

Does the RCVS approve or accredit CPD courses?

No. The RCVS states that it does not itself accredit any CPD courses. A provider describing a course as RCVS-approved is misdescribing what it holds, and you are responsible for the accuracy of what you record.

What should a good CPD certificate show?

The provider, the date, the hours claimed, the learning outcomes covered, and a reference someone else can check independently. A certificate stating only that you attended is the most common reason people struggle to evidence an activity later.

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AssuredCPD is an independent CPD accreditation body. We are not a government or regulatory body and do not award regulated qualifications. AssuredCPD accreditation is not endorsement, approval or recognition by any professional body named on this page, and we have no affiliation with them. Requirements are summarised from each body’s own published guidance and were checked on 27 October 2026; those bodies change their rules from time to time, so always confirm against the official source linked above before relying on it.