CPD requirements by profession

RTPI CPD requirements for chartered town planners

Last reviewed 5 November 2026

The Royal Town Planning Institute has run a CPD scheme since 1992, and it is one of the more process-heavy versions of the two-year model: a fixed hours total, a mandatory personal plan renewed annually, a genuine random audit with real disciplinary teeth, and a notably honest admission that the Institute cannot tell you how many hours a self-directed activity is worth — only you can judge that.

The four-part requirement

The RTPI's own definition of CPD is deliberately broad — formal courses, research, work-based learning, qualifications, online learning and reading all count — which it frames as giving members “the freedom to choose the CPD that best suits your needs” given how varied planning roles are.

Who the hours apply to, and how they're counted

Every Member except students, affiliates and retired members must plan, complete and record CPD. There is no reduction for part-time work or job-sharing: the RTPI's guidance is explicit that part-time and job-sharing members are expected to undertake the full 50 hours over the two-year period, the same as full-time members, because they must remain equally competent.

One detail that sets the RTPI apart from many hours-based schemes: it assigns hours automatically to its own RTPI events, but does not pre-assign hours to self-directed or non-RTPI activity. The guidance's reasoning is candid — the RTPI considers you “the best person to recognise how much you have learnt from an individual activity.” Its own worked example: attending a six-hour conference where you already knew half the material covered means recording three hours, not six.

Random monitoring, with real consequences

The RTPI runs genuine annual monitoring, not a theoretical audit power. Every year, it confidentially checks compliance through a randomly selected sample of the membership. If selected, you submit your PDPs for the previous two calendar years, your current PDP, and confirmation of your online CPD record for the same period, including your reflections.

Pass, and you're excluded from random selection for the next two years. If your plans or records fall short, the RTPI's first response is supportive: it will contact you to understand why — incomplete information, a misunderstanding of the requirement, or genuine difficulty — and offer advice or help. But the guidance is clear that failing to supply a plan or record at all, without an acceptable reason, is likely to be a breach of the Code of Conduct and may lead to disciplinary action.

Under Byelaw 20, the RTPI can warn a Member, reprimand them, suspend their membership, or terminate it entirely for a Code breach. The guidance does, however, note that action is extremely unlikely against a Member whose record, while falling short of the full requirement, shows real evidence of having tried.

Exemptions: narrower than you might expect

The RTPI's exemption list is short. Parents are exempt for six months following childbirth or adoption while on maternity, shared parental, or adoption leave. Beyond that, the Board of Trustees may, only in very exceptional cases, use its discretion to relieve a Member of the requirement in part or in full — this is not a routine process. Notably:

• Career breaks for travel or study do not exempt you — the CPD obligation continues, and the guidance suggests sources such as site visits abroad or online learning.
• Members approaching retirement remain subject to the full requirement unless they have formally transferred to retired membership.
• Members no longer working in planning, including the unemployed, must still complete CPD clearly related to planning.
• Members of other professional bodies must meet each body's requirements separately, though CPD relevant to more than one can be logged against both.

Where CPD accreditation fits — and where it doesn’t

The RTPI's own guidance does not describe a scheme for accrediting external CPD providers or courses. An AssuredCPD-accredited course is not approved or endorsed by the RTPI, and we have no affiliation with it.

What independent accreditation offers a planner is particularly relevant given the RTPI's own approach: since non-RTPI activity isn't pre-assigned hours and members must judge for themselves how much they actually learned, a course with written, measurable learning outcomes and an honestly justified hours figure, assessed under our Standards Framework, gives you a defensible basis for that judgement rather than a guess. It also supports the reflective record the RTPI explicitly asks for: a certificate stating clear outcomes gives you something concrete to reflect against, and a verifiable certificate reference gives you something to produce if you're selected for monitoring.

If you provide CPD for planners or related built-environment professionals, our guide to writing learning outcomes that pass covers building a course whose hours figure a member can actually trust and use.

How the UK bodies compare

CPD requirements are set independently by each body, and they differ far more than most people expect. Across the twenty-two below, several set no hours target at all; several count records, pieces or outcomes rather than time; several fix a share of the total as structured, verifiable or participatory; and two tie around half or more of the requirement to named subject areas. The RTPI's two-year cycle with a mandatory personal plan and genuine random audit sits among the more rigorously enforced of the hours-based schemes.

Three practical points fall out of that table. First, a figure from one body tells you nothing about another — the RTPI's 50 hours over two years and the CII's 35 hours every single year measure very different paces of requirement. Second, several bodies specify not just how much CPD but who judges the hours: the RTPI leaves self-directed activity entirely to the member's own judgement, where the CII and GCC specify exact minimum durations. Third, a body that runs genuine annual random monitoring, as the RTPI does, rewards a record kept current throughout the cycle over one assembled under pressure when selected.

Five mistakes that cost planners their CPD compliance

1. Letting the PDP lapse. It's a yearly requirement in its own right, not a one-off document from when you qualified.
2. Assuming a career break pauses the clock. Only parental leave does, for six months. A travel or study break does not.
3. Recording the advertised length of an activity, not what was actually learned. The RTPI expects you to judge the real learning value, not the time spent in the room.
4. Skipping the reflection. A record of dates and hours with no reflection on benefit falls short of what the online record actually asks for.
5. Going silent if selected for monitoring. Failing to respond at all is treated far more seriously than a record that falls short but shows a genuine attempt.

Common questions

How many CPD hours do RTPI members need?

A minimum of 50 hours over a two-year period, expected to be undertaken as around 25 hours per calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December. The RTPI describes this as roughly 30 minutes a week on average.

Who is exempt from RTPI CPD requirements?

Students, affiliates and retired members. All other RTPI Members must plan, complete and record their CPD, including part-time members, members no longer working in planning, and members living or working outside the UK and Ireland.

What is a Professional Development Plan (PDP)?

A plan, updated once a year, setting out your personal professional goals, objectives and action plan for the next two years. Preparing or reviewing your PDP is the first of the RTPI's four CPD requirements, alongside undertaking the 50 hours, maintaining an online record, and submitting both on request.

Does the RTPI check CPD records?

Yes. Every year it confidentially monitors compliance through a randomly selected sample of the membership. If selected, you submit your PDPs for the previous two calendar years, your current PDP, and your online CPD record for the same period with reflections on each activity.

What happens if you're selected for RTPI CPD monitoring and found non-compliant?

If your plans or records don't meet the Code's requirements, the RTPI will contact you to explain why, which could be incomplete information, a misunderstanding, or genuine difficulty, and will offer advice or help. However, failing to supply a plan or record without an acceptable reason is likely to be a breach of the Code of Conduct and may lead to disciplinary action.

What disciplinary action can the RTPI take for a CPD breach?

Under Byelaw 20, the RTPI can warn the Member, reprimand them, suspend them from membership, or terminate their membership. The guidance notes it's extremely unlikely action would be taken against a Member whose record, while falling short, showed a real attempt to comply.

Can RTPI members get an exemption from CPD?

Parents are exempt from CPD regulations for six months following childbirth or adoption while on maternity, shared parental, or adoption leave. Beyond that, the Board of Trustees may, only in very exceptional cases, exercise discretion to relieve a Member of the requirement in part or in full.

Does the RTPI accredit CPD courses or providers?

The RTPI's own CPD guidance does not describe a scheme for accrediting external providers or courses. It notes that hours are assigned to RTPI's own events, but self-directed or non-RTPI activity is not pre-assigned hours, because members are expected to judge for themselves how much they actually learned.

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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 5 November 2026; those bodies change their rules from time to time, so always confirm against the official source linked above before relying on it.