Buying guide
CPD accredited, certified, approved or regulated: what's the difference?
Published 2 October 2026 · 6 min read
Training is sold with a lot of reassuring words: accredited, certified, approved, endorsed, licensed, regulated. They sound interchangeable, but only one of them has a fixed legal meaning in England. The rest describe whatever the body using them says they describe. Here's how to tell them apart, and the four questions that cut through all of them.
The short version: “Regulated qualification” has a legal meaning: it's a qualification from an awarding organisation regulated by Ofqual in England, with separate arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. “CPD accredited,” “certified” and “approved” are market terms with no legal definition, often used interchangeably. What matters is who assessed the course, against what published standard, and whether you can verify the result.
The one term with a legal meaning: regulated qualification
A regulated qualification is awarded by an awarding organisation that is recognised and overseen by the qualifications regulator — Ofqual in England, with separate regulators and frameworks in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Regulated qualifications sit on a published framework with defined levels and assessment requirements. If a course is described as a regulated qualification, you can check it on the regulator's register.
CPD accreditation is not that, and shouldn't be described as it. Section 9 of our own Standards Framework prohibits accredited providers from calling AssuredCPD accreditation “Ofqual-approved,” “government-approved,” an “official qualification” or a “regulated qualification.”
CPD accredited, certified, approved
These three are used across the market to mean broadly the same thing: an independent body has reviewed a course and judged it suitable for continuing professional development. Even other accreditation bodies acknowledge it — one UK body's pricing page notes that people use several of these phrases while looking for the same thing. None of them is defined in law, so two “CPD certified” courses can have been through very different levels of scrutiny.
Endorsed
“Endorsed” is used by some bodies for their own marks, sometimes for a lighter review than full accreditation. Again, there's no legal definition. Ask what was assessed and against what.
Licensed
A licensed programme is a specific curriculum that the owner permits approved trainers to deliver. MHFA England's Mental Health First Aid course is a well-known example: only MHFA England licenses instructors to deliver it. A licence is about permission to deliver a branded course, not an independent quality review of your own one — see our mental health training guide for how the two fit together.
Approved by a professional body or regulator
Some professional bodies approve courses for their own members or schemes, and some regulators set training expectations without approving courses at all. HSE, for example, stopped approving first aid training providers in 2013. Each sector has its own landscape — see our guides for health and safety, mental health, safeguarding, food hygiene, fire safety and first aid training.
Four questions that cut through the labels
- Who assessed it? A named, independent body — or the provider itself?
- Against what? Is the standard published, so you can read what was checked?
- Can you verify it? Does the certificate carry a reference you can check with the body that issued the mark?
- Is it described accurately? A CPD course described as a “regulated qualification” or “government-approved” is a warning sign, whatever else it says.
FAQ
Is CPD accredited the same as a regulated qualification?
No. A regulated qualification is awarded by an awarding organisation overseen by a qualifications regulator, such as Ofqual in England. CPD accreditation is an independent review of a course against a body's published standard. AssuredCPD's framework prohibits providers from describing its accreditation as a regulated qualification.
What's the difference between CPD accredited and CPD certified?
In practice, usually none. CPD accredited, certified and approved are market terms without a legal definition and are often used interchangeably. The meaningful questions are who assessed the course, against what published standard, and whether the certificate can be verified.
Is a licensed course the same as an accredited course?
No. A licence permits a trainer to deliver a specific branded curriculum, such as MHFA England's Mental Health First Aid. Accreditation is an independent review of a provider's own course against a published standard.
How can I check what a CPD course has really been through?
Ask who assessed it, whether the standard it was assessed against is published, whether the certificate carries a reference you can verify with the accrediting body, and whether the course is described accurately rather than as a regulated or government-approved qualification.