CPD explained
How much CPD is enough?
Published 4 November 2026 · 6 min read
Short answer: enough CPD is whatever meets your professional body's minimum, where one exists, plus whatever you genuinely need to stay competent in your actual role. Beyond that point, more hours stop adding much value, and collecting activity for its own sake — sometimes called “CPD hoarding” — can crowd out the reflection that makes CPD worth doing in the first place. The honest measure of enough is not a bigger number; it's whether you can say what each activity changed.
Most guidance on CPD, including our own profession pages, focuses on minimums: how many hours a body requires, and what happens if you fall short. Far less gets said about the other failure mode — doing CPD for the sake of a growing tally rather than genuine development. Both ends of that range cause real problems, and the fix for each is different.
The floor: meeting your body's minimum
Where your professional body sets a minimum, that's the non-negotiable floor, and our profession guides set out what a range of UK bodies actually require, from the IFoA's 15 hours to the GCC's 30. Below that floor, the conversation is about compliance, not quality, and our guide to what happens if you don't do your CPD covers the real consequences several bodies describe. But a body's minimum is a floor, not a target to aim precisely at — several bodies say explicitly that it's likely you'll need more, depending on your own role and development needs.
The less-discussed ceiling: when more CPD stops helping
There isn't a UK body whose guidance encourages collecting CPD hours beyond what genuine development requires, and several explicitly push the other way. BACP's guidance states plainly that the focus should be on outcomes, not hour-counting. The CII notes its figures are “only the minimum” and that the real requirement is set by development needs, not a target to maximise. The common thread across bodies that de-emphasise hours, including ARB and HCPC, is a shift of attention from volume to evidenced reflection.
Three signs you may be past the point of diminishing returns:
- You can list what you attended but not what changed. If your reflections are thin or repetitive across several activities, more hours won't fix that; better selection and deeper reflection will.
- You're choosing activities by convenience rather than need. Whatever webinar happens to be free this week is not the same as a deliberately chosen response to an identified gap.
- Your CPD record is growing faster than your actual role is changing. A genuinely developing practice tends to generate a natural, moderate flow of real learning needs, not an ever-accelerating log.
Finding the right amount for you
- Start from your body's minimum, if one exists, and treat it as the floor, not the finish line.
- Add what your actual role demands. A role undergoing real change — new regulation, new systems, a new specialism — genuinely needs more CPD than a stable one, regardless of what the minimum says.
- Weight quality over count. One well-chosen, well-reflected-on course that changes how you work is worth more than five attended passively. Our guide to writing a CPD reflective statement gives a method for checking whether an activity actually landed.
- Watch for diminishing returns, not just shortfalls. If you're well above your minimum and still adding activity mechanically, redirect that time into depth on fewer things, or into the learning-with-others and peer-discussion elements several bodies value, rather than more solo volume.
- Revisit the question periodically, not just at renewal. What counts as “enough” shifts as your role does; a figure that was right two years ago may now be too little or genuinely too much.
Choosing activities that earn their place
Whatever volume you land on, the same quality bar applies to each individual activity: clear, stated learning outcomes; a genuine check that learning happened, not just attendance; and an honestly justified duration. An AssuredCPD-accredited course is assessed against exactly these criteria, which makes it easier to judge in advance whether an activity is worth your limited CPD time, rather than discovering after the fact that it added hours without adding much else.
Common questions
Is there such a thing as doing too much CPD?
In the sense of genuine development, no, but collecting hours beyond what your actual learning needs require, without real reflection, adds little value. Several UK bodies explicitly emphasise outcomes over hour-counting for this reason.
Should I stop at my professional body's minimum CPD requirement?
Treat the minimum as a floor, not a target. Several bodies state explicitly that their published figure is a minimum and that real development needs often exceed it, depending on your role.
What are the signs I'm doing CPD for the wrong reasons?
If you can list what you attended but not what it changed, if you're picking activities by convenience rather than identified need, or if your CPD log is growing faster than your actual role is changing, it's worth reassessing your approach.
How do I decide how much CPD my role actually needs?
Start from your professional body's minimum, where one exists, then add what your specific role genuinely demands, particularly where your field, regulation or responsibilities are changing. A stable, settled role needs less than one in flux.
Is five hours of focused CPD better than fifteen hours of unfocused CPD?
Generally yes, for actual development, though if your body sets a hard minimum you still need to meet it. Beyond the minimum, a smaller number of well-chosen, well-reflected-on activities is usually more valuable than a larger number attended passively.
How can I judge whether a CPD activity is worth my time before I do it?
Look for clear, stated learning outcomes, a genuine way the activity checks learning rather than just attendance, and an honestly justified duration. Independently accredited courses are assessed against criteria like these, which makes that judgement easier in advance.