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How to display a CPD accreditation badge correctly

Published 13 August 2026 · 6 min read

Getting accredited is the hard part. Displaying the mark afterwards looks trivial by comparison — drop the badge on the page and move on. In practice this is where most of the avoidable problems start, because a badge in the wrong place makes a claim you didn't mean to make, and a badge with nothing attached to it makes no claim at all.

Where the badge belongs

On the accredited course's own page. That is the single most important rule, and it follows directly from what accreditation is: an assessment of that course, not of your company.

A badge in your site-wide header or footer appears on every page — your homepage, your about page, and every course you haven't had assessed. To a visitor, that reads as an organisation-level endorsement. If you hold membership covering your whole portfolio, that may be accurate. If you have three accredited courses out of twelve, it isn't, and it's the most common scope mistake we see. We've covered the underlying rules in what you can and can't claim once your course is CPD accredited.

Good placements, in rough order of usefulness:

• The course page, near the price or the "what you get" list — where a buyer is deciding.
• The certificate the learner receives, with the verification code.
• The course listing card, if your catalogue shows badges per course.
• A course-specific PDF or brochure, for that course only.

Placements to avoid: the site header, the global footer, your email signature, the homepage hero, and any page covering courses that were not assessed.

Size it so the wording can be read

A CPD badge is not a decorative element. Its job is to carry information — who accredited the course, and that the accreditation is real. Shrunk to 40 pixels in a row of grey logos, it carries neither, and you have given up the benefit you paid for.

Practical guidance: keep it large enough that the accreditor's name is legible without zooming, roughly 120–180 pixels wide on desktop for a horizontal mark. Leave clear space around it — badges crammed against other logos read as a badge farm and lose credibility rather than gaining it. And give it an alt attribute that says what it is: "Accredited by AssuredCPD" rather than "badge".

Don't alter the artwork

Use the files supplied, unmodified. Under our Terms, the licence permits display of the mark in accordance with the brand guidelines and specifically prohibits altering or distorting it. In practice, that rules out:

• Recolouring it to match your palette
• Stretching or squashing it to fit a slot
• Cropping it, or lifting the icon out of the lockup
• Adding drop shadows, outlines, glows or rotation
• Re-typesetting the wording in your own font
• Screenshotting it from a search result instead of using the supplied file

The reason isn't brand vanity. An accreditation mark works as a trust signal because it looks the same everywhere it appears — that consistency is what lets someone recognise it as genuine. A recoloured, restyled variant is indistinguishable from one somebody invented, which devalues it for you and for every other accredited provider.

Always pair the badge with something checkable

This is the part most providers skip, and it's the part that does the actual work. A logo on its own proves nothing — anyone can copy an image. What makes the claim credible is that a sceptical buyer can confirm it in ten seconds without contacting you.

So put the reference next to the badge, and link it. A single line is enough:

Accredited by AssuredCPD · 6 CPD hours · Verify this accreditation

That line is factual, specific and independently checkable. It also happens to be far more persuasive than a paragraph explaining what CPD accreditation means, because it invites verification rather than asking for trust.

Every certificate you issue must carry the unique verification code and a link to the public verification page, in the form we prescribe. That isn't decoration either — it's the mechanism that makes a certificate distinguishable from a template someone downloaded.

Say the CPD hours, and say them accurately

The badge tells someone the course was independently assessed. The CPD hours tell them what it's worth to their record. Both matter, and the hours must match what was actually assessed — the claimed figure is one of the six things we check, and inflated hour claims are the most common reason a submission comes back short.

If you shorten or extend the course later, the hours may no longer be right. Material changes need to be notified; they can require reassessment. Quietly increasing a CPD-hour claim on an accredited course is a misrepresentation of the accreditation, not a marketing decision.

What to take down when accreditation ends

The licence to display the mark ends when the accreditation does — whether it lapses, you choose not to renew, or it's withdrawn. At that point the badge and any associated wording have to come off, and the usual problem is not unwillingness but forgetfulness: nobody can remember everywhere it was put.

Keep a list from the day you first display it. The places people miss:

• PDF brochures and downloadable course outlines
• Slide decks and trainer packs
• Email footers and proposal templates
• Third-party course directories and marketplace listings
• Old landing pages and archived campaign URLs
• Social media profile images and cover art
• The certificate template itself

Continuing to display a lapsed mark is a breach of the licence, and in advertising terms it's a claim of approval you no longer hold. It's also entirely avoidable: diarise the expiry date, and audit the list a month before it falls due.

A short checklist before you publish

1. Is the badge on the page for the course that was actually assessed?
2. Is it absent from the site-wide header and footer?
3. Can you read the accreditor's name without zooming in?
4. Is it the supplied file, unaltered?
5. Does a meaningful alt attribute describe it?
6. Is the verification reference next to it, and linked?
7. Do the stated CPD hours match what was assessed?
8. Is the expiry date in a calendar, with a list of every place the badge appears?

Common questions

Where should a CPD accreditation badge be displayed?

On the page for the course that was accredited, near the price or the course details, and on the certificate the learner receives. Avoid placing it in the site-wide header or footer, because that implies your whole organisation is accredited rather than the specific course that was assessed.

Can I resize or recolour a CPD accreditation badge?

Resizing proportionally is fine, provided the accreditor's name stays legible. Recolouring, stretching, cropping, rotating or adding effects is not. The AssuredCPD licence permits display of the mark in accordance with the brand guidelines and specifically prohibits altering or distorting it.

What should be written next to a CPD badge?

The accreditation reference and a link to verification, alongside the CPD hours. A line such as "Accredited by AssuredCPD · 6 CPD hours · Verify this accreditation" is factual, specific and independently checkable, which is more persuasive than a logo on its own.

What happens to the badge when CPD accreditation expires?

The licence to display the mark ends with the accreditation, so the badge and any related wording must be removed everywhere it appears. That includes PDFs, slide decks, email footers, third-party directories, social profiles and the certificate template, not just the course page.

Can I put a CPD badge on courses that were not assessed?

No. The mark may only be displayed in connection with the specific accredited course or courses. Using it on unassessed courses is a breach of the licence and misrepresents what was accredited.

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