Buying guide
Is CPD accreditation worth it? An honest cost–benefit
Published 2 October 2026 · 6 min read
It's an awkward question for an accreditation body to answer, so here's the honest version. CPD accreditation is worth it for a lot of providers and not worth it for some. The difference comes down to who buys your training and what they need to see.
The short version: accreditation costs £350 plus VAT for a single course in year one (renewing at £245), or from about £195 down to about £67 a course on an annual membership. It's usually worth it when your buyers or learners need independent evidence of quality. It usually isn't when the training is purely internal, already a regulated qualification, or your buyer requires a specific body's approval.
What it costs
From our published pricing page (all prices plus VAT):
- Single course: £350 in the first year, renewing at £245.
- Memberships: £975 for up to 5 courses (about £195 a course), £1,380 for up to 10, £1,930 for up to 20, and £3,330 for up to 50 (about £67 a course). Every package renews at 30% off.
- No extras: no application fee, no per-course charge within your tier, no per-certificate fees.
What you get for it
- An independent assessment of your course against a published framework, with a written decision in five working days.
- A licence to use the AssuredCPD mark on accredited courses.
- A listing in the public provider directory.
- Unlimited learner certificates, each with a code anyone can check on the verification page.
When it's usually worth it
- You sell to organisations. HR teams, procurement officers and trustees increasingly look for independent quality evidence when choosing training.
- Your learners log CPD. Professionals who record CPD hours for a professional body find a documented, verifiable course easier to evidence.
- You sell online in a crowded market. When buyers can't meet you, a checkable mark is one of the few quality signals they have.
- You sell internationally. A UK-issued, verifiable mark travels with online courses — see our guides for Australia, Canada, the United States, India and South Africa.
When it usually isn't
- Purely internal, one-off training that nobody outside your organisation needs evidence of.
- Courses that are already regulated qualifications. They have their own quality assurance; CPD accreditation adds little.
- Your buyer requires a specific body. Some buyers or schemes ask for a named licence or approval — an MHFA England licence, for example. CPD accreditation from anyone else won't substitute.
- The learning can't be evidenced. If there's no way to check what learners learned, the course isn't ready for accreditation yet.
Each sector also has its own landscape of regulators and approvals. Our guides for health and safety, mental health, safeguarding, food hygiene, fire safety and first aid training explain where CPD accreditation fits in each.
A quick way to decide
Ask your three best customers what would make them more confident buying from you. If the answer is independent proof of quality, accreditation is probably worth it. If the answer is a specific named approval, get that instead.
FAQ
How much does CPD accreditation cost?
With AssuredCPD, a single course costs £350 plus VAT in the first year and renews at £245. Annual memberships run from £975 for up to five courses to £3,330 for up to fifty, renewing at 30% off. There are no application or per-certificate fees.
Is CPD accreditation worth it for a small training provider?
Usually, if you sell to organisations, your learners need to evidence CPD, or you sell online where buyers can't judge quality in person. It is usually not worth it for purely internal training, for courses that are already regulated qualifications, or where a buyer requires a specific named approval instead.
Does CPD accreditation help sell courses internationally?
It can. A UK-issued CPD mark with verifiable certificates travels with online courses to learners in other countries, although whether a specific overseas professional body accepts it is that body's own decision.