Physiotherapists registered with the Health and Care Professions Council are required to maintain continuing professional development as a condition of registration renewal. Unlike some professional regulators, the HCPC does not specify a minimum number of CPD hours per year. What it specifies instead is a framework of standards that your CPD must meet — a framework built around quality, relevance, and evidence of benefit to practice.
For many physiotherapists, this approach is both more flexible and more demanding than a simple hour count. It requires genuine engagement with professional development, not just logging time.
The HCPC CPD Standards
The HCPC sets four standards for CPD, all of which must be met.
You must maintain a continuous, up-to-date, and accurate record of your CPD activities. This means keeping a portfolio throughout your registration period, not reconstructing one when renewal approaches.
Your CPD activities must be a mixture of learning activities relevant to your current or future practice. The HCPC expects variety — not just formal courses, but informal learning, peer-based activity, self-directed study, and reflection. A portfolio consisting entirely of one type of activity would be unlikely to meet this standard.
You must seek to ensure that your CPD has contributed to the quality of your practice and service delivery. This is where reflection becomes essential. The HCPC wants to see evidence that your learning has connected to how you work — that it was not just accumulated for its own sake.
You must seek to ensure that your CPD benefits the service user. CPD ultimately exists to improve patient care. Your portfolio should demonstrate that the professional development you have undertaken is oriented toward this outcome.
The Two-Year Registration Cycle and the Renewal Audit
HCPC registration is renewed every two years. When you renew, you declare that you have met the CPD standards during your registration period. The HCPC then conducts a random audit of approximately 2.5% of registrants, who are asked to submit their CPD portfolio for assessment.
This is a fundamentally different structure from regulators who require annual declarations. Your CPD obligation runs across the full two-year period. There is no single annual deadline. But this does not mean CPD can be deferred to the second year — the HCPC expects continuous engagement throughout the registration period, and a portfolio that shows activity concentrated in the months before renewal is unlikely to demonstrate the continuous professional development the standards require.
What a Strong HCPC CPD Portfolio Contains
For each CPD activity, your portfolio should include a description of the activity, the date and approximate time spent, an explanation of why it was relevant to your practice, and a reflection on what you learned and how it has or will affect your work.
The HCPC's CPD standards are assessed by reviewing a statement of how you have met each of the four standards, supported by evidence from your portfolio. When your portfolio is audited, assessors look at whether the activities are varied, whether the reflections are genuine, whether there is a clear connection between your CPD and your clinical role, and whether the portfolio reflects continuous engagement.
What Counts as CPD for HCPC Purposes
The HCPC's emphasis on a mixture of learning activities means that informal and self-directed learning is not just accepted — it is expected. Peer discussion, case reflection, journal reading, supervision, teaching, attending team training, completing e-learning modules, and undertaking formal postgraduate qualifications all contribute. The key question for any activity is whether it involved genuine learning relevant to your practice and whether you can evidence and reflect on it.
What Happens If Your Portfolio Is Audited
If you are selected for audit, you will be asked to submit your CPD portfolio within a specified timeframe. Assessors review whether you have met the four standards. If your portfolio does not meet the standards, the HCPC will work with you to understand why and may set conditions before your registration is renewed.
The most effective preparation for any audit is a portfolio maintained throughout your registration period, updated after each CPD activity, and built around genuine professional engagement rather than administrative compliance.