In short
- Many delegates must log CPD hours, and an accredited event lets them count the time they spend with you.
- CPD hours help delegates justify the ticket and travel costs to their employer.
- Accreditation signals that the programme is educational, not a sales event.
- Planning for accreditation early is easy: a clear programme, session timings and a way to record attendance.
Picture two conferences on the same topic, in the same month, at a similar price. One says "Earn up to 12 accredited CPD hours". The other says nothing about CPD. If you are a delegate who needs hours to keep your membership, or a manager signing off the budget, which one do you book?
For a growing number of professionals, CPD accreditation has moved from a nice extra to a deciding factor. Here is why it matters, and what it takes to get your event accredited.
Your delegates need hours, and they need to prove them
Accountants, insurance professionals, nurses, compliance officers, HR practitioners and many others must complete a set amount of CPD each year. ACCA members, for instance, need 40 units a year, at least 21 of them verifiable. In the European Union, insurance distributors must complete at least 15 hours of training a year.
A conference is one of the most efficient ways to earn those hours, but only if the delegate can prove them. An accredited event with numbered, verifiable certificates gives them exactly that. Our guide Who Needs CPD Hours? covers the main requirements.
CPD hours make the ticket easier to approve
Most delegates do not pay for themselves. Their manager or training budget does, and budgets are tight. "I would like to attend" is a weak request. "This event gives me 10 accredited CPD hours towards my professional requirement" is a strong one.
When you show the accredited hours clearly on your booking page and in your marketing, you are handing every potential delegate the sentence they need to get approval.
It tells people your programme is about learning
Delegates have learned to be wary of events that turn out to be one long sales pitch. Accreditation is an independent signal that the programme has clear learning outcomes, qualified speakers and real educational content. Promotional sessions do not count towards CPD hours, so an accredited event has been checked for exactly that.
It brings delegates back next year
People return to events that help them do their jobs and meet their obligations. If your summit becomes the place where a whole profession picks up a meaningful share of its annual CPD, it stops competing on price alone. Accreditation turns a one-off booking into a habit.
It helps you stand out, and be found
Every accredited activity gets its own page in Find CPD, our directory where professionals search for accredited learning. That is one more place for delegates to discover your event, with a direct link to your booking page.
What it takes to accredit a conference
Accrediting an event is more straightforward than many organisers expect. Under our Accreditation Standard, you will need:
- A programme with session timings and speakers. So we can see what is educational and how long it lasts.
- Learning outcomes. What delegates will know or be able to do after attending.
- Speaker profiles. A short summary of each speaker's relevant experience.
- An honest hours calculation. Educational sessions only. Breaks, meals, networking, exhibition time and sponsor pitches are excluded.
- A way to record attendance. Session scanning, sign-in sheets or app check-ins, so certificates reflect what each delegate actually attended.
- A feedback form and a route for questions or complaints.
Most organisers already have nearly all of this. Our provider portal walks you through each item with a checklist, and you can save as you go. See how the process works.
Plan it early
The best time to think about accreditation is when you are building the programme, not the week before the event. That way you can publish your CPD hours from the first day of ticket sales, when they do the most work for you. Allow ten working days for a decision once your submission is complete, or five with fast-track review.
Running one event a year?
You do not need a full membership to accredit a single conference. Our single event accreditation covers one conference or event for twelve months, with the same review, accreditation number, course page and verifiable certificates as our members get. If you run several events or courses a year, a membership plan is usually better value.
Ready to give your delegates a stronger reason to book? Accredit your event or compare the options.
Frequently asked questions
Can a conference be CPD accredited?
Yes. Conferences, summits and multi-session events can be accredited as one activity. The CPD hours are based on the educational sessions, excluding breaks, networking and promotional content.
How are CPD hours calculated for a conference?
Count the time spent in educational sessions that a delegate attends. Exhibition time, meals, breaks and sponsor pitches are excluded. Many events record attendance per session so each delegate's certificate shows the hours they actually attended.
Can I accredit just one event without a membership?
Yes. Our single event accreditation covers one conference or event for twelve months, for a one-off fee.