CPD certification means an independent CPD body has looked at your course and agreed the number of CPD hours it can carry. We are not that body, and we do not certify anything ourselves. Our job is the work either side of the body's decision. We check the course against the body's criteria and fix whatever would hold it up, then write and submit the application and deal with any questions. Once it is through, we come back every year to keep it in shape for renewal.
What the service covers
Most providers who come to us already have a decent course. What they lack is the time to work out which CPD body suits them, read its criteria line by line and then rebuild the bits that do not fit. That is the part we take on.
- Scoping and choosing the body. There are several CPD certification bodies in the UK, and they differ on criteria, fees, turnaround and renewal terms. We lay the options out for your course and your market, and you make the choice.
- Initial quality assurance. Before anything is submitted, we go through the outcomes, the hours, the content, the trainer evidence and the certificate against the body's published criteria. You get a written gap report.
- Fixing the gaps. We rewrite outcomes so they can be checked, redo the hours from the real timetable and bring out-of-date content up to date. If a course needs a proper rebuild, our course development for CPD Certification team does that.
- The application. We prepare the submission, upload the materials and answer the body's questions until there is a decision.
- Maintenance quality assurance. Each year, ahead of renewal, we review the course again: changes in the law, trainer changes, learner feedback and the certificates you have issued. Then we prepare the renewal.
Nobody regulates CPD certification in the UK, and no CPD body has official government status. A certificate is only as good as the body behind it. So we look at the body as hard as we look at your course: does it publish its criteria, keep a register you can check, and review courses on a fixed cycle?
The main points at a glance
You choose the body
We put the CPD bodies that fit your course side by side, with their criteria, fees and renewal terms, so the choice is yours and an informed one.
We check before they do
The initial review uses the body's own criteria. Problems get found by us, in private, and not by the body's assessor.
Hours we work out ourselves
We do the sum from your timetable, or by going through the eLearning. Lunch and registration never count, and the certificate says what the sum says.
One point of contact
We write the application, upload it and handle the body's queries. You sign it off and keep running your courses.
A yearly look
Laws change and courses drift. Before each renewal we check the course against what was approved and put right what has moved.
Room to go further
A course prepared this way is a sound base if you later want an MFHEA or UK regulated qualification. See Qualifications Accreditation.
Quality assurance, before and after the decision
Quality assurance is part of every CPD Certification job we take on. It is not sold separately.
| Initial quality assurance | Maintenance quality assurance | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before the application goes to the CPD body | Every year, ahead of renewal, and whenever the law or the course changes |
| What we check | Outcomes, hours, content currency, trainer evidence, the certificate and how learners give feedback | The course as delivered against the course as approved, updated law and guidance, certificates issued and learner feedback |
| What you get | A written gap report and a fix list, then a course ready to submit | A short annual report, the changes made, and a renewal ready to go |
The full detail is on our quality assurance page.
Who it is for
We work with providers in any country. Most come to us because they want to sell into the UK or the EU and need a course that meets what buyers there expect. The course can be taught in a room, online, on demand, or a bit of each.
What it is not
- Our own certificate. We do not run a CPD scheme or issue a CPD mark. The certificate and any mark come from the body you choose.
- A regulated qualification. There is no RQF, SCQF, MQF or EQF level attached, and we will never suggest there is.
- A licence to practise. If your regulator or professional body has rules for you, those rules still apply in full.
- A promise of acceptance. We cannot tell you that a particular professional body will take the hours. Each body makes that call for its own members.
Where CPD Certification sits next to other routes
Most providers end up choosing between three kinds of recognition. Each answers a different question, so here they are side by side.
| CPD Certification | UK regulated qualification | MFHEA accreditation (Malta) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it says | The course is sound and its CPD hours are real | The learner holds a qualification at a set level | The programme sits at an MQF level, referenced to the EQF |
| Who decides | The CPD certification body you choose, against its own criteria | An awarding organisation, overseen by the regulator for that nation | The Malta Further and Higher Education Authority |
| Best for | Short courses, workshops, webinar series, events, eLearning | Learning that must carry a formal level in the UK | Learning that needs an EU-readable level |
| Renewal | Usually yearly, set by the body | Set by the awarding organisation | Set by MFHEA |
| Our role | Preparation, submission and quality assurance | Course build, submission and quality assurance | Course build, submission and quality assurance |
Not sure which you need? That is the first thing we sort out on a scoping call. Our guides on what accreditation is and the four UK nations cover the regulated routes in more detail.
What holds most applications up
In the courses we see, three problems come up again and again. All three are cheap to fix before submission and slow to fix after it.
- The hours. A seven-hour day with lunch, registration and a long welcome rarely holds seven hours of learning. We do the sums and put the right figure on the certificate.
- The outcomes. Nobody can check "Understand GDPR". You can check "Explain when a breach has to be reported to the regulator, and how quickly", and that is the kind of outcome a CPD body wants to see.
- Currency. If a course quotes a law, a standard or a fee, it has to be the current one for the country where it is sold. A UK course quoting the EU GDPR where UK GDPR applies needs fixing first.
The process from start to finish is on the how it works page.
Common questions
Do you certify courses yourselves?
No. Apollo Accreditation is a consultancy. The CPD certification decision is made by the body you choose. We prepare the course, manage the application and run the quality assurance either side of it.
Which CPD body will you use?
The one that suits your course and your market. We set out the options with their criteria, fees and renewal terms, and you decide. If we ever have a business link with a body on that list, we tell you before you choose.
Is CPD certification a regulated qualification?
No. CPD certification in the UK has no government regulator, and a certified course does not carry an RQF, SCQF, MQF or EQF level. If you need a formal level, look at Qualifications Accreditation.
Will a professional body accept the hours?
That is up to the body. Many accept any relevant learning a member can show evidence for, while some want particular providers or formats. We help you check the rules for the bodies your learners belong to before you rely on them.
How much does it cost?
Two fees are involved. The CPD body charges its own fee, which you pay to the body. Our fee for preparation, submission and quality assurance is quoted in writing after the scoping call, and it includes the first year of maintenance quality assurance.
Can you help a provider outside the UK and the EU?
Yes. Where you are based matters less than where the course will be sold. We check the content against the rules of that country, and if that needs local knowledge we bring in an expert and tell you first.
What happens after the course is certified?
Maintenance quality assurance. Once a year, and whenever the law or the course changes, we review the course against what the body approved, put right what has moved and prepare the renewal.
From our Insights
How to calculate CPD hours for a course
CPD hours should match real learning time.
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Writing CPD learning outcomes an assessor can check
Vague outcomes make a CPD course hard to assess.
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What a CPD certificate should include
The details every CPD certificate needs so a learner can log it and a professional body can trust it, plus the wording to avoid and how long to keep records..
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How to check a CPD accreditation is genuine
CPD accreditation in the UK is unregulated, so marks vary.
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CPD accreditation for webinars, conferences and events
Webinars and conferences can carry CPD hours if they are planned as learning.
Read the articleFreeCourse diagnostic
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Sources
Last reviewed 14 October 2026. Apollo Accreditation is a consultancy. It is not a regulator, an awarding organisation or a CPD certification body, and CPD certification is not a regulated qualification.