How the 30 CPD credits in every 12 months rule works

The rule in plain words

CORU's CPD Audit page says a random selection of registrants will be asked to submit a CPD record showing a minimum of 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period. The same page gives each profession an audit period and the date the audit call starts. The CPD FAQ adds that the same 30 credits apply to everyone on the register, whatever their work pattern, and that credits cannot be carried forward to the next period.

Two readings of "every 12-month period" matter in practice. The audit guidelines link the 12-month periods to your registration renewal date, so a 24-month audit period is two back to back blocks of 12 months, each needing 30. A stricter reading is any 12 months at all: the 12 months ending on any day you pick. A log that meets the stricter reading always meets the block reading, so it is the safe one to watch.

How a 12-month period is counted

A 12-month period ending on a date starts on the day after the same date one year earlier. The period ending 30 November 2026 runs from 1 December 2025. An activity counts when its date falls on or between those two days. Leap years need one rule, and we state it so the count is repeatable:

• The 12 months ending 28 February 2027 start on 1 March 2026.
• The 12 months ending 29 February 2028 start on 1 March 2027: the earlier date is taken as 28 February, and the period starts the day after.
• An activity spread over several days is best logged on the day it finished, or as one entry per day, so it cannot sit half in one period and half in another.

The audit blocks follow the published audit period. For social care workers that is one block, 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2026. For physiotherapists, 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2027 is two blocks, each 12 months long. The audit periods by profession page lists every profession the audit page schedules.

Worked example

A social care worker logs five activities in the audit period 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2026: 7 credits on 10 December 2025, then 6, 3.5, 8 and 6.5 credits later in the year. The block holds 31 credits, so the audit block is met.

Now look forward. If nothing new is logged, the 12 months ending 10 December 2026 start on 11 December 2025, which is the day after the first activity. That 7-credit course drops out and the total falls to 24. The rolling reading dips under 30 on 10 December 2026, just ten days after the audit period closes.

Nothing is wrong with the audited block, but the next block has started with a gap to close. This is the date the counter shows as "you would first fall under 30", and it is the reason to log steadily rather than in one burst before an audit.

Common mistakes

• Counting a calendar year (January to December) when your audit period runs from another month. Check your profession's dates.
• Treating 60 credits across a 24-month period as enough. Each 12-month block needs its own 30; 50 in the first year and 10 in the second is short.
• Carrying surplus credits forward. The FAQ says they cannot be transferred to the next period.
• Counting hours of attendance instead of hours of new or enhanced learning. Breaks and revision of what you already knew are not credits.
• Logging activities only when an audit notice arrives. You then have 30 days to write reflections for up to two years of learning.

Keep your own CPD log

Reflectora logs each activity with its credits and the four reflective fields, counts your credits in every 12-month period, shows the date you would fall under 30 if you logged nothing new, and prints an audit pack in your own layout. Everything stays in this browser.

Sources

Last reviewed 28 September 2026 against:

• CPD Audit, CORU, page undated; audit schedule table as shown on the read date, read 28 September 2026. Used for: the minimum of 30 credits in every 12-month period, the four parts of a record, random selection through the registrant portal, and the audit period and audit date for each profession
• CPD General Questions (FAQ), CORU, page undated, read 28 September 2026. Used for: one hour of new or enhanced learning equals one credit, any fraction of an hour may be attributed, the registrant decides the credits, no carry forward, the same requirement on leave, part-time or a career break, and keeping records while on the register
• Continuing Professional Development Audit: Guidelines for Registrants, CORU, document undated, read 28 September 2026. Used for: audit periods of 12 or 24 months, 30 credits in every 12-month period linked to the registration renewal date, what a submitted record contains, no service user or colleague identifiers, supporting documents kept but not submitted, and the two outcomes

This guide is our own summary of the published documents, not legal advice and not a finding about your application; the regulator's assessors decide. If it disagrees with the current documents, the documents win. Reflectora is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to CORU, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council, any registration board or any professional body.