What are CPD hours?
One CPD hour is roughly one hour of genuine, purposeful learning — whether you’re building your own professional development record, or documenting a course you deliver. Here’s what actually counts, how the hours are worked out, and how to make them stand up to scrutiny.
Hours of active learning, not time in the room
Professional learning comes in many shapes — a half-day workshop, a short webinar, a structured course, a mentoring session, or guided reading. A CPD hour represents one hour of that learning genuinely happening: time spent gaining new knowledge, practising a skill, or reflecting with purpose. It isn’t tied to how long an event runs or how long someone sits in a room.
Active learning can include:
- ✓Taking part in training sessions or workshops
- ✓Completing e-learning modules
- ✓Guided reading or reflection
- ✓Supervised practice
- ✓Structured assessments
However you’re using CPD hours
If you’re a professional rather than a training provider, CPD hours are simply the unit you use to track your own development. The same one-hour-equals-one-point principle applies whether you’re logging a workshop, a webinar, or a structured reading session — and the record can support:
- • Appraisal or promotion
- • Applications for new roles
- • Evidence for tenders or contracts
- • Licensing or revalidation submissions
- • A professional portfolio
If you’re delivering the training, allocating CPD hours means answering one question: how does this piece of learning measure up against other learning? Open CPD’s Aims, Skills, Outcomes framework gives you a consistent way to document that — the same structure that makes a certificate genuinely stand up to scrutiny, not just carry a number.
See how self-accreditation works, in three steps, on How it works.
One hour of active learning, one CPD hour
A widely used guideline is that one hour of active learning equals one CPD hour, point or credit. This makes it easier for employers and professional bodies to understand the depth of learning, even when the training formats differ. For shorter sessions, meaningful activities can be combined — a 30-minute workshop plus a 30-minute reflective task, for example, can reasonably add up to one CPD hour.
To count towards CPD, reviewers generally look for four elements:
What the learner should know, or be able to do, by the end.
The amount of active learning time actually involved.
Why the activity matters for the learner's professional development.
Something that shows the learner genuinely engaged, not just attended.
Why consistent CPD hours matter
CPD hours only carry value if they’re applied consistently and transparently. Using a clear method helps the people reviewing your certificates — HR managers, recruiters, or professional bodies — understand exactly what the hours represent, and how they compare with other learning.
CPD hours: your key questions answered
CPD hours are a way to measure active professional learning. One CPD hour usually reflects one hour of purposeful development — training, supervised practice, or guided reflection — rather than simply time spent in a room.
Allocate and document CPD hours consistently
Open CPD works with training providers, not directly with individual learners. If you deliver the training, see how the Aims, Skills, Outcomes framework helps you allocate CPD hours consistently and issue certificates that hold up to scrutiny.
Logging your own CPD hours as a learner rather than running the training? This demo isn’t for you — ask your training provider whether they issue certificates through Open CPD.