Switching CPD Providers? How to Move Without Losing a Single Accredited Course

You have built a library of accredited courses. They are on your website, your certificates carry an accreditation number and your learners rely on the hours. So when you start wondering whether another accreditation body would suit you better, the first feeling is often dread. All that paperwork, again?

It does not have to be that way. Providers switch accreditation bodies for good reasons all the time, and with a little planning the move can be smooth, with no gap in cover for your learners. Here is how.

Why providers switch

The reasons we hear most are practical ones:

• Price. Fees that rise every year, or charges per certificate that grow with your learner numbers.
• Speed. Long, unpredictable waits for a decision when a launch date is fixed.
• Clarity. Standards that are not published, or feedback that does not explain what needs to change.
• Location. Wanting an accreditation body based in the same region as your business and learners. We explore this in Why More Training Providers Are Choosing an EU-Based CPD Accreditation Body.
• Visibility. Wanting a directory that actually sends learners to your courses.

Step 1: List your courses and their expiry dates

Start with a simple list: each accredited course, its current accreditation number and the date that accreditation ends. This is the backbone of your plan. It tells you which courses to move first and how much time you have.

Step 2: Gather what you already have

The good news: almost everything you submitted for your current accreditation is useful again. Course outlines, session plans, slides, learning outcomes, quizzes and assessments, trainer profiles, feedback forms and your complaints procedure. You do not need to start from scratch, and you do not need to reformat anything.

Step 3: Check it against the new standard

Each accreditation body has its own standard, and accreditation does not transfer automatically. Every course is assessed against the new standard. Most of the time, providers find they already meet it, with perhaps one or two items to add, such as a clearer hours calculation or a recent review date for the content.

Our Accreditation Standard is published in full, along with a self-assessment checklist, so you can see exactly what we look for before you commit.

Step 4: Move in waves, not all at once

Submit the courses whose current accreditation expires soonest first. Allow ten working days for a decision once a submission is complete, or five with fast-track review. That way each course is approved before its old accreditation ends, and your learners never notice the change, apart from the new mark on their certificates.

Step 5: Update your website and certificates

Once a course is approved, update its page, brochure and certificate with the new accreditation number and mark. Your course also gets its own page in Find CPD, linking straight to your booking page. Certificates already issued under your old accreditation normally remain valid for the learners who earned them, under that body's rules.

Or let us do the heavy lifting

If you are moving to The CPD Accreditation Bureau, you do not have to do steps 2 and 3 alone. All you have to do is send us the materials you already used for your current accreditation. We match them to our standard, tell you exactly where everything goes and flag anything missing. We plan the move with you around your expiry dates, so no course is left without accreditation.

And your first membership year is 50% off. Just tick "I am moving from another CPD accreditation body" when you join.

See how switching works or claim 50% off and switch today.

Frequently asked questions