CORU CPD audit: what happens and how to be ready
Selected for a CORU CPD audit, or worried you might be? Here is how the audit works, what you submit, the deadlines, and how to keep your record ready all year.
The myCPD team · 10 October 2026
If you are registered with CORU, there is a chance you will be selected for a CPD audit. It is not a test of how good a practitioner you are. It checks one thing: that you have done enough new learning, reflected on it, and planned what comes next. Here is how it works, based on CORU's current CPD Audit Policy (version 3, November 2025).
Who gets selected
CORU selects a random sample of registrants from a profession. To be eligible, you must have been on the register for the whole audit period.
Some people are selected automatically. That includes anyone who was found non-compliant, did not engage, or had a deferral in the previous audit. A Registration Board can also select individuals or groups at any time.
When audits happen
Each profession is audited on its own date. CORU has published these:
| Audit date | Professions |
|---|---|
| 1 April 2026 | Medical Scientists, Podiatrists |
| 1 November 2026 | Dietitians, Radiographers, Speech and Language Therapists |
| 1 December 2026 | Social Care Workers (first audit, covering 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2026) |
| 1 April 2027 | Occupational Therapists, Optical professions |
| 1 June 2027 | Social Workers |
| 1 October 2027 | Physiotherapists |
Check CORU's CPD audit page for the latest dates for your profession.
What you need to have done
- 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period. One credit is one hour of new or enhanced learning.
- If your profession uses a 24-month cycle, you still need at least 30 credits in each 12-month period (60 in total).
- Extra credits cannot be carried forward into the next period.
What you submit
If you are selected, you get an email on the audit date. You then have 30 working days to submit your CPD record, or to ask for a deferral.
You submit your record through the CORU Registrant Portal. You do not need to upload certificates or other supporting documents, but keep them in case you are asked.
Your record is checked against four requirements:
- Learning activities that gave you new or enhanced learning, adding up to at least 30 credits
- Your evaluation and reflection on what you learned
- A review of your learning needs for the next 12 months
- The learning activities you plan for the next 12 months
Each record is judged compliant or non-compliant. CORU does not give written feedback on the quality of your record.
Mistakes that cause problems
- Including information that identifies anyone else, such as service users or colleagues. Keep it anonymous.
- Claiming lots of credits with a one-line reflection. The depth of your reflection should match the credits you claim.
- Vague learning, like "I learned a lot". Say exactly what you learned and how it changed what you do.
- Counting a whole day for a course where much was familiar. Only new or enhanced learning counts, and breaks do not.
- Logging admin tasks, like updating your CPD log, as learning.
- Copying or AI-generated text. CORU's policy asks registrants to avoid plagiarism and AI-generated content, and warns that this may be treated as professional misconduct. Write your record in your own words.
If something goes wrong
If your record is incomplete, CORU may ask you to correct it within 5 working days. If you have not submitted, you get a final notice with 10 working days to do so.
A non-compliant or non-engagement outcome is reported to your Registration Board, and you are automatically selected for the next audit. Repeated non-compliance can lead to a fitness to practise complaint.
Deferrals may be granted for things like statutory leave, a career break, serious illness or bereavement. Workload, personal commitments or further study are normally not enough.
How to be ready any day of the year
- Log CPD as you go, on the day you finish it, with the date, the hours and what you learned.
- Write your reflection while it is fresh. Two or three honest paragraphs beat a long essay written months later.
- Keep your evidence (certificates, notes, slides) with each entry.
- Check your running total against 30 credits for the current 12 months.
- Write your plan for the next 12 months before you need it: two or three learning needs and how you will meet them.
CORU also publishes a CPD record template and example records for each profession. They are worth reading before you start.
Sources
This article is general guidance, not regulatory or legal advice. Always check the current requirements of your own regulator. myCPD.ie is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by any regulator.