Understanding CPD audits

Keeping your continuing professional development (CPD) record up to date is one thing – knowing what happens in an audit is another. This guide explains what CPD audits are, why they matter to you and how to prepare if you’re selected.

What is a CPD audit?

It is a spot-check by IOSH to make sure our members are:

following the CPD cycle (assess and plan, learn, record, apply and reflect)
logging 30 hours of learning to show professional development
providing honest, clear reflections and evidence
keeping up to date with our ethics e-learning (mandatory for Chartered Members and Fellows, and those applying to become Chartered Members).

It’s not about catching you out – it’s about upholding professional standards and helping you get the most from your CPD.

Why might I be selected?

Technical Members, Certified Members, Chartered Members and Chartered Fellows can be audited because CPD is mandatory at these grades.

You may be chosen because:

you’ve been randomly selected, or
you’re progressing to another membership grade.

What happens if I’m selected?

Notification

You’ll get an email from us telling you you’ve been selected for a CPD audit.
Review
We check your CPD record in Blueprint against our requirements. From your last membership renewal date, we look for:
- evidence of planning, action, recording and reflection
- a minimum of 30 hours of relevant learning logged during the last year
- a clear, honest reflective statement for each activity describing what you learned and how you will apply this in practice.
Chartered Members, Chartered Fellows and those applying to become a Chartered Member also need to show they have held an IOSH Ethical Practice in OSH e-learning certificate throughout the last year.
Outcome
You’ll usually hear back from us by email within six to eight weeks. We’ll provide written feedback on our decision. There are two possible outcomes.
- Compliant: that’s great, your CPD meets our standards.
- Non-compliant: we need further input from you. We’ll let you know what you need to do. You’ll get up to 90 days (3 months) to achieve compliance. If you do not do this, you are at risk of being moved to Affiliate Member status.
You have the chance to appeal a non-compliant decision. If you appeal, you have two weeks to provide new information for us to consider. There is a fee to appeal, which is refunded if the appeal is successful.

Tips to prepare your record

If you’ve not already done so, log in to Blueprint and complete your self-assessment and personal development plan. You’ll be able to identify areas for development based on the standards set in the IOSH competency framework. This allows you to select relevant topics that you want to learn more about.

For each CPD activity, you need to provide:

a title
a category
a brief description
the number of hours the activity took to complete
a meaningful reflective statement
a start and end date.

Your reflective statement should answer these questions:

what activity did I complete?
why did I choose to complete this activity?
what did I learn or gain from this activity?
how will I use this learning in my professional practice?

You can add as many activities as you want. You need to log a minimum of 30 hours over each 12-month CPD cycle.

We’ll request that you submit your CPD within 90 days (3 months). If you do not reply, we’ll email again and give you two more weeks to respond. At the end of this period, we’ll contact you and start the process of moving you to Affiliate Member status.

Final thoughts

A CPD audit might feel daunting. But it’s an opportunity to show how you’ve grown and to spot any gaps before they become bigger issues. Keep your record current, regularly review it and you’ll handle an audit with confidence.