Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme is a mandatory, ongoing, and structured process that ensures that registered health practitioners engage and participate in learning and educational experiences to enhance professional skills, knowledge and experience.
Compliance to the CPD requirements is an ethical and legal obligation imposed on all health practitioners registered in terms of the Health Professions Act, 56 of 1974 in order to maintain registration with Council.[1] Essentially, the above means that a health practitioner who is not compliant with the minimum CPD requirements as determined will not be permitted to renew their registration effective 1 April 2026.[2]
Note that the health practitioners may choose any formal and/or informal recognised training and educational activities to engage in this lifelong learning endeavour.[3] The HPCSA recognise attendance and/or participating on the CPD activity earns that relates to the following domains: professional practice (scope of profession and practice), ethics, human rights and medical law[4]. Engaging in CPD helps health professionals adapt to industry changes, improve problem-solving abilities, and increase career confidence. It is also crucial for maintaining professional standards and fostering career advancement:
- Health practitioners are required to accumulate Continuing Education Units (CEUs) on an annual basis.
- The annual cycle of CPD programme is recurring, meaning that the cycle is determined by the date of CPD activity that contributes to compliance status.
- Each CEU is valid for 12 months from the date on which the activity took place. This means that the health practitioners should at all material times maintain a balance of two years’ worth of CEUs, topping-up on an ongoing basis.[4]
Please note: Practitioners registered with multiple Professional Boards are required to comply with CPD requirements for each profession.
Help
Click here for instructions on how to view your CPD status, update your contact details or perform any other self-service function, access the online services on the HPCSA website.
Practitioners experiencing any specific issues with their HPCSA registration can click here for guidance on how to log a service request.
References
[1] Rules relating to Continuing Education and Training of registered practitioners, 2007.
[2] Health Professions Act, 1974
[3] Singh S.A., Fish T.D. (2019). South African health practitioners’ patterns of CPD practices–implications for maintenance of licensure. African Journal of Health Professions Education, 11(4), pp.123-128.
[4] Health Professions Council South Africa. (2024). Continuing Professional Development. Guidelines for the Health Care Professionals. Pretoria. http://www.hpcsa.co.za (accessed 15 February 2026).
Last Updated on 20 March 2026 by HPCSA Corporate Affairs