CPD NSA - The CPD Register Review

Name and sensitive-words assessment

The organisation trades as "CPD NSA", with "NSA" presented prominently on every page as "National Standards Authority". The homepage describes the organisation as "the UK's leading independent CPD accreditation institution".
Under Companies House guidance on sensitive words and expressions:

"Standards" (Annex A, item 122) requires that use of the word must not imply the organisation is an established national standard-setting body, unless evidence of such status is provided.
"Institute / Institution" (Annex A, item 66) is normally only approved for fully functioning, established organisations operating as institutes or institutions, typically professional bodies of the highest standing or research bodies.
"Accredit / Accreditation" (Annex A, item 2) requires a letter of non-objection from the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
The wider construction "National Standards Authority" combines three sensitive elements ("National", "Standards", "Authority") in a phrasing that mirrors the form of statutory regulators.

No statutory standard-setting status, institutional status, or government recognition is evidenced on the website. As at the date of access, no UK legal entity has been identified for the organisation, so it is not possible to verify whether any sensitive-word approvals were obtained at incorporation.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/ and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/incorporation-and-names/annex-a-sensitive-words-and-expressions-or-words-that-could-imply-a-connection-with-government — accessed 30 April 2026.

Commercial identification and contactability

No legal entity is disclosed anywhere on the website. The Terms and Conditions refer only to "CPD NSA" as "the Company"; no company number, partnership, sole trader, or registered office is identified. The footer carries only "© 2024 CPD NSA" and an email address.
No physical trading or registered address is published on the homepage, contact section, footer, Terms and Conditions, or Privacy Policy. No telephone number is published. The only contact methods are an email address and a website contact form.

A Companies House search carried out on 30 April 2026 did not return any active UK company under the name "CPD NSA" or "CPD National Standards Authority". Without a verified legal entity, directors and Persons with Significant Control cannot be identified.

This position does not meet the transparency standard set out in Companies Act 2006 sections 1200–1206 (trading disclosures) or section 1141 (appropriate registered office), which apply to UK businesses regardless of legal form, and falls short of the additional transparency expectation introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

This is also referenced in our previous findings, where CPD NSA was listed under organisations that do not meet the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act guidance for businesses.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/, https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/terms-and-conditions, https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/privacy-policy, https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/ — accessed 30 April 2026.

Transparency of assessment framework

No published assessment framework or criteria document is accessible on the website. The Features page lists six accreditation streams (Course, Webinar, Podcast, Event, Trainer, Employer) with marketing descriptions, and the FAQ refers to a "universally accepted and structured checklist developed by The CPD NSA" and "proven assessment criteria", but the actual criteria, checklist, or framework against which submissions are assessed is not published.

Without a published framework, training providers cannot determine in advance what they are being assessed against, and consumers cannot verify what an "Approved Provider" or accredited activity status represents.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/features and https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/faq — accessed 30 April 2026.

Pricing transparency

Pricing for Approved Provider and activity accreditation services is published. Three tiers are listed:

Basic — £0 (free CPD Approved Training Provider status)
Standard — £60 per month (unlimited activity accreditations, 14-day turnaround)
Premium — £360 per year (unlimited activity accreditations, 7-day turnaround)

The Terms and Conditions also disclose a per-certificate fee of £1 for certificates issued under the CPD NSA logo (T&Cs 2.9, 3.2.6, 3.3.6, 3.4.5, 3.7.3), which is not displayed on the Pricing page itself. Trainer and Employer accreditation pricing is not separately published.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/pricing and https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/terms-and-conditions — accessed 30 April 2026.

Terms and conditions

Terms and Conditions are published and accessible from the website footer without login or payment. The document is comprehensive, runs to 12 numbered sections, and addresses contract formation, fees, intellectual property (including a non-exclusive licence in favour of CPD NSA), termination, confidentiality, data protection, and governing law (England and Wales).

Areas where the T&Cs fall short of good practice include:

Counterparty identification — the T&Cs identify "CPD NSA" as the contracting party but do not name any legal entity (company number, sole trader, partnership). In the event of a dispute, training providers cannot identify whom they are contracting with.
No published version date or revision history — the document carries no effective date or version number, so providers cannot tell which version applies to their engagement.
Refund policy is limited — clause 2.4 provides for refund of fees if Approved Provider status is rejected, but unused accreditation slots are expressly non-refundable (clause 4.3).
Withdrawal of accreditation — clause 6.1 permits termination by CPD NSA for breach but does not set out a defined process or appeal route for withdrawal of accreditation status.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/terms-and-conditions — accessed 30 April 2026.

Individual course assessment

The T&Cs state that each course, webinar, podcast and editorial is subject to assessment under the CPD NSA Accreditation Framework (clauses 3.1–3.4) and that courses covering multiple subjects must be submitted individually for separate accreditation. This indicates an individual-course model in principle.

However:

The "Approved Training Provider" / "Approved Provider" status is granted at the organisation level free of charge, separately from activity accreditation. The home page and FAQ explicitly distinguish between "approving your business at no cost" and "accrediting each of your individual activities for a nominal fee".
The T&Cs at clause 2.8 require that the Approved Provider Certificate, Logo and Identification Number "may only be used to represent that the business has completed the CPD NSA accreditation process" and that use of these assets to suggest individual activities or trainers are accredited is prohibited unless the relevant individual conditions are met. There is a clear risk of consumer confusion where providers display the CPD NSA logo at the centre level alongside courses that have not been individually accredited.
No public, searchable register of accredited activities is available. The "CPD Register" page invites a name and email enquiry, with verification provided by CPD NSA on request rather than via a published, browseable register.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/terms-and-conditions, https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/faq, https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/cpdregister — accessed 30 April 2026.

Review and renewal

A defined review cycle is published in the Terms and Conditions. Course, webinar, podcast and editorial accreditations are valid for 36 months, after which renewal is required (T&Cs 3.1.7, 3.2.5, 3.3.5, 3.4.4). Trainer accreditation is also valid for 36 months with a mandatory review process (3.5.2). Once accredited, courses may not be altered without prior consent from CPD NSA (3.1.6).

The published cycle is reactive rather than proactive — renewal is initiated at the end of the validity period rather than through a scheduled annual review of accredited content. Process detail for handling material changes between renewals is limited to the consent requirement in 3.1.6.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/terms-and-conditions — accessed 30 April 2026.

Sale of training courses or materials

No evidence has been identified on the CPD NSA website that the organisation sells its own training courses, training materials, or commercial training products. The services advertised are limited to provider approval and activity accreditation services for third-party training providers.
On the basis of the website material reviewed on 30 April 2026, no conflict of interest of the type addressed by Criterion 8 is evidenced. Should this position change, the listing will be updated.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/, https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/features, https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/pricing — accessed 30 April 2026.

Financial relationships with third-party service providers

No affiliate, referral, or third-party service-provider arrangements (such as insurance providers, software platforms, or CPD tool providers) are disclosed on the CPD NSA website. The Privacy Policy refers to use of analytics providers, payment and delivery services, and publicly available sources such as Companies House and the Electoral Register, but these are processor relationships rather than commercial referral arrangements.

The factual position is recorded as: no commercial referral relationships disclosed and none independently identified.
Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/privacy-policy — accessed 30 April 2026.

Ownership or control relationships with aligned commercial interests

This criterion cannot be assessed in the usual way because no UK legal entity has been identified for CPD NSA. Without an identifiable company, partnership, or sole trader, Companies House cross-referencing of directors and Persons with Significant Control against any aligned training providers is not possible.

The absence of a verifiable legal entity is itself a transparency concern under Criteria 1 & 2, and it has the effect of preventing the structural-conflict assessment that this criterion is designed to perform.

Source: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/ — accessed 30 April 2026.

Consistency of filings with advertised activity

This criterion applies to UK registered companies. As at the date of access, no UK registered entity has been identified for CPD NSA, so a comparison between Companies House filings and advertised activity is not possible.

The website makes substantial commercial claims (8,000+ Approved Providers, 17,500+ Accredited Activities, 2,876,450+ Certificates Issued). These claims have not been independently verified through statutory filings.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/ — accessed 30 April 2026.

Companies House status

A Companies House search carried out on 30 April 2026 did not return an active UK registered entity for "CPD NSA" or "CPD National Standards Authority". The website does not disclose a Companies House number, registered office address, or any other indicator of a UK incorporated legal form.

The legal form behind the CPD NSA brand has not been established. It may be operated by a sole trader, an unregistered association, or an overseas entity — in any of these cases, standard Companies House protections (publicly identified directors, statutory filing obligations, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 identity verification regime) do not apply.

This is referenced in our previous findings
.
Source: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/ — accessed 30 April 2026.

Website status

The website at https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/ is Active. The domain resolves, the site loads, and it serves recognisable commercial content related to the accreditation service offered by the organisation. All assessed pages (home, Features, Pricing, FAQ, CPD Register enquiry, Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy) returned HTTP 200 on the date of access.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/ — accessed 30 April 2026.

Regulatory rulings and public enforcement records

No published rulings naming "CPD NSA" or "CPD National Standards Authority" have been identified in searches of the Advertising Standards Authority published rulings, the ICO enforcement actions register, or court and tribunal published judgments as at the date of access.

Source: https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/rulings.html, https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/, accessed 30 April 2026.

Distinguishing CPD from regulated qualifications

CPD NSA does not appear to deliver training itself, so the regulated-qualification confusion risk associated with course delivery is limited. However:

The website refers to the "CPD industry benchmarks and guidelines" and an "international CPD industry benchmarks" without distinguishing CPD accreditation from regulated qualifications under Ofqual, Qualifications Wales, SQA Accreditation, or CCEA Regulation.
The naming construction ("National Standards Authority") and the FAQ description of "international CPD industry benchmarks" combine in a way that could lead a consumer to believe they are interacting with a body of formal regulatory standing. CPD NSA is not a recognised qualifications regulator and CPD accreditation through CPD NSA is not a regulated qualification.

Source: https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/faq — accessed 30 April 2026.

Further Information about this organisation

Website

https://cpdnsa.org.uk/

Companies House Number

Not identified

Companies House Incorporation Date

N/A

ICO Number

Not identified on website

ICO Registration Date

N/A

Physical Office Published

Telephone

Yes

Live Chat

Pricing Published

Yes — https://www.cpdnsa.org.uk/pricing

Accreditation Criteria Published

Activities Individually Accredited

Yes (per T&Cs, but blanket "Approved Provider" status also offered free of charge)

Review Frequency

Yes — 36-month accreditation validity with mandatory renewal (per T&Cs 3.1.7, 3.2.5, 3.3.5, 3.4.4, 3.5.2)

Last Updated

30th April 2026

Disclaimer

We do our best to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date. If you are part of the above-mentioned organisation and some of the information, we have found is inaccurate please contact us at [email protected] so we can rectify this for you.

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