CPD Quality Certification (CPDQC) - The CPD Register Review

Commercial Identification and Contactability

CPD Quality Certification operates at cpdqc.com under the trading name CPD QC. The legal entity behind the trading name is CPD Quality Ltd, incorporated on 29 April 2022 and registered at Companies House under number 14079024. The current registered office address is 61 Union Street, Dunstable, England, LU6 1EX.

No physical trading address is published on the cpdqc.com website. The Companies Act 2006 (sections 1200–1206) requires UK companies using a trading name to disclose the legal entity name and a correspondence address on their website and in commercial correspondence. The registered legal name "CPD Quality Ltd" has not been identified on the website from the pages reviewed. The contact page publishes a London telephone number and two email addresses but no postal or trading address.

Source: https://www.cpdqc.com/contact-us/ — accessed 12 May 2026. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14079024 — accessed 12 May 2026.

Transparency of Assessment Framework

The CPD QC FAQs page states that the organisation takes "a fair and impartial approach when reviewing training content" and that "each course or event is assessed against a structured checklist based on internationally accepted Continuing Professional Development benchmarks."

No standalone published assessment framework, criteria document, or checklist has been identified on the cpdqc.com website. The reference to a "structured checklist" is not substantiated by any publicly accessible document setting out what that checklist contains. Without a published framework, training providers cannot independently assess whether the standard being applied is consistent or meaningful. This concern is heightened in the context of the conflict of interest identified under Criterion 9.

Source: https://cpdqc.com/faqs/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Pricing Transparency

CPD Quality Certification publishes a pricing page at cpdqc.com/package/ offering monthly and annual subscription packages, with per-course rates ranging from £4.98 per course for a 5-course package to £3.33 per course for a 25-course package.

The About Us page describes the pricing model as offering "lifetime packages to monthly and annual options" with "affordable, transparent pricing designed to support businesses of all sizes — including start-ups."

Pricing is publicly accessible without login. However, it is not clear from the published pricing whether the stated per-course rates are inclusive of all fees, or whether additional charges apply for certificate issuance, renewal, or badge usage. Training providers are advised to confirm the full cost of accreditation before committing.

Source: https://www.cpdqc.com/package/ — accessed 12 May 2026. https://cpdqc.com/about-us/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Terms and Conditions

No terms and conditions governing CPD Quality Certification's accreditation service have been identified on the cpdqc.com website. No link to terms and conditions has been located in the site's navigation, footer, pricing pages, or subscription pages.

Terms and conditions form the legal framework governing the rights and obligations of parties to a commercial agreement. Their absence means that training providers have no published basis on which to understand the duration of accreditations, intellectual property provisions relating to submitted course materials, circumstances under which accreditation may be withdrawn, complaints and dispute resolution procedures, or refund and cancellation rights.

Training providers are strongly advised to request and obtain a written copy of any applicable terms before submitting course materials or making any payment.

Source: https://cpdqc.com/ — reviewed 12 May 2026. No terms and conditions page identified.

Individual Course Assessment

The CPD QC FAQs page states that "each submission is reviewed against our defined assessment criteria, which focuses on key areas such as learning structure, relevance, and outcomes." This implies individual course assessment.

No verifiable public register of individually accredited courses has been identified on the cpdqc.com website, meaning it is not possible to independently confirm that a specific course has been individually assessed and approved.

Source: https://cpdqc.com/faqs/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Review and Renewal

No information regarding a defined review or renewal cycle for accredited courses has been identified on the cpdqc.com website. The published pricing page references monthly and annual subscription options, implying a time-limited accreditation period, but the site does not publish a clear statement of how long each accreditation remains valid, when renewal is required, or what the renewal process entails.

Training providers are advised to confirm the duration of any accreditation granted and the renewal requirements — including any associated costs — before committing to the service.

Source: https://cpdqc.com/ and https://www.cpdqc.com/package/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Sale of Training Courses or Materials

CPD Quality Certification is directly linked with Academy of Skills, a training provider, and accredits the entirety of Academy of Skills' course catalogue. This relationship is not an inferred or circumstantial association — it is formally confirmed by the ICO's public Data Protection Register, where CPD Quality Ltd (ICO reference ZB329845) lists "Academy of Skills" as a registered other name within the same data controller registration. The same registration also lists "CPD Certification" as a further trading name. CPD Quality Ltd, Academy of Skills, and CPD Certification are therefore the same registered data controller operating under three distinct identities: an accreditation body, a training provider, and a certification brand.

The Academy of Skills certificate order page at academyofskills.org offers learners the option to purchase both standard and "CPD Accredited" certificates and transcripts for completed courses, confirming that Academy of Skills courses are actively marketed to learners as CPD-accredited. The accreditation underpinning those certificates is provided by CPD Quality Certification — the same legal entity.

This means the organisation is simultaneously selling training content, accrediting that content, and issuing accreditation certificates for it — all within the same registered data controller. An organisation that operates in this way cannot demonstrate the independence that is fundamental to the value of accreditation. Training providers submitting course materials to CPD Quality Certification for assessment should be aware that their materials are processed by the same data controller that operates a commercial training platform and sells CPD-accredited courses in direct competition with them. This creates a significant and formally evidenced risk to the intellectual property in submitted materials.

Source: ICO Data Protection Register — ZB329845, registered name: CPD Quality Ltd, other names: Academy of Skills, CPD Certification — https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Entry/ZB329845 — accessed 12 May 2026. https://academyofskills.org/certificate-transcript/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Financial Relationships with Third-Party Service Providers

The cpdqc.com homepage references an affiliate programme through which accredited providers report increased enrolments and traffic. No further detail regarding the structure, terms, or financial basis of this affiliate programme has been identified on the website. No disclosure of financial relationships with other third-party service providers has been identified on the cpdqc.com website.

Source: https://cpdqc.com/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Ownership or Control Relationships with Aligned Commercial Interests

CPD Quality Certification accredits all courses offered by Academy of Skills, a training provider directly linked with the organisation. The CPD Register has identified this as a material conflict of interest. The nature of the relationship is formally confirmed by the ICO's public Data Protection Register: the registration held by CPD Quality Ltd (ICO reference ZB329845, registered 30 April 2022) lists two other names within the same registration — "Academy of Skills" and "CPD Certification" — confirming that the accreditation body and the training provider operate as the same registered data controller. This is not an inferred or circumstantial link; it is a formal declaration made to the ICO by the organisation itself.

An accreditation body that shares a data protection registration with a training provider whose courses it accredits in their entirety cannot demonstrate the independence that underpins the value of accreditation. This concern is compounded by the absence of published terms and conditions (see Criterion 4) and the absence of a published assessment framework (see Criterion 2), meaning there is no publicly accessible basis on which to verify that affiliated submissions are assessed to the same standard as independent ones.

This arrangement presents a specific and serious concern regarding intellectual property. Training providers submitting course materials for accreditation to CPD Quality Certification should be aware that their materials are being processed by the same data controller that operates Academy of Skills, a direct commercial competitor in the training market. There is no published basis on which to understand how submitted materials are handled, stored, or separated from the organisation's own training activity.

Source: ICO Data Protection Register — ZB329845, registered name: CPD Quality Ltd, other names: Academy of Skills, CPD Certification — https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Entry/ZB329845 — accessed 12 May 2026. https://cpdqc.com/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Consistency of Filings with Advertised Activity

CPD Quality Ltd (Companies House number 14079024) has filed its accounts as dormant for both the period to 30 April 2023 and the period to 30 April 2024, whilst operating a publicly accessible commercial accreditation website at cpdqc.com and, on the formal evidence of its own ICO registration, at least two further trading identities — Academy of Skills and CPD Certification — within the same data controller registration.

A dormant company, within the meaning of the Companies Act 2006, is one that has had no significant accounting transactions during the relevant period. Filing as dormant whilst actively marketing and selling subscription accreditation packages across multiple trading names represents a material inconsistency between the company's statutory filings and its advertised and registered commercial activity.

Source: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14079024/filing-history — accessed 12 May 2026. ICO Data Protection Register — ZB329845 — https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Entry/ZB329845 — accessed 12 May 2026.

Companies House Status

CPD Quality Ltd is registered at Companies House under company number 14079024, incorporated on 29 April 2022. The company's current status is Active. The registered office is 61 Union Street, Dunstable, England, LU6 1EX. This address differs from the address recorded on the ICO Data Protection Register for the same entity (Office 1774, 58 Peregrine Road, Hainault, Ilford, Essex, IG6 3SZ), which has not been updated to reflect the current registered office.

The company's accounts for both the year to 30 April 2023 and the year to 30 April 2024 have been filed as dormant, with the most recent accounts filed significantly overdue on 30 May 2025. The next accounts, made up to 29 April 2025, are due by 31 July 2026.

Source: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14079024 — accessed 12 May 2026. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14079024/officers — accessed 12 May 2026. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14079024/persons-with-significant-control — accessed 12 May 2026. ICO Data Protection Register — ZB329845 — https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Entry/ZB329845 — accessed 12 May 2026.

Website Status

The cpdqc.com website is active and serving commercial content related to CPD accreditation services at the time of this review.
Source: https://cpdqc.com/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Regulatory Rulings and Public Enforcement Records

No Advertising Standards Authority rulings or other published regulatory decisions against CPD Quality Ltd, CPD Quality Certification, Academy of Skills, or CPD Certification have been identified at the time of this review. The organisation holds ICO Data Protection Register reference ZB329845, registered 30 April 2022, expiring 29 April 2027, Tier 1.

Source: ASA ruling search — accessed 12 May 2026. ICO Data Protection Register — ZB329845 — https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Entry/ZB329845 — accessed 12 May 2026.

Distinguishing CPD from Regulated Qualifications

The cpdqc.com homepage describes CPD QC as "the term used to describe the learning activities professionals engage in to develop and enhance their abilities" and states that "CPD is a respected qualification that certifies your learning has fulfilled the appropriate requirements and benchmarks." Describing CPD accreditation as a "qualification" without distinguishing it from a regulated qualification is potentially misleading to consumers.

The cpdqc.com provider directory includes a listing for NCC home learning which states that its courses "are now considered to be as good as qualifications awarded after studying in a more formal setting" and refers to learners gaining "your qualification" through NCC. This language, on a CPD accreditation body's own directory, conflates CPD-accredited learning with regulated qualifications without clarification.

CPD accreditation does not constitute a regulated qualification under Ofqual or any equivalent regulator. Training providers and consumers should be aware that CPD accreditation and regulated qualifications serve distinct purposes and confer different levels of recognition.

Source: https://cpdqc.com/ — accessed 12 May 2026. https://www.cpdqc.com/provider/ncc/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Unsubstantiated Claims

The cpdqc.com website makes a number of significant claims about the organisation's scale, global standing, and market position that are not substantiated by any independently verifiable evidence on the site.

The About Us page states that "our CPD QC badge and certification are recognised by professionals and institutions in over 1,000 organisations worldwide" and that "our certification is respected across borders, opening opportunities in industries worldwide." No evidence is provided to support either claim and no independently verifiable register of accredited organisations has been identified on the site.

The CPD for Companies page describes CPD Quality Certification as "one of the top CPD Quality Certification Accreditation services." This claim of market pre-eminence is presented without supporting evidence.

The FAQs page states that CPD QC accreditation "reassures learners, employers, and industry regulators" that content has been independently reviewed. No evidence is provided that any industry regulator formally recognises or relies upon CPD QC accreditation.

These claims require particular scrutiny in the context of the Companies House filing history. The legal entity behind the service has filed dormant accounts throughout its trading period and was subject to two compulsory strike off proposals. The gap between the authority claimed in marketing material and the statutory record is stark and is material information for training providers and consumers assessing this organisation.

Under the ASA CAP Code, marketing claims must not mislead by implying a level of authority, expertise, or recognition that cannot be substantiated. Training providers and consumers are advised to seek independent verification of any claims made about the reach or standing of CPD QC accreditation before relying upon them.

Source: https://cpdqc.com/about-us/ — accessed 12 May 2026. https://www.cpdqc.com/cpd-company/ — accessed 12 May 2026. https://cpdqc.com/ — accessed 12 May 2026. https://cpdqc.com/faqs/ — accessed 12 May 2026.

Further Information about this organisation

Website

https://cpdqc.com

Companies House Number

14079024

Companies House Incorporation Date

29th April 2022

ICO Number

ZB329845

ICO Registration Date

30th April 2022

Physical Office Published

Telephone

Yes

Live Chat

Pricing Published

Yes — per-course package pricing published publicly

Accreditation Criteria Published

Activities Individually Accredited

Unknown

Review Frequency