HPCSA compliance and CPD tracker
HPCSA CPD deadline: how many points you need and when
Practitioners ask about the HPCSA CPD deadline every year, usually around the time annual fees are due. The honest answer is that CPD doesn’t work to a single annual date in the way fees do.
This guide explains the HPCSA CPD requirements as the HPCSA has set them out, how the cycle works, and how to stay compliant without a last-minute scramble.
3 October 2026 · 6 min read
How many CPD points do I need per year?
The HPCSA’s notice to practitioners of 19 June 2025 states the standard directly: “CPD compliance requires 30 points (25 clinical, 5 ethical) within a 12-month cycle.”
| Requirement | What the HPCSA has said |
|---|---|
| Points required | 30 within a 12-month cycle |
| Clinical points | 25 |
| Ethics, human rights and health law | 5 |
| Validity of points | 12 months from the date of the activity |
| Where to submit | The HPCSA online self-service portal |
These are the HPCSA CPD points requirements for practitioners registered for independent practice. Some registration categories have a lower requirement, so confirm the figure for your own category.
An older figure is still in circulation
Earlier HPCSA guidance gave points a 24-month validity. The June 2025 notice says 12 months. If a guide or a colleague quotes 24, check the current rule with the HPCSA.
When are HPCSA CPD points due?
There is no single date on which everyone’s points are counted. Compliance is measured on a rolling basis: at any time, you should hold the required points from activities completed in the previous 12 months.
The HPCSA asks practitioners to submit evidence continuously. Its guidance encourages practitioners to upload information on the HPCSA’s website “on continuous basis, without waiting for notice to do so”.
The HPCSA does sometimes set a date by which non-compliant practitioners must fix their status. In 2025, for example, practitioners who were not yet compliant were told to rectify it by 30 June. Those dates are announced by notice and are not the same each year, so watch for HPCSA communications.
How the HPCSA CPD cycle works in practice
Because each activity’s points last 12 months, your total moves constantly. An example:
- In February you attend a workshop worth 10 clinical points.
- In May you complete an ethics course worth 5 ethics points.
- By September you have added 15 more clinical points and hold 30.
- The following February, the workshop points expire. You are back to 20 and need 10 more.
The practical lesson is to spread activities through the year. A practitioner who earns all 30 points in one month is compliant for exactly 12 months and then drops to zero overnight.
Ethics points
The 5 ethics points are a separate requirement inside the 30. They can’t be replaced by extra clinical points. A practitioner with 40 clinical points and no ethics points is not compliant.
Ethics activities cover ethics, human rights and health law. They are the points most often left until last, and accredited ethics events are not always available at short notice. Book yours early in the cycle.
The HPCSA CPD compliance certificate
Once the portal shows you as compliant, you can download a compliance letter. This is what people mean by the HPCSA CPD compliance certificate.
How to download your HPCSA CPD compliance certificate:
- 1Log in to the HPCSA online self-service portal.
- 2Open the CPD section of your profile.
- 3Confirm that your status shows as compliant.
- 4Download the compliance letter and save a copy.
If your status isn’t compliant, the letter isn’t available. Our guide to checking your HPCSA CPD points online covers how to find and fix missing points.
What happens if you fall behind
The HPCSA has said that practitioners who don’t rectify non-compliance face penalties. The consequences are set by the HPCSA and can affect your registration, so a shortfall should be dealt with as soon as you see it.
If you are short:
- Check that every activity you completed has been uploaded and validated.
- Book accredited activities to cover the gap, ethics first.
- Upload each certificate as soon as you receive it.
- If circumstances such as illness prevented you from complying, contact the HPCSA about it before a deadline passes.
A simpler way to stay ahead
The difficulty with a rolling requirement is that nothing reminds you. Points expire quietly.
Record each activity with its date, and you can see when it will lapse. The free tracker below does that. Wholistic’s CPD tracker goes a step further: it names the next points to lapse and puts a reminder on your dashboard beforehand, alongside your other in-app reminders.
Common questions
Is the CPD deadline the same as the HPCSA annual fee deadline?
No. Annual fees have a fixed due date each year. CPD is measured over a rolling 12 months. Many practitioners check both at the same time, which is why the two are often confused.
Can I carry extra points over to next year?
Points are valid for 12 months from the date of the activity, however many you hold. Extra points don’t extend that period.
Do the same requirements apply to registered counsellors?
Practitioners registered for independent practice are generally subject to the 30-point requirement. Confirm the figure for your category with the HPCSA’s Professional Board for Psychology.
Point numbers are quoted from the HPCSA’s notice of 19 June 2025 as republished by PsySSA, and were current when we checked in October 2026. The HPCSA can change them. Confirm the requirement for your category before relying on it.
Sources
In Wholistic
Get a reminder before the deadline, not after.
CPD points against your target, and renewal dates for HPCSA, BHF, indemnity and CIPC.
See compliance and CPD tracker