What Counts as CPD for NMC Revalidation? (35 Hours Explained)

If there's one question nurses ask more than any other about revalidation, it's this: what actually counts as CPD?

The NMC says you need 35 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) over your 3-year revalidation cycle. But "35 hours" sounds vague when you're staring at a blank log and wondering if the study day you attended last month counts (it does), whether watching a webinar counts (yes), or if reading a journal article at home counts (also yes).

Let's break down exactly what counts, what doesn't, and — more importantly — how to make CPD tracking painless enough that you never end up scrambling the month before your deadline.

The 35-Hour Rule: The Basics

The NMC requires a minimum of 35 hours of CPD in the 3 years before your revalidation is due. But here's the part that catches people out: at least 20 of those hours must be participatory learning.

You can go over 35 hours (many nurses do). But you cannot drop below 20 participatory hours — that's a hard floor.

What Counts as Participatory CPD?

Participatory learning means you're actively involved, not just passively receiving information. The NMC defines it as CPD where you interact with the facilitator or other participants.

Examples that count:

• Study days and conferences — both in-person and virtual, as long as there's live interaction
• Workshops — ward-based teaching sessions count too
• Live webinars — the Q&A or chat participation makes it participatory
• In-service training — your trust's mandatory training days, as long as they're relevant to your practice
• Simulation training — skills drills, resuscitation updates, etc.
• Journal clubs — where you discuss the paper with colleagues
• Online courses with forums — if you contribute to discussions

What Counts as Non-Participatory CPD?

Non-participatory learning is self-directed. You're learning without live interaction. This can make up the remaining 15 hours of your 35-hour requirement.

Examples that count:

• Reading professional journals — the Nursing Times, British Journal of Nursing, or any peer-reviewed publication
• Watching recorded webinars — on-demand content is non-participatory
• E-learning modules — self-paced courses where you don't interact with others
• Reading NMC guidance — The Code, revalidation standards, or new professional guidance
• Reading a textbook or professional book — relevant to your field of practice
• Listening to professional podcasts — yes, genuinely

The key test: did you learn something relevant to your practice? If yes, you can probably count it.

What Does NOT Count as CPD?

Some things feel like learning but don't meet the NMC's definition. Watch out for these:

• Supervision sessions — clinical supervision, restorative supervision, or reflective discussions with your confirmer are not CPD (they serve a different revalidation requirement)
• Preceptorship — supporting newly qualified nurses is professional practice, not your CPD
• Teaching others — if you delivered a teaching session, that's professional practice. Your preparation for it could count as CPD if you learned something new
• Reading non-professional material — general news, social media, or non-clinical content
• Routine work — your day-to-day nursing shifts are not CPD, even when you learn on the job

Bringing It Together: A Worked Example

Here's what a realistic CPD portfolio looks like for a staff nurse on a general ward over 3 years:

Sarah logged her CPD as she went — a few minutes each month rather than a panic session. She used 4 reflective accounts to show how 4 pieces of CPD changed her practice (that fulfils another revalidation requirement: the reflective accounts based on CPD).

How Revalidation Copilot Makes This Easier

Logging CPD is simple in theory but easy to fall behind on. That's the problem Revalidation Copilot solves directly:

Your CPD log — automatically categorised by type with running totals

• Auto-calculates running totals — it separates participatory from non-participatory so you always know where you stand
• Reminders when you're falling behind — if you haven't logged anything in 3 months, the app nudges you
• Export-ready at revalidation time — all your CPD, reflective accounts, practice hours, feedback, and discussions in one PDF

The NMC doesn't require a specific format for your CPD log, but many employers do. Revalidation Copilot exports in a format that trusts will accept without quibbling.

5 Quick Tips to Stay on Track With CPD

1. Log as you go. The nurse who logs CPD the day they complete it spends 2 minutes per entry. The nurse who waits 3 years spends a Sunday afternoon trying to remember what they did.
2. Don't overthink "relevance." The NMC says CPD must be "relevant to your practice." That's broad. If you're a mental health nurse and attend a wound care study day because you're moving into community roles — that's relevant.
3. Use mandatory training. Most trusts deliver 6–10 hours of mandatory training per year. That's 18–30 hours over 3 years — almost all your participatory hours are already covered.
4. Count reading time honestly. It doesn't have to be a formal journal. A clinical guideline update from NICE or the Royal College counts. Set a timer, read for 20 minutes, log it.
5. Connect CPD to your reflective accounts. The NMC requires 5 written reflective accounts in 3 years, and at least 4 of those must be about CPD or practice-related feedback. If you log a piece of CPD, write a short reflection on how it changed what you do — you've now checked two boxes at once.

⚡ The fastest way to log CPD

With Revalidation Copilot, you just type: "Attended catheter care study day, 6 hours participatory." The app formats it into an NMC-ready entry, categorises it as participatory or non-participatory, and updates your running total. That's it — 30 seconds, done.

Add a CPD entry in seconds — set type, hours, and date

What the NMC Actually Checks

When you submit your revalidation, you sign a declaration that you've completed 35 hours of CPD (20 participatory). You also need to provide written evidence — a summary of your CPD, usually just a log with dates, titles, hours, type, and relevance.

The NMC audits a sample of revalidation applications each year. If you're selected for audit, they'll ask to see your CPD log and reflective accounts. This is where having clear, consistent records makes the difference between a 10-minute response and a stressful week of digging through old emails and notebooks.

Most nurses never get audited. But when they do, the ones who used a tracking tool sail through.

Final Thought

CPD is not a chore to survive once every 3 years. It's the thing that keeps your practice current and your patients safe. Starting early and tracking as you go transforms it from a last-minute panic into a quiet confidence that you're always revalidation-ready.

The secret is making logging frictionless. That's what Revalidation Copilot was built for — with nurses as part of the team, who know exactly what it's like to have 37.5 hours of work on top of everything else.