ARB and RIBA CPD requirements: a practical guide for architects

ARB and RIBA CPD requirements are related, but they are not the same scheme. ARB regulates the UK Register of Architects. RIBA sets continuing professional development obligations for its members. If both apply to you, your learning needs to meet both sets of requirements even when you use a single accepted recording platform.

The most important distinction is straightforward: ARB does not set a minimum number of CPD hours. Its scheme focuses on appropriate learning, recording and reflection. Practising RIBA Chartered Members must undertake and record at least 35 hours each year, including at least 20 hours across the ten RIBA Core Curriculum topics, with two hours per topic.

This guide explains how to plan relevant learning, record project-based development and avoid confusing a personal CPD log with an official submission. The examples are fictional learning situations, not technical design advice or regulator-approved entries. Requirements were checked on 27 October 2026 against the linked official guidance.

ARB versus RIBA CPD at a glance

Read ARB's CPD scheme and RIBA's CPD requirements and obligations for the full rules, including how your circumstances affect them. The comparison is a starting point, not a complete compliance determination.

What ARB expects from continuing professional development

ARB's scheme applies to everyone on the UK Register, including architects working abroad, retired architects who remain registered and those not currently practising architecture. The learning should be appropriate to the person's role and responsibilities. Do not assume that being outside a conventional practice removes the requirement.

The June 2026 ARB scheme guidance recommends aiming for at least eight activities a year, while requiring sufficient appropriate CPD for your circumstances. That is a recommendation about activities, not a rule requiring eight hours. It also does not mean that completing eight very limited activities automatically establishes competence.

Record what you learned from each activity and how it was applied in practice or improved your competence. A seminar title and an attendance certificate may establish that you were there, but the reflective record explains what the learning did for you.

For example, "Attended a building safety seminar" is a description. "The seminar helped me identify an assumption in my design-review checklist; I will check that issue earlier and seek specialist input where required" begins to explain learning and application. Keep the account truthful and within your actual responsibilities.

ARB mandatory CPD topics

ARB identifies environmental sustainability and fire and life safety as mandatory topics. Use its current scheme and competency guidance for mandatory topics to identify learning relevant to your practice.

These requirements should not be reduced to collecting a generic certificate. Consider what you need to understand more deeply for the work you do, what you have learned and how you will apply it. A retrofit project, a complex building type or a change in responsibilities may reveal different development needs.

ARB does not prescribe a minimum hours quota for these topics in the guidance used here. Do not describe RIBA's two-hours-per-topic allocation as an ARB "two-hour climate literacy" rule. The bodies use different frameworks and terminology; accurate attribution is more useful than a simplified but misleading number.

What RIBA requires each year

Practising RIBA Chartered Members must undertake and record at least 35 hours of relevant CPD annually. At least 20 hours must cover the ten RIBA Core Curriculum topics, with two hours per topic. The current requirements page gives 31 December 2026 as the 2026 completion deadline.

RIBA says to make half of your CPD structured where possible. That wording matters: it should not be rewritten as an identical mandatory split for every circumstance. Relevant informal learning can contribute, but you still need to record it correctly and satisfy the total and topic requirements.

Use the official RIBA Core Curriculum to check current topic names and coverage. Do not rely on an old internal checklist, a seminar provider's shorthand or a points total in place of the published hours requirement.

Why 35 hours alone is not the whole RIBA check

An annual total can conceal a topic gap. Suppose an architect completes 35 hours but much of that learning is concentrated in one specialist interest. The total may look sufficient while the allocation across the ten Core Curriculum topics remains incomplete.

A practical planning review therefore has two layers:

1. Total relevant learning: have you recorded at least 35 hours?
2. Core topic coverage: have you met the current two-hours-per-topic requirement across all ten topics, contributing at least 20 hours?

The 20 core hours sit within the 35-hour total. They are not an extra 20 hours added to it. Nor should you count the same two-hour activity twice to inflate your total simply because it relates to more than one topic. Follow the platform's classification guidance for activities that span themes.

Can the same learning support ARB and RIBA?

Often, a relevant activity can support both schemes. The mistake is to assume that the two bodies then have identical rules. A learning activity can address an ARB development need while also contributing to a RIBA topic, but it must still be recorded and considered against each applicable requirement.

ARB accepts the RIBA recording platform for RIBA members. Under ARB's guidance, an architect using that route does not need to duplicate the same CPD in MyARB, but must declare the RIBA record when paying the ARB retention fee. Check the current instructions for the exact process.

RIBA says its compliance process uses records on its online CPD tool and does not accept alternative records or proof instead. A personal learning history can help you prepare, but it is not a substitute for the required official platform. This distinction prevents a useful portable record from becoming a misleading promise of regulatory submission.

CPD for architects beyond manufacturer seminars

A manufacturer seminar can be relevant learning, especially when you critically consider what it adds to your practice. It is not the only source of development, and a commercial presentation should not replace independent assessment of a design choice.

Other learning opportunities might include:

• reading current technical or regulatory guidance with a clear development question;
• structured discussion of a detail during a design review;
• learning from a site observation and its implications for future drawings;
• reviewing post-occupancy feedback;
• exploring environmental performance assumptions;
• reflecting on a project-stage handover or communication problem;
• studying an unfamiliar building type or responsibility;
• sharing learning with colleagues and considering their questions.

The test is not whether an activity happened at work. It is whether genuine learning occurred and you can explain its relevance. Routine production, administration and every minute spent on a project should not automatically become CPD hours.

Example 1: fire and life safety learning

Illustrative situation: An architect attends a relevant seminar and reviews how the learning affects their early design discussions.

I learned that an assumption in our usual review sequence needs to be tested earlier rather than carried into a later project stage. The session helped me recognise where I need clearer information and specialist input. I will update the questions I bring to the next relevant design review and discuss the change with the project team. I have not yet observed an outcome, so my record describes the intended application rather than claiming the design is now safer.

Add the actual seminar title, provider, date, duration and evidence in your own record. This example intentionally avoids prescribing a fire-safety solution. A reflective entry is not a replacement for competent technical advice, project documentation or the applicable statutory process.

Example 2: environmental sustainability and performance

Illustrative situation: An architect reads relevant guidance and considers feedback about a completed building's performance.

The learning challenged my assumption that a design-stage prediction gives a complete picture of use. I identified questions about the relationship between design assumptions, operation and feedback. In future work I will make those assumptions more explicit and discuss how performance information could inform design decisions. I will seek appropriate input where the issue sits outside my competence.

The account explains a learning outcome without inventing an energy saving, carbon reduction or project result. If you later observe a genuine change, record it as a follow-up with an appropriate explanation. Do not claim a measurable benefit simply because you completed CPD on sustainability.

Example 3: a site visit as professional learning

Illustrative situation: A site observation helps an architect understand how a drawing is interpreted during construction.

I noticed a difference between the information I thought the drawing communicated and the question it raised on site. The discussion helped me understand where the information needed to be clearer. I will review comparable details before the next issue and ask a colleague to challenge how they would interpret them. My learning is about communication and coordination, not a claim that the whole visit was a training session.

Record the learning time honestly. If the visit included travel, routine inspection and a short learning discussion, do not automatically treat the entire period as CPD. Classify the learning against the appropriate current requirements and keep the project record separate.

A useful structure for architecture CPD reflections

You can keep a reflection concise while still showing substance. Try five elements:

1. Development need: what gap or question made the activity relevant?
2. Activity: what did you actually do, when and for how long?
3. Learning: what became clearer or changed your understanding?
4. Application: how will it influence your work or competence?
5. Review: what might you revisit after applying it?

A generic statement such as "useful for future projects" misses the link between learning and action. A specific statement about a review question, coordination habit or further learning need is easier to understand. Our Gibbs' reflective cycle guide offers an optional framework if you need help moving beyond description.

Protect client and project confidentiality

Your CPD record does not need a client file attached to it. Avoid names, project addresses, confidential drawings, contract values, commercially sensitive information and combinations of detail that identify a project unnecessarily.

Keep the explanation focused on your learning. Where you need supporting evidence, use documents you are authorised to retain and share. A personal CPD tool is not permission to copy proprietary material or project records from an employer's system. Check practice policies and professional obligations before uploading.

The same caution applies when asking an AI tool to help with reflection. Do not supply confidential project information to improve the wording. Any draft must remain an accurate account of learning you completed, not a generated story about outcomes that never happened.

Plan one learning year without confusing the schemes

Start with your role, responsibilities and development needs. Identify ARB mandatory-topic learning and, if RIBA obligations apply, review all ten Core Curriculum topics. Then plan relevant activities that address gaps rather than booking sessions solely to fill a number.

After each completed activity, record the date, actual learning duration, topics, outcome and reflection. Keep evidence with the entry. Periodically review both the breadth of your learning and any required hours or topic allocations. Use ARB's current annual recording and retention instructions and RIBA's deadline; do not assume the two have an identical calendar or submission process.

Before the year-end review, check the official platform, confirm entries are complete, check your applicable totals and topic coverage, and follow the required declaration steps. If you are retired, abroad, newly registered or moving into another role, use the relevant body's guidance for your specific position.

A portable personal CPD history for architects

Passport for architects is a free personal home for your learning history, reflections and evidence attached to CPD entries. Import previous entries from a CSV, keep their original dates and export a PDF or CSV when you want a personal copy. The record can move with you between practices, consultancy and sole practice.

WorkplaceHero is not an ARB-approved recording platform. It does not submit or sync entries to ARB or RIBA. Keep the official record on MyARB or the accepted RIBA platform as applicable. A personal Passport supports organisation of your learning; it does not certify competence or establish compliance.

Start your free Passport and keep a continuous personal record alongside the official process. For broader recording habits, read tips for tracking CPD hours, while applying the specific ARB and RIBA requirements described above.

Sources and further reading

Requirements checked on 27 October 2026. The official guidance takes precedence if the schemes change.

• ARB: continuing professional development scheme
• ARB: CPD scheme guidance, June 2026
• ARB: mandatory-topic competency guidelines
• RIBA: CPD requirements and obligations
• RIBA: CPD Core Curriculum

WorkplaceHero is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or accredited by ARB or RIBA. This guide is general learning information, not technical design advice or a decision about registration or membership.