The GDC CPD requirements are not complicated, but they are scattered across several pages and a long guidance document, and nobody reads those for fun. This guide puts the essentials of the GDC's Enhanced CPD scheme in one place: how many hours you need, how they must be spread, what the GDC recommends you cover, and what you declare each year. Wherever a rule comes up, we link to the GDC's own page so you can check it at the source.

The one-line version: only verifiable CPD counts towards your GDC hours, and a little done steadily beats a lot done in a panic.

What the Enhanced CPD scheme is

The GDC's current CPD scheme, usually called Enhanced CPD, came into effect in 2018. It applies to every registrant, from dentists to dental nurses, and it works in five-year cycles. Within each cycle you plan your learning, do it, reflect on it and keep a record of it, as the GDC's CPD guidance describes.

Your CPD year depends on your registration:

  • Dentists: 1 January to 31 December.
  • Dental care professionals (all titles): 1 August to 31 July.

The GDC's CPD scheme page sets this out, together with the hours below.

GDC CPD requirements: how many hours you need

Each registrant title has its own minimum number of verifiable CPD hours across the five-year cycle:

Registrant title Minimum verifiable CPD per five-year cycle
Dentists 100 hours
Dental therapists, dental hygienists, orthodontic therapists, clinical dental technicians 75 hours
Dental nurses, dental technicians 50 hours
Temporary registrants (dentists) 20 hours

Two points catch people out.

It is per cycle, not per year. You will sometimes hear "50 hours a year" in the staff room. The figures are for the whole five-year cycle.

Only verifiable CPD counts towards your GDC hours. Verifiable CPD comes with evidence: typically a certificate from the provider that shows what you learned and confirms the details. The GDC explains what that evidence needs to include in its CPD guidance for dental professionals.

The two-year rule: keep it steady

The total is not the only number that matters. The GDC also asks for at least 10 hours of verifiable CPD in any two consecutive CPD years, including the two years either side of the change from one cycle to the next.

In practice, that means you cannot save everything for year five. Leaving it all until the end of the cycle is stressful anyway; the two-year rule simply makes "little and often" the official approach. Fifteen minutes here and there adds up faster than you would think.

GDC recommended CPD topics

The GDC does not prescribe a list of topics you must cover. It recommends topics, and it is worth knowing which ones, because they come up in almost every role. You may hear people call them "core" or "mandatory" CPD; the GDC's word is "recommended".

The GDC highly recommends:

  • Medical emergencies: at least 10 hours in each CPD cycle, and at least two hours every year.
  • Disinfection and decontamination: at least five hours in each cycle.
  • Radiography and radiation protection: at least five hours in each cycle, if you take radiographs. For dental technicians, the GDC recommends materials and equipment instead.

It also recommends:

  • legal and ethical issues
  • complaints handling
  • oral cancer: early detection
  • safeguarding children and young people
  • safeguarding vulnerable adults.

The full list is on the GDC's recommended CPD topics page. A sensible habit is to check it when you plan your year, so the recommended topics are built into your plan rather than squeezed in at the end.

Development outcomes A to D

Every CPD activity you count should link to at least one of the GDC's four development outcomes. In short:

  • A: effective communication with patients, the dental team and others, including when obtaining consent.
  • B: effective management of yourself, and of others or effective work with others in the dental team.
  • C: maintaining and developing knowledge and skill within your field of practice.
  • D: maintaining the skills, behaviours and attitudes that keep patients' confidence in you and the dental profession.

The exact wording is in the GDC's CPD guidance. Noting the outcome when you finish a course takes seconds. Working it out for a pile of certificates a year later takes rather longer.

Your personal development plan

The GDC asks every registrant to maintain a personal development plan (PDP). It is where you plan the CPD you intend to do, so your learning follows what you and your patients need rather than whichever course arrived in your inbox first.

A PDP works best as a living document. Revisit it when your role changes, when a policy changes at the practice, or when you notice a gap in your own knowledge. The GDC's page on recording and submitting CPD explains what it expects.

Your annual CPD statement in MyGDC

Every year you make an annual CPD statement to the GDC, and you make it in MyGDC, which replaced eGDC in March 2026. The deadlines are:

  • Dentists: 28 January.
  • Dental care professionals: 28 August.

Two details are easy to miss:

  • You make a statement even if you did no CPD that year. You record zero hours.
  • At the end of a five-year cycle you make an end-of-cycle statement as well.

If you cannot finish your CPD before your cycle ends and have good reason, you can ask the GDC for a grace period, which may give you an additional 56 days; it is requested in the final six months of the cycle. The details are on the recording and submitting CPD page.

Registrants who do not meet the CPD requirements or make their statement may be removed from the register, so it is worth putting the deadline in your diary now rather than relying on a reminder.

How long to keep your CPD records

Keep your CPD records for five years from the end of your five-year cycle. Because a cycle is itself five years long, that can mean holding a certificate for up to ten years. Paper rarely survives that well, and neither do old email accounts.

Making the requirements easier to live with

None of the GDC CPD requirements is hard on its own. The difficulty is keeping track of all of them, across five years, alongside a full working week. This is where Enhanced CPD Pro helps:

  • A plan from day one. The AI-assisted PDP tracks your goals and the tasks or courses that move them forward, and the app builds a usable draft PDP during onboarding, in 60 seconds.
  • A monthly goal in one tap. With "Click and Go", you open your PDP and tap the month's button; a goal is created with a title, description, success criteria and a selection of courses, all linked to your PDP.
  • Certificates in, without typing. Upload or photograph a certificate, or email it to the app, and it creates a detailed CPD record. CPD held in other web services can be imported, so everything is in one place.
  • Reflection without the blank page. AI-assisted reflective notes use the Gibbs Reflective Cycle to help you frame your thoughts in your own words.
  • Reports when you need them. PDP-CPD reports keep you on track and are built to be GDC-compliant for audits.

One subscriber put it like this:

"Enhanced CPD Pro seemed like the right choice to help me organise my CPD. I use it regularly, & I love the convenient system that allows me to manage everything with a couple of taps on my phone. I need to be able to focus on patients first & dealing with notes & certificates is not something that should take too much of my time. Enhanced CPD Pro has helped me streamline my work tremendously. It's very convenient!"

— Katrina Brown, Kelvin Smile Centre

The 7-day free trial gives you free access to all courses and all other features.

Start your 7-day free trial of Enhanced CPD Pro. Pay nothing today and cancel any time from within the app. No strings attached.

FAQ

What are the GDC CPD requirements for dentists?

Dentists need at least 100 hours of verifiable CPD in each five-year cycle, with at least 10 verifiable hours in any two consecutive CPD years. Dentists' CPD years run from 1 January to 31 December, and the annual CPD statement is due in MyGDC by 28 January. The GDC's CPD scheme page has the full detail.

How many CPD hours does a dental nurse need?

Dental nurses need at least 50 hours of verifiable CPD over each five-year cycle, with at least 10 verifiable hours in any two consecutive CPD years. The annual statement for dental care professionals is due by 28 August.

Are the recommended CPD topics compulsory?

The GDC recommends them rather than requiring them. It highly recommends medical emergencies, disinfection and decontamination, and radiography and radiation protection, and it also recommends legal and ethical issues, complaints handling, early detection of oral cancer and safeguarding. See the recommended CPD topics page.

Do I still need to make a CPD statement if I did no CPD this year?

Yes. Every registrant makes an annual CPD statement, and if you did no CPD that year you record zero hours.

Does all CPD count towards my GDC hours?

Only verifiable CPD counts towards your GDC hours, and it is what you declare to the GDC. Check that each certificate includes what the GDC's CPD guidance asks for.

Sources

Read next: GDC PDP template: a development plan for the dental team