CPD Regulation

Legal Notice

© 2026 Institute of Administrative Management. All rights reserved. This Regulation is made by the Board of Directors of the Institute of Administrative Management under Article 55(1) of the Articles of Association. It may be cited, quoted, and reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial professional, educational, and research purposes, provided that the Institute is clearly acknowledged as the source and the document reference (IAM-CPD-REG-2026-001) is given. Reproduction or distribution for commercial purposes, or any modification of the text, requires the prior written permission of the Institute.

This Regulation establishes the continuing professional development (CPD) requirements applicable to Professional Members of the Institute of Administrative Management. It does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. The Institute, its officers, employees, and agents accept no liability for any loss, damage, or claim arising from the use of or reliance upon the content of this Regulation. Where matters of employment law, tax, data protection, or other regulation arise in the application of this document, members and applicants are advised to seek independent legal or professional counsel.

This Regulation is principle-based and jurisdiction-neutral. Where it refers to legal, regulatory, or compliance obligations, it does so in general terms. Members are responsible for identifying the specific laws, regulations, and standards that apply to their own role and jurisdiction, and for keeping their knowledge of those requirements up to date. Specific legislation, statutory instruments, and regulatory commencement dates are deliberately not cited in this Regulation; current legal information is provided through the Institute’s separate guidance notes, which are updated more frequently than this Regulation.

Consultation notice. This document is an Exposure Draft published for consultation. It is complete and approved for consultation by the IAM Professional Standards Committee, but it has not yet been made by the Board of Directors, is not yet in effect, and may change before the First Edition is confirmed. Comments are invited by 16 October 2026 (17:00 UK time) through the online response form at www.instam.org/standards/respond, or by email to enquiry@instam.org with the subject line “IAM-CPD-REG-2026-001 Exposure Draft response”. The First Edition is due to be published on 30 November 2026 and to take effect on 1 January 2027.

Comment is welcome on any part of the Regulation. The Committee particularly invites views on: the uniform 30-hour requirement and its Structured, ethics, and sustainability minima in Regulation 2; the qualifying activities in Regulation 4; the audit provisions in Regulation 9; the exemptions and adjustments in Regulation 10; and the three-stage non-compliance procedure in Regulation 12.

Accessibility: The Institute is committed to publishing this Regulation accessibly. The electronic edition is prepared to meet internationally recognised digital accessibility standards, and the document is available in alternative formats on request to membership@instam.org.

Language: This Regulation is made in English. The English text is the authoritative text. Where the Institute issues a translation, it is provided for convenience only and the English text prevails in the event of any difference of meaning.

Recommended citation: Institute of Administrative Management (2026), IAM CPD Regulation, Edition 1.0, IAM-CPD-REG-2026-001, available at www.instam.org.

Document Control

Edition History

Regulation 1: Authority, Scope, and Interpretation

1.1 This CPD Regulation (“this Regulation”) is made by the Board of Directors of the Institute of Administrative Management (“the Institute” or “the IAM”) under Article 55(1) of the Articles of Association. That power is read together with the Board’s general power to manage the business of the Company under Article 28(1). It is binding upon all Professional Members for whom CPD is mandatory under Regulation 2. In accordance with Article 55(5), no provision of this Regulation shall be inconsistent with the Articles of Association; in the event of any conflict, the Articles shall prevail.

1.2 This Regulation establishes the minimum continuing professional development (CPD) requirements for IAM Professional Members. It should be read together with the IAM Membership Regulation (IAM-MEM-REG-2026-001), the IAM Professional Standards (IAM-PS-2026-001), and the IAM Code of Ethics (IAM-COE-2026-001).

1.3 Professional Membership is a subscription-based professional relationship established by the Board under the IAM Membership Regulation and is distinct from statutory membership of the Company under Article 7 of the Articles of Association. The CPD obligations in this Regulation apply exclusively to Professional Members at the assessed grades specified in Regulation 2.

1.4 Practical guidance on planning, recording, and evidencing CPD is set out in the IAM CPD Guidance for Individuals (IAM-CPD-IND-2026-001) and the IAM CPD Guidance for Corporates (IAM-CPD-COR-2026-001). Where any conflict arises between this Regulation and a guidance document, this Regulation takes precedence.

1.5 Defined terms used in this Regulation are set out in the Glossary at Schedule A.

Regulation 2: Annual CPD Requirements

2.1 Professional Members at Associate, Member, Fellow, and Senior Fellow grades shall complete a minimum of 30 CPD hours per CPD Year. The annual requirement is uniform across all four assessed grades.

2.2 The annual CPD requirement comprises:

Table 1: Components of the annual CPD requirement

2.3 The annual hour requirement is uniform across all four assessed grades. Seniority is reflected not in additional hours but in the nature, complexity, and mandatory composition of the CPD undertaken, which are expected to deepen with Career Stage, as described in the IAM CPD Guidance for Individuals (IAM-CPD-IND-2026-001).

2.4 Affiliate, Student, Retired (Retired Senior Fellow, Retired Fellow, and Retired Member), and Honorary Fellow categories are exempt from mandatory CPD but are encouraged to maintain voluntary professional development. Subscribers are not members of the profession and are not subject to CPD obligations. Where Honorary Fellows undertake CPD activities on a voluntary basis, the Institute encourages such activities to be recorded and made visible on the IAM Membership Platform.

2.5 Ethics hours and sustainability hours are included within (not additional to) the total annual CPD hours.

2.6 CPD at Senior Fellow grade shall reflect the strategic, board-level, and profession-shaping scope of the role, with emphasis on governance, organisational strategy, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, AI governance, and substantive contribution to the profession.

Regulation 3: The CPD Year

3.1 The CPD Year for all Professional Members runs from 1 January to 31 December in each calendar year. CPD compliance is assessed following the close of each CPD Year.

3.2 Members admitted during a calendar year are exempt from CPD requirements for that partial calendar year. The CPD obligation commences from 1 January in the calendar year following admission, regardless of grade or month of admission. Members are encouraged to record CPD undertaken during the partial year; it does not count towards the following CPD Year.

3.3 CPD hours may not be carried forward from one CPD Year to the next. Each year’s requirement shall be met within that year.

3.4 CPD activities completed in December of a CPD Year may be recorded on the IAM Membership Platform by 31 January of the following year. This recording grace period does not extend the CPD Year itself.

3.5 First CPD Year. This Regulation comes into effect on 1 January 2027, and the CPD Year commencing on that date is the first CPD Year under it. Members who hold an assessed grade on 31 December 2026 are subject to the full annual requirement from that CPD Year, in accordance with Regulation 12.5 of the IAM Membership Regulation; members admitted on or after 1 January 2027 are subject to Regulation 3.2. The sustainability minimum rises from 2 to 3 hours from the CPD Year commencing 1 January 2028 under Regulation 5.2.

Regulation 4: Qualifying Activities

4.1 CPD encompasses any activity that develops professional knowledge, skills, and competence relevant to the practice of administrative management. Qualifying activities include, but are not limited to:

Table 2: Categories of qualifying CPD activity

4.2 To qualify as CPD, an activity shall produce a demonstrable development outcome. Routine work activities that do not extend the member’s professional competence do not qualify.

4.3 Structured and self-directed CPD. A minimum of 15 hours (50 per cent) of each member’s annual CPD shall be Structured CPD, meaning formal, facilitated learning in which the content, learning outcomes, and delivery are designed and led by a qualified instructor, facilitator, or institution. IAM Certified Programmes and Role Mastery courses, the IAM Professional Courses, IAM Practice Library lessons, IAM Masterclasses, and Endorsed Qualifications and Endorsed Courses qualify as Structured CPD. Self-directed activities such as professional reading, informal mentoring, and on-the-job learning may count towards the remaining hours but do not qualify as Structured CPD.

4.4 Counting hours. One CPD hour is 60 minutes of qualifying activity, recorded in units of not less than 15 minutes; travel and breaks are excluded. Preparing and delivering teaching, presentations, or written work counts once per topic in a CPD Year, including reasonable preparation time. Mentoring counts for both mentor and mentee. An activity may be counted in one CPD Year only.

4.5 CPD undertaken to meet the requirements of another professional body counts towards this Regulation where it meets Regulation 4 and is recorded under Regulation 8.

Regulation 5: Ethics and Sustainability CPD

5.1 A minimum of 3 hours of each member’s annual CPD shall address ethics and professional conduct. Qualifying ethics CPD develops the member’s understanding and application of the nine Principles of the IAM Code of Ethics (IAM-COE-2026-001), ethical decision-making, data protection and information governance, equality, diversity, and inclusion, and professional conduct and regulatory compliance.

5.2 A minimum of 2 hours of each member’s annual CPD shall address sustainability, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics, rising to 3 hours from the CPD Year commencing 1 January 2028. Qualifying sustainability CPD includes ESG fundamentals; climate change and carbon management; sustainability reporting frameworks and standards; sustainable procurement and circular economy principles; ethical supply chains and modern slavery due diligence; green office management; social value; and the sustainability dimensions of administrative management practice as set out in the IAM Professional Standards and the IAM Sustainability and ESG Guidance (IAM-SUS-2026-001).

5.3 Ethics and sustainability hours may be drawn from either Structured CPD or self-directed activities. A single activity may not be counted concurrently against both the ethics and the sustainability minima, except where it is of sufficient length and substance to contribute materially to both, in which case the member shall apportion the hours on a fair and reasonable basis.

Regulation 6: Reflective Practice

6.1 All Professional Members at Associate grade and above shall complete a minimum of one reflective practice record per CPD Year.

6.2 A reflective practice record is a written account in which the member reflects on their CPD activities, identifies what they have learned, evaluates how the learning has improved their professional practice, and identifies areas for further development.

6.3 Reflective practice records and competence statements shall be the member’s own work and shall evidence the member’s own judgement and learning. Producing such records wholly or substantially through generative artificial intelligence, or presenting AI-generated reflection as one’s own, is a breach of the IAM Code of Ethics (IAM-COE-2026-001, Sections 2.2.3 and 5.1.2) and constitutes professional misconduct under Regulation 9 of the IAM Membership Regulation (IAM-MEM-REG-2026-001).

6.4 Reflective practice records shall be uploaded to the IAM Membership Platform and are subject to audit under Regulation 9.

Regulation 7: Alignment to the Competency Domains

7.1 Members should distribute their CPD across the seven Competency Domains defined in the IAM Professional Standards (IAM-PS-2026-001) in a way that reflects their development needs, not only their existing strengths.

7.2 Members shall identify two or three priority Competency Domains when planning their CPD for the CPD Year, and shall confirm in their annual CPD summary which domains their CPD has covered. CPD delivered or endorsed by the Institute is mapped to the Competency Domains by the provider. Members may also record the domain to which an individual activity relates, but are not required to do so.

7.3 The self-assessment process described in Section 9 of the Professional Standards should inform CPD planning, ensuring that development activity is targeted at areas of greatest need as identified against the Progression Matrix.

Regulation 8: Recording and Evidence

8.1 CPD activities shall be recorded on the IAM Membership Platform within 30 calendar days of completion. Members are responsible for maintaining an accurate and up-to-date record of their CPD throughout the year.

8.2 Each CPD record shall include, as a minimum: the date of the activity; its title or description; the number of CPD hours claimed; whether the activity is Structured or self-directed; whether it counts towards ethics or sustainability hours; and a brief statement of the learning outcome achieved. Members may also record the Competency Domain or Domains to which the activity relates.

8.3 Members shall retain evidence of the learning outcomes achieved from external training, conferences, and on-the-job development (such as certificates of competency, project outputs, or reflective summaries), rather than attendance certificates alone, for three years, and shall provide it on audit. Uploading evidence at the time of recording is encouraged.

8.4 The IAM Membership Platform generates an annual CPD summary for each member. In the summary the member confirms the Competency Domains their CPD has covered, in accordance with Regulation 7.2, and shall do so by 31 January following the CPD Year. The summary may be used for self-assessment, appraisal, and audit purposes.

Regulation 9: Audit and Compliance

9.1 The Institute shall conduct periodic audits of CPD records to ensure compliance with this Regulation. Each year the Institute audits a random sample of not less than five per cent of members subject to mandatory CPD, together with any member selected where there is reason to believe that records may be incomplete or inaccurate, and reports the aggregate findings to the Board.

9.2 Members selected for audit shall provide their CPD records and supporting evidence within 30 calendar days of the request.

9.3 Where an audit reveals that a member’s records are incomplete, inaccurate, or do not meet the requirements of this Regulation, the member shall be notified in writing and given the opportunity to rectify the deficiency within 30 calendar days.

9.4 Failure to respond to an audit request within the specified timeframe, or failure to rectify identified deficiencies, shall be treated as non-compliance under Regulation 12.

Regulation 10: Exemptions and Adjustments

10.1 Temporary exemptions from CPD requirements may be granted in cases of long-term illness, parental leave, caring responsibilities, unemployment or a period seeking work, bereavement, career break, or other exceptional circumstances.

10.2 Applications for exemption shall be made in writing to membership@instam.org and shall include such supporting evidence as may reasonably be required. Applications shall be considered sympathetically on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Board or its authorised delegate.

10.3 An exemption may be granted for a period of up to 24 months. Extensions may be applied for in writing before the expiry of the initial exemption period.

10.4 During the period of exemption, the member retains all Professional Membership rights and remains in Good Standing, provided that all other conditions of membership are met.

10.5 Upon the expiry of an exemption, the member’s full CPD obligations resume from the next full CPD Year following the return to professional activity.

10.6 Parental-leave adjustment. A member on parental leave (including maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave) is entitled to a pro-rata reduction of the annual requirement, and of the Structured, ethics, and sustainability minima, for the proportion of the CPD Year covered by the leave. The adjustment is applied automatically on notification of the start and end of leave through the IAM Membership Platform and does not require a formal exemption application under Regulation 10.2.

10.7 Where an exemption under Regulation 10.1 covers part of a CPD Year, the annual requirement and the Structured, ethics, and sustainability minima are reduced in proportion to the period covered.

10.8 The Institute makes reasonable adjustments to the manner in which CPD is recorded and evidenced for members with a disability, on request to membership@instam.org, in accordance with Regulation 11.3 of the IAM Membership Regulation and the IAM Reasonable Adjustments and Special Considerations Policy (IAM-RASC-2026-001).

Regulation 11: Active Retired Status

11.1 Retired Senior Fellows, Retired Fellows, and Retired Members are not required to complete mandatory CPD under Regulation 2.4. Retired members who wish to undertake mentoring activities under the IAM Mentoring and Professional Supervision Framework (IAM-MEN-2026-001) are encouraged to apply for Active Retired status as a means of signalling continued professional currency and current ethical and professional standing to mentees and the public.

11.2 Active Retired status is a mentoring quality-assurance mechanism. It exists to ensure that retired members who serve as mentors demonstrate continued engagement with professional development commensurate with the responsibility of mentoring less experienced practitioners. The status is recognised on the IAM Member Directory and confers eligibility for additional engagement opportunities, including inclusion in the IAM mentor panel.

11.3 To qualify for Active Retired status, a retired member shall record 10 or more CPD or mentoring hours per year, of which a minimum of 5 hours shall be mentoring or mentoring-related CPD. The remaining hours may comprise any of the qualifying activities listed in Regulation 4.

11.4 Active Retired status is assessed annually. Withdrawal occurs automatically if the 10-hour threshold is not met, or if the mentoring proportion falls below 5 hours, in any given year. Withdrawal does not affect the member’s retired membership, but the member will no longer be listed on the IAM mentor panel until the threshold is met again.

Regulation 12: Non-Compliance and Sanctions

This Regulation sets out the three-stage escalation procedure for CPD non-compliance. The IAM Membership Regulation (IAM-MEM-REG-2026-001) delegates the detailed escalation procedure to this Regulation; final sanctions involving the reduction, suspension, or termination of Professional Membership are imposed by the Board under Regulation 9 of the Membership Regulation.

Stage 1: Remediation Notice (60 days)

12.1 Where a Professional Member is found to be non-compliant, the Institute shall issue a written remediation notice specifying the nature of the non-compliance and providing a 60 calendar day grace period in which to remedy the deficiency. The notice shall state clearly what the member is required to do to achieve compliance and shall inform the member of the further stages of escalation that may follow.

Stage 2: Formal Warning with Conditions (30 days)

12.2 Where the member fails to remedy the non-compliance within the Stage 1 grace period, the Institute shall issue a formal warning with conditions, imposing (a) a mandatory CPD completion plan and (b) “CPD Conditional” status, under which the member is not in Good Standing. In accordance with Regulation 2.2 of the IAM Membership Regulation and Section 8.3 of the IAM Professional Standards, the member may not use their post-nominals while CPD Conditional status is in effect; entitlement resumes upon the restoration of Good Standing. While CPD Conditional status is in effect, the Verify a Member facility under Regulation 7.6 of the Membership Regulation shows the member as not in Good Standing. A further 30 calendar days shall be given to achieve compliance.

Stage 3: Board Referral for Final Sanction

12.3 Where the member fails to achieve compliance within the Stage 2 period, the matter shall be referred to the Board for final sanction under Regulation 9 of the IAM Membership Regulation. The Board may impose any of the sanctions available under that Regulation, including written warning, mandatory CPD, suspension of rights, grade reduction, and, in the most serious cases, expulsion (termination of Professional Membership). Final sanctions are imposed only following the disciplinary procedures set out in that Regulation, and the procedural protections in Regulation 9 of the Membership Regulation apply.

12.4 Failure to complete and failure to record. Where a member demonstrates, within the Stage 1 grace period, that CPD activity was completed but not recorded, the matter shall be treated as a recording deficiency and resolved upon correct recording, without progression to Stage 2.

12.5 Mitigating circumstances. At any stage, the member may submit evidence of mitigating circumstances that justify a waiver or extension. The Institute shall consider such submissions sympathetically under Regulation 10.

12.6 Appeals. A member subject to a CPD sanction may appeal by writing to appeals@instam.org, in accordance with the IAM Appeals and Complaints Policy (IAM-APP-2026-001) and, where the sanction is imposed under Regulation 9 of the Membership Regulation, the appeals procedure set out in that Regulation.

12.7 Deliberate falsification of CPD records is professional misconduct and shall be reported to conduct@instam.org for handling under Regulation 9 of the IAM Membership Regulation.

Regulation 13: Corporate Members

13.1 Staff enrolled as Professional Members through an IAM Corporate Membership arrangement are subject to the same CPD requirements as all other Professional Members of the corresponding grade.

13.2 The Corporate Member’s nominated Corporate Coordinator may access aggregate CPD compliance data for enrolled staff through the corporate facilities of the IAM Membership Platform. Individual CPD records remain the personal responsibility of each member.

13.3 In-house CPD activities delivered by a Corporate Member qualify as CPD where they meet the requirements of Regulation 4. Guidance on the design and recognition of in-house CPD is set out in the IAM CPD Guidance for Corporates (IAM-CPD-COR-2026-001) and the IAM Corporate Membership Guidance (IAM-CMG-2026-001).

Regulation 14: Endorsed Learning and In-House CPD

14.1 The IAM Certified Programmes and Role Mastery courses are delivered by the Institute directly and by IAM Recognised Training Centres under the IAM Centre Recognition Scheme (IAM-CRS-2026-001); every assessment is set and moderated, and every credential issued, by the Institute. Third-party qualifications and courses in administrative management may be recognised by the Institute under the IAM Qualifications and Courses Endorsement Scheme (IAM-QCE-2026-001). Completion of an Endorsed Qualification or Endorsed Course qualifies as Structured CPD under Regulation 4, and endorsed learning is mapped to the Competency Domains by the provider at endorsement.

14.2 Where an organisation delivers in-house learning to its staff, that learning qualifies as CPD for enrolled Professional Members where it meets the requirements of Regulation 4. The recognition of in-house provision is administered under the IAM Corporate Membership Guidance (IAM-CMG-2026-001).

Regulation 15: Use of Artificial Intelligence

15.1 Professional Members may use artificial intelligence tools as part of their professional practice and learning. Their use is subject to the responsible-use provisions in Section 5 of the IAM Code of Ethics (IAM-COE-2026-001), the IAM AI Governance Guidance (IAM-AIG-2026-001), and the competence expected in the governance of artificial intelligence under Domain 3 of the IAM Professional Standards.

15.2 The prohibition on producing reflective practice records wholly or substantially through generative AI, or on presenting AI-generated reflection as one’s own, is set out in Regulation 6.3, in accordance with Sections 2.2.3 and 5.1.2 of the IAM Code of Ethics.

15.3 CPD activities that develop the member’s competence in the responsible use and governance of AI in administrative contexts are encouraged and may count towards the annual requirement, and towards ethics CPD hours where the content addresses the ethical dimensions of AI use.

Regulation 16: Data Protection

16.1 CPD records are personal data processed by the Institute as data controller in accordance with the data protection and privacy legislation applicable to the Institute, with appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the rights and freedoms of data subjects.

16.2 CPD records shall be retained for the duration of membership plus 3 years, in accordance with the data retention provisions set out in the IAM Membership Regulation (IAM-MEM-REG-2026-001, Regulation 10).

16.3 Professional Members have the right of access to their CPD records and may request rectification or erasure in accordance with applicable data protection law. Data protection enquiries and access requests may be directed to dpo@instam.org.

Regulation 17: Commencement, Supersession, and Review

17.1 This Regulation comes into effect on 1 January 2027, the first day of the first CPD Year and the same date as the IAM Professional Standards for Administrative Management (IAM-PS-2026-001), the IAM Code of Ethics (IAM-COE-2026-001), and the IAM Membership Regulation (IAM-MEM-REG-2026-001).

17.2 This Regulation supersedes all previous CPD rules, requirements, and by-laws of the Institute.

17.3 This Regulation is subject to a two-year formal review cycle. The next scheduled review shall conclude by 1 December 2028, aligning the review cycle of this Regulation with those of the IAM Professional Standards for Administrative Management (IAM-PS-2026-001), the IAM Code of Ethics (IAM-COE-2026-001), and the IAM Membership Regulation (IAM-MEM-REG-2026-001), so that any revised edition can take effect on 1 January 2029, aligned with the CPD Year. Between formal reviews, minor corrections may be issued as errata. Substantive changes require approval by the Board of Directors.

17.4 In accordance with Article 55(3) of the Articles of Association, the Company in general meeting has the power to alter, add to, or repeal the rules made under Article 55, including this Regulation.

17.5 This Regulation is made in English. Where the Institute publishes a translation, the translation is provided for convenience only and the English text prevails in the event of any inconsistency.

Schedule A: Glossary of Defined Terms

Terms defined in the IAM Membership Regulation (IAM-MEM-REG-2026-001) bear the same meaning in this Regulation unless otherwise defined below.

Schedule B: Related Documents

All related documents are published at www.instam.org. Enquiries about CPD are directed to membership@instam.org.

Issued for consultation by the IAM Professional Standards Committee

Institute of Administrative Management

Exposure Draft for consultation · 11 September 2026 · Proposed to take effect from 1 January 2027

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INSTITUTE OF ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT

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IAM CPD Regulation

IAM-CPD-REG-2026-001 • Edition 1.0 • Exposure Draft • 11 September 2026

Non Sibi Sed Toti

Not for Oneself but for All

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© 2026 Institute of Administrative Management. All rights reserved.

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