ARB has completed the first full year of its mandatory continuing professional development scheme. More than 85 percent of architects complied, yet 270 were removed from the register for failing to meet the new requirements.
Every profession has its quiet reckoning. For UK architects, one arrived this autumn in the form of a simple administrative outcome: 270 names no longer appear on the Architects Registration Board register.
The removals follow the first full year of mandatory continuing professional development.
Introduced in 2025, the scheme requires every registered architect to record and reflect on their learning. Most did. More than 38,000 architects submitted CPD declarations. Overall compliance eventually exceeded 85 percent. Yet for those who did not complete the process, the consequence was clear. They were removed.
A new requirement takes hold
The CPD scheme is a statutory obligation. It forms part of wider efforts to maintain professional competence across the register. Architects could record their activities either through the Architects Registration Board’s own MyARB platform or via the RIBA system. Those who used MyARB saw initial compliance of around 90 percent, rising to 98 percent after follow-up case management. A sample of RIBA records showed lower initial compliance that improved substantially once the regulator engaged with individuals.
The average number of CPD activities recorded sat at four, half the recommended level. Topics most frequently chosen included environmental sustainability and fire and life safety. The data suggests the profession engaged with the new rules, even if the depth of engagement varied.
Quality as well as quantity
Beyond the headline compliance numbers, the report noted variation in the quality of reflections submitted. Some architects described the activities they had undertaken. Fewer explained what they had learned or how that learning would change their practice. The regulator has indicated that future cycles will place greater emphasis on meaningful reflection rather than simple completion of hours.
Alan Kershaw, ARB Chair, summarized the position carefully. High compliance matters, he said, but compliance is not the ultimate purpose of CPD. The greatest value comes when learning changes what an architect notices, asks, checks or does in professional practice. The first-year evidence will help strengthen the scheme and support architects in identifying learning needs more effectively.
What happens next for those removed
Architects removed for non-compliance are not permanently barred. A route back onto the register exists. Individuals can apply to return once they can demonstrate that they have identified the professional development they intend to undertake in the coming year. The process is designed to be recoverable rather than punitive.
For the wider profession, the first compulsory year has established a new baseline. Recording learning is no longer optional. The administrative systems have been tested at scale. The numbers show that the large majority of architects adapted. A smaller group did not, and the register has been adjusted accordingly.
A quiet but consequential shift
Image credit: Architects Registration Board
Professional registers exist to give the public a clear list of people who meet current standards. When requirements change, the list changes with them. The removal of 270 architects is a visible consequence of that principle in action. It is also a relatively small proportion of a register that contains tens of thousands of names.
The ARB has described the first year as a successful start while acknowledging areas for improvement on both its own side and the profession’s. Future cycles are expected to move from establishing compliance toward delivering clearer value to architects and the public they serve.
In practical terms, the message is straightforward. Continuing professional development is now part of remaining on the register. Most architects completed the process. Those who did not have been removed, with a path available should they choose to return. The register, for the moment, is a little shorter. The expectation of ongoing learning is now longer.
