Becoming an Accredited Coach
The starting point for most people is to remember, Coaching as a Professional Practice and Industry is as yet unregulated. The main professional bodies are working hard to improve the perception of what a Professional Coach is in the eyes of the buying public. They are also promoting the Core Coaching Competencies and the promotion of Professional Accredited Training programmes that meet high standards of both student training and support and deliver on the agreed curriculum and Coaching Competencies.
Accreditation and Coaching – What Is Coaching Accreditation
This point is often a source of misunderstanding and even a little confusing for those at the beginning of the coaching journey.
There are two types of accreditations in the world of coaching.
- First up, there is the accreditation of the actual training courses.
- Second, there’s accreditation for qualified people individually as coaches.
An accredited training course (with one of three main coaching bodies) ensures the quality, standard, and content of your training. Becoming an Accredited Coach shows that you have been assessed against a rigours criteria that ensure you are coaching to professional standards with experience built up over a period of time.
Even if you complete an accredited course, you will, if you wish to be accredited personally (Accredited Coach), need to work through the various requirements, gain sufficient experience, and apply to be assessed through the appropriate route with your chosen organisation.
Do I Need to Be Accredited as a Coach?
The short answer is no — but there’s more to the story.
Coaching remains an unregulated profession, which means there is no legal requirement to hold an accreditation before you start working with clients. However, many within the industry recognise the value of self-regulation as a way of safeguarding quality and building public trust.
Accreditation offers a clear way to distinguish between coaches. It reassures potential clients that you have been assessed against recognised standards, that your skills have been reviewed by experienced professionals, and that you are committed to working ethically and competently.
In essence, accreditation is about respected coaching organisations evaluating how practitioners work, defining key competencies, and setting benchmarks that coaches can be measured against. Choosing to become accredited signals that you take your practice seriously — that you have undertaken quality training, are committed to ongoing professional development, and have had your work independently reviewed and validated. In some contexts, such as employment within certain organisations or membership on a coaching panel, accreditation may even be a requirement.
At UKCPD, our coach professional training programmes are accredited by the Association for Coaching (AC). This means our courses have been rigorously evaluated against the AC’s professional standards — covering the depth of content, the calibre of our tutors, and the quality of the coaching tools and skills we teach. For you, it’s a reassurance that your training meets the high benchmarks set by a the main coaching body recognised in the UK.
Understanding the Terminology
It’s easy to get confused by the language used in coaching — so let’s break down a few key terms:
- Qualified / Certified: These terms are largely interchangeable. They mean you have completed a course of study and hold a recognised professional coaching qualification.
- Accredited: This means you personally have gone through an assessment process with a recognised coaching body and met their professional standards.
- Credentialed: This one is less standardised. In some contexts, it may mean qualified; in others, accredited. If in doubt, always check the definition being used. Generally in the UK we use the “Accredited Coach” to indicate professional or credentialed via one of the main professional bodies.
If you complete one of our accredited programmes and meet the assessment criteria, you will graduate with an accredited coaching qualification — a mark of both your skill and your commitment to professional excellence.
The Main Coaching Bodies
While there are many organisations in the coaching landscape, three stand out as the most widely recognised:
- The Association for Coaching (AC) – The main and most recognised professional body in the UK. Now a global organisation offering accreditation for both executive and non-executive coaches.
- The International Coaching Federation (ICF) – A global organisation with a strong international reputation for its credentialing frameworks, has a strong North American focus.
- The European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) – A European-based organisation that recognises both coaching and mentoring as closely related disciplines.
These bodies share a common mission: to promote the value of coaching, drive the profession forward, and uphold high standards of practice.
What About The ILM?
Great question, remember there are two categories of coaching qualifications, Professional and Academic.
The ILM is an academic awarding body they have licenced organisations to deliver their approved training courses (Leadership & Management, Coaching & Mentoring) that are regulated by Ofqual via the national qualification framework.
The ILM is not a professional coaching organisation or an accrediting body in the same way that the main ones mentioned above are. It’s not a professional body for promoting the industry.
That said, there are RPL routes to accreditation available, and UKCPD will be providing options for the various qualification levels.
How Do I Become An Accredited Coach?
If you choose to become Accredited Coach you will have to do the following:
First up successfully complete a recognised or preferably an Accredited Coach Training Programme.
Then it’s about completing a portfolio of activities which include:
- Coaching Hours
- Supervision Time
- CPD Record with Reflective Log
- Written Response to Ethical Dilemmas
- Fitness To Practice Reflective Review
- Coaching Case Study
- Client Reference
- A Personal Coaching Philosophy
- Self-Assessment & a Development Plan
As UKCPD is an accredited course provider with The Association For Coaching and its “Accelerated Coach Accreditation” framework, we will be rolling out our Professional Member Supported Individual Accreditation track application process in the very near future.
This process and support will include:
- Group Work
- Supervision Sessions
- Co-Coaching Events
- Certified CPD Provision
- RPL Assessments & Pathway Development
- Professional Conversations and support in submitting portfolio of evidence to the AC.
We will be hosting a webinar on the details of this provision in early September, if you were interested in this please contact the office at anytime.
