How NMC Revalidation Has Changed Since 2016

The NMC’s revalidation framework launched in April 2016. By 2026 it’s been running for a decade. The eight requirements (practice hours, CPD, feedback, reflective accounts, reflective discussion, health and character, indemnity, confirmation) have been stable across that whole period. What’s changed is the operational detail: how you submit, what the forms look like, how confirmers are verified, how audit selection works.

This chapter is a brief history of those changes, partly for context and partly because some older NMC guidance documents are still in circulation and the version someone tells you about may not be the current one.

What replaced what

Before 2016, the NMC operated PREP: post-registration education and practice. PREP required:

• 35 hours of CPD across three years.
• A separate clinical practice element: 450 hours.
• A self-declaration that you had completed both.

There was no reflection requirement, no third-party confirmation, no audit. Registrants completed an online form, declared they had done the hours, and renewed. The whole framework was self-reported with no verification mechanism.

The shift to revalidation in 2016 was triggered partly by the Francis Report (2013) and partly by general regulatory reform across UK health regulators. The principle of the change was that fitness to practise had to be demonstrably checked, not just declared. Reflection, confirmation and audit were the mechanisms added to make that real.

What changed in the first few years

The 2016 launch was followed by several rounds of operational refinement:

2017: midwife reflective discussion change. Originally, midwives had been required to do their reflective discussion with another midwife. In 2017 this was removed; any NMC registrant could be the discussion partner. The change reflected the practical reality that many midwives work alone or in small teams and couldn’t always find another midwife on duty when they were ready to talk through their reflections.

2018: digital submission becomes the norm. NMC Online was already the main route in 2016 but paper submissions had been accepted. From 2018 onwards, the NMC moved to full digital, with paper accepted only by exception. The cost of administering paper submissions was the published reason; the practical effect was faster processing.

2019: nursing associates added. The nursing associate part of the register opened in January 2019. Nursing associates joined the same revalidation cycle as nurses and midwives from the same date, with no separate framework. The first nursing associate revalidations took place in 2022.

2020–2021: pandemic adjustments. During COVID-19 the NMC made temporary adjustments to revalidation: extended deadlines for some registrants, flexibility on confirmer arrangements for redeployed nurses, and recognition that traditional CPD events were unavailable. These were temporary and have since been wound back.

What changed in the 2024 standards refresh

The most recent substantive update was the 2024 refresh of the Standards. The headline message from the NMC was that the framework was sound and the eight requirements would not change. Within that:

• Audit guidance was tightened. Auditors now have clearer criteria for what constitutes sufficient evidence for each requirement, especially around participatory CPD and confirmer verification.
• Confirmer guidance was clarified. The 12-month-known-you rule was made more explicit, and the NMC published clearer expectations about what confirmers can and cannot sign off without first-hand knowledge.
• Reflective discussion documentation received clearer templates. Variation in how this was being recorded had been a common audit issue.

The 2024 changes are now embedded in the current process. If you’ve revalidated before 2024, expect the audit process to feel slightly stricter than the previous cycle but the core paperwork to be the same.

What’s currently in consultation

As of 2026, the NMC’s published consultation programme includes:

• Whether the CPD hours requirement should increase to reflect the expanded knowledge base of contemporary nursing. No decision yet.
• Whether reflective accounts could move to a more flexible structure for some specialist registrants.
• Whether the audit sample percentage should change.

None of these are confirmed changes. The NMC publishes consultation responses on its website. Always check the current Standards for the binding version before you plan your evidence.

What this means for your planning

The headline practical message: the framework has been stable for a decade and is likely to remain so. The eight requirements are the eight requirements.

The corollary practical message: the small refinements matter. A confirmer guidance change in 2024 might trip you up if you’re using guidance from 2018. The reflective discussion partner rules from 2017 may not be what an older mentor remembers.

When something in this guide or any other source seems inconsistent with what someone is telling you, the NMC’s current published Standards is the binding answer. Everything else, including this guide, is summary.

This is the end of Part 1. The next part (chapters 11 through 26) covers each of the eight requirements in detail, two chapters per requirement.