Registration as a continuing professional development (DPC) provider
Mandatory in order to offer DPC activities: only providers registered with the ANDPC may offer health professionals activities that count towards their three-yearly continuing professional development obligation.
Issued by: The French national continuing professional development agency (ANDPC), following assessment by the independent scientific commissions
Training organisations, healthcare establishments, associations, networks and learned societies wishing to offer DPC activities to health professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, midwives, dentists…).
What this scheme covers
- C.1Entry in the national register of DPC providers, with a registration number and a public record that health professionals can consult.
- C.2The right to submit DPC activities on the Agency's platform, within the priority orientations in force.
- C.3Access, for eligible activities, to ANDPC funding for self-employed health professionals working under the state health-insurance agreement and salaried staff of contracted health centres.
- C.4A scientific assessment of the application by the scientific commission(s) responsible for the professions concerned.
The link with Qualiopi
The two schemes sit in different codes of law: DPC is governed by the public-health code, Qualiopi by the labour code. Qualiopi certification is not required to register as a DPC provider, and DPC registration does not exempt a provider from Qualiopi for training funded from public or pooled funds. A provider that trains health professionals through both channels therefore usually holds both.
The process, summarised
- 1.Check that the organisation meets the criteria set by the order of 14 September 2016: scientific validity of content, qualifications of designers and speakers, methods for evaluating activities, transparency of subcontracting, financial independence and management of conflicts of interest.
- 2.File the registration application at any time through the ANDPC's online provider portal, together with the assessment file intended for the scientific commissions.
- 3.Respond to any requests for further documents: the file is deemed complete if the Agency makes no such request within one month of the acknowledgement of receipt.
- 4.Await the decision: the applicant is deemed registered if the Agency has taken no explicit decision within two months of receiving the complete application.
- 5.Once registered, publish activities on the platform, linking each to a priority orientation and to a method recognised by the French national health authority (HAS), then continue to meet the criteria over time.
FAQ — DPC provider
+Does DPC provider registration have a fixed validity period?
The regulations set no time limit on registration: there is no fixed renewal date. The Agency can, however, withdraw it if the provider stops meeting the criteria that guarantee the quality and independence of its activities.
+Do you need Qualiopi certification to become a DPC provider?
No. DPC registration rests on its own criteria, drawn from the public-health code. Qualiopi is still required for training funded from public or pooled funds, however: many health-sector providers hold both, for two different audiences and funding channels.
+Is registration alone enough for my activities to be funded?
No: registration gives the right to submit activities, but each activity must then fall within a priority orientation in force and follow a recognised method. Agency funding also covers a defined audience — self-employed professionals working under the health-insurance agreement and salaried staff of contracted health centres.
- ANDPC: France's National CPD Agency, Its Remit and Its Two Online Accounts7 min
- DPC or Qualiopi: which framework applies when you train health professionals?7 min
- Financial independence and conflicts of interest: the criterion that decides a DPC file7 min
- Becoming a DPC provider: registering with France's ANDPC7 min
- Submitting a DPC activity: priority orientations, scoping sheets and recognised methods7 min
- DPC registration criteria: what the scientific commissions look at8 min
- QualiopiMandatory
- NDAMandatory
- RNCPVoluntary
- Répertoire spécifiqueVoluntary
- Professional titleVoluntary
- CQPVoluntary
- CléAVoluntary
- CléA numériqueVoluntary
- Awarding-body authorisationVoluntary
- e-AFAQ training labelVoluntary
- ISQ-OPQFVoluntary
- EDUFORMVoluntary
- Qualité FLEVoluntary
- Certif'RégionVoluntary
- ISO 21001Voluntary
- ISO 29993Voluntary
- BAFA-BAFD authorisationMandatory
- Local-elected-officials training approvalMandatory