Applications now open for social workers to renew their registration

Social workers who want to continue practising in England must now complete their annual registration renewal application to remain on the social work register. The regulator Social Work England has issued a reminder to around 100,000 social workers to apply now rather than leave it to the last minute.   

To apply to renew their registration, social workers must complete all the following by 11:59pm on Thursday 30 November 2023:  

• submit a registration renewal form 
• pay the registration fee 
• record a minimum of 2 different pieces of continuing professional development (CPD). A peer reflection must be included with at least one of these pieces of CPD.  

As at 31 August 2023, 7% of social workers in England have met the CPD requirements.

It is a legal requirement that all social workers apply to renew their registration on an annual basis if they wish to continue practising and use the protected title of ‘social worker’. Social workers who do not renew their registration before 30 November will be removed from the register. If they do not apply to renew, they will be required to apply to restore their registration if they want to continue to practise. This costs £135. 

Being registered with Social Work England assures the public that all social workers in England meet the professional standards and are keeping their skills and knowledge up to date. It means that the millions of people in society with social workers in their lives can expect a consistent standard of support, irrespective of who their social worker is employed by, what role they have or where they trained.  

Rachel McAssey, assistant director of regulation at Social Work England, said, 

“As always, we encourage all social workers to complete their application to renew in plenty of time to avoid the last-minute rush and allow sufficient time for focus and reflection.

We continue to reflect on feedback from previous years to make the process as simple as possible and there are step-by-step instructions on our website. The most important thing to check when applying to renew is that you have completed all the steps. Your online account shows the stage you are at in the process and what you need to do to complete all 3 steps.  

Firstly, please log into your online account and check that your contact details are up to date so you can receive updates from us about your registration and renewal. Then, throughout the next few months, please carefully check all emails you receive from Social Work England. These will alert you to any outstanding steps you need to complete in order to successfully apply to renew."

Things to note 

Social workers are advised to make sure the register accurately reflects their status for 2023 to 2024.  

• Social workers should make a self-referral if there are any changes to their fitness to practise. 
• If a social worker wants to leave the register they should apply for voluntary removal. 
• Those who join the register from September to November 2023 do not need to apply to renew or record CPD, having just sent us up to date information. However, they will need to pay their registration fee for the coming year. 
• People who are not currently working due to extended absence like sick leave or parental leave etc, but who wish to stay on the register, should complete the renewal process.
• Anyone who does not apply to renew by 30 November will be removed from the register, this includes failing to submit an application, failing to pay the fees or not meeting the CPD requirements. There is no extension to this deadline. 
• If they wish to continue practising as a social worker, they will have to apply to be restored to the register and pay a £135 restoration fee. They will be unable to work as a social worker until their registration has been restored. 
  
  

Support 

The full information about how to apply to renew your registration can be found on our website at https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/registration/apply-to-renew/  

Our regional engagement leads are running sessions about peer reflection and how to record CPD.

Please use our usual contact details  for any enquiries relating to registration renewal and CPD.