On this page
- The short answer
- What "regulated" would mean
- What UK law says today
- Why coaching has never been regulated
- Who sets the standards instead
- What is changing, and when
- Buyers have become the regulators
- AI coaching
- How other countries handle it
- Will it be regulated? Our assessment
- What to check before you hire
- FAQs
- Sources
Anyone in the UK could start trading as an executive coach tomorrow morning. There is no exam to pass, and no regulator to answer to. A coach who calls themselves an occupational psychologist without being registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), on the other hand, commits a criminal offence. The gap between those two positions explains most of what a buyer needs to know about how coaching is governed.
This guide sets out what UK law says today, why coaching has stayed outside formal regulation, who sets the standards instead and what is changing over the next 15 months. It also looks at how other countries have handled the question. It is written for HR (Human Resources), People, Learning and Development (L&D) and procurement teams, and for senior leaders choosing a coach for themselves. The facts are drawn from legislation, Parliament, regulators and the professional bodies' own publications. Where we offer our own view, we say so.
The short answer
No. Executive coaching is not regulated by law in the UK. “Coach” is not a protected title, there is no statutory register, and no public body can stop someone from practising. The government has said it has no current plans to bring even counselling and psychotherapy under statutory regulation, and those professions sit much closer to healthcare than coaching does.
That does not mean anything goes. Coaching is governed by a patchwork: professional bodies that accredit coaches and hear complaints, large buyers that set entry requirements, and general law on contracts, consumer protection, advertising, data and equality. Several parts of that patchwork are tightening during 2026 and 2027.
What “regulated” would mean
The word gets used loosely, including in coaches' own marketing. In UK professional life it covers several quite different arrangements, and coaching sits in only the weakest of them.
Forms of professional regulation in the UK
| Form | How it works | Applies to executive coaching? |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory regulation | An Act of Parliament decides who may practise or use a title. A regulator keeps a register and can strike people off. | No |
| Protected title | Only people on a statutory register may use a named title, such as "occupational psychologist". | No |
| Accredited voluntary register | The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) checks that an independent register meets its standards. Joining is not legally required. | No. No coaching register is accredited. |
| Self-regulation | Professional bodies set standards, accredit members and hear complaints. Sanctions are limited to membership and credentials. | Yes. This is the main form. |
| Regulated qualifications | Ofqual regulates qualifications offered by awarding bodies. It does not regulate the people who hold them. | Yes, for some coaching qualifications |
Form
Statutory regulation
How it works
An Act of Parliament decides who may practise or use a title. A regulator keeps a register and can strike people off.
Applies to executive coaching?
No
Form
Protected title
How it works
Only people on a statutory register may use a named title, such as "occupational psychologist".
Applies to executive coaching?
No
Form
Accredited voluntary register
How it works
The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) checks that an independent register meets its standards. Joining is not legally required.
Applies to executive coaching?
No. No coaching register is accredited.
Form
Self-regulation
How it works
Professional bodies set standards, accredit members and hear complaints. Sanctions are limited to membership and credentials.
Applies to executive coaching?
Yes. This is the main form.
Form
Regulated qualifications
How it works
Ofqual regulates qualifications offered by awarding bodies. It does not regulate the people who hold them.
Applies to executive coaching?
Yes, for some coaching qualifications
When buyers ask whether coaching is regulated, they usually mean the first row. The distinction matters in practice, because a coach removed by a professional body for misconduct can keep trading under a different badge, or none at all.
What UK law says today
No law governs coaching itself
No statute defines coaching or restricts who may offer it. The government's stated position is that “titles can only be protected for statutorily regulated professions”, in a Department of Health and Social Care answer to Parliament in November 2024. In the same answer it said statutory regulation “is not always the most proportionate means” of protecting the public.
Where the protected titles start
The nearest statutory line belongs to psychologists. The HCPC protects nine titles: practitioner psychologist, registered psychologist, and clinical, counselling, educational, forensic, health, occupational, and sport and exercise psychologist. “Coaching psychologist” is not on the list, and nor is “business psychologist” or “psychologist” on its own.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) says plainly that “Coaching Psychologist isn't a legally protected title” and that it knows of no plans to change that. It runs a Register of Coaching Psychologists for chartered members and expects only those who meet its standards to use the title. That is an expectation, not a legal requirement.
Qualifications are regulated, practice is not
Ofqual, the qualifications regulator for England, lists Level 5 and Level 7 coaching and mentoring qualifications from several awarding bodies, including executive coaching diplomas and qualifications for coaching supervisors. Ofqual regulates the qualification and the organisation awarding it. A coach who holds one has passed a regulated assessment. They have not been licensed.
The general law that still applies
Coaches are not exempt from the law that applies to every business. Five areas matter most.
- Consumer law. Since April 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can decide for itself that consumer law has been broken and fine a business up to 10% of global turnover. Fake reviews are now banned outright. This protects people buying coaching privately. Organisations buying coaching rely mainly on contract law instead.
- Advertising rules. On 15 October 2025 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) published five rulings from a project it started itself, on adverts for online business-growth courses. It found that ads implied earnings were typical when they had not been shown to be.
- Data protection. Coaching notes are personal data. Notes that reveal health, stress or neurodivergence are special category data under UK data protection law, with stricter conditions on how they are used and shared. A coachee can ask to see them.
- Equality law. In Khorram v Capgemini UK plc (London Central Employment Tribunal, July 2025), the employer's failure to provide recommended coaching for an employee with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) formed part of a finding that it had failed to make reasonable adjustments. In that case coaching was a legal duty, not an optional extra.
- Negligence and contract. A coach who causes loss through careless work can be sued like any other adviser. We found no reported UK court case about an executive coach's negligence, which may say as much about how disputes are settled as about how often things go wrong.
Why coaching has never been regulated
Coaching is a large and growing field. The International Coaching Federation's (ICF) 2025 Global Coaching Study, carried out by PwC with more than 10,000 respondents, estimated 122,974 coach practitioners worldwide and US$5.34 billion in annual revenue. More than half (54%) specialise in leadership or executive coaching. So the absence of regulation is not because the field is too small to notice. Four reasons stand out.
Regulation in the UK follows risk of harm
UK policy reserves statutory regulation for professions where the risk to the public cannot be managed another way. Coaching has never been treated as meeting that bar. The clearest evidence is what has happened to counselling and psychotherapy, which work with vulnerable people on clinical problems. In July 2026 a health minister told the House of Lords that “the Department has no current plans to extend statutory regulation” to them. If the government will not regulate therapy, regulating executive coaching is a long way off.
Parliament has not asked
Our search of written parliamentary questions since 2018 found none on regulating life, business or executive coaches. The coaching questions that do exist are about Civil Service coaching budgets and Jobcentre “work coaches”. The last time unregulated coaches came up in debate was a House of Lords discussion of unregulated mental health treatment in March 2020, when the minister replied that there were no plans to act.
The profession has argued for self-regulation
The largest bodies have consistently argued against state regulation. The ICF says it has favoured self-regulation since 1995, and its advocacy toolkits make the case that coaching is not psychology and that a single professional standard works better than a patchwork of national rules. The European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) describes its aim as coaching being recognised as a “responsibly self-regulated” profession. In the US, the ICF has opposed state bills that would have brought coaching under psychology or counselling licensing.
Coaching is hard to define in law
A licensing law needs a clear definition of the activity it controls. Coaching overlaps with consulting, mentoring, training, facilitation and, at its edges, therapy. The academic literature has long noted this. David Gray, writing in 2011, set out what a profession usually needs: an agreed body of knowledge, shared standards and qualifications, and codes of ethics. He argued that the growing number of separate coaching associations made coaching's path to professional status “at best bumpy, and at worst derailed”. Vikki Brock's 2014 review of self-regulation traced repeated attempts at external regulation in the US, none of which produced a coaching licence.
Fifteen years on, Gray's point still holds. The two main ethics codes remain separate, and the Global Coaching and Mentoring Alliance formed by the ICF, EMCC and the Association for Coaching (AC) in 2012 has produced no shared register.
Who sets the standards instead
In the absence of law, standards come from professional bodies. The main ones active in the UK are below. For what each credential involves, see our guide to executive coach qualifications.
Main professional bodies for coaching in the UK
| Body | What it offers | Ethics code |
|---|---|---|
| International Coaching Federation (ICF) | Individual credentials at three levels: Associate, Professional and Master Certified Coach (ACC, PCC, MCC). Also a team coaching certification and new mentor and supervisor specialisations. | ICF Code of Ethics (2025) |
| EMCC Global | Individual accreditation at four levels, with supervision required, plus accreditation of supervisors and training programmes | Global Code of Ethics |
| Association for Coaching (AC) | Individual accreditation at four levels, renewed every three years, with a shorter route for coaches accredited elsewhere | Global Code of Ethics |
| Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision (APECS) | Master-level accreditation for executive coaches, team coaches and supervisors | Global Code of Ethics |
| British Psychological Society (BPS) | Register of Coaching Psychologists, open to chartered members | BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct |
Body
International Coaching Federation (ICF)
What it offers
Individual credentials at three levels: Associate, Professional and Master Certified Coach (ACC, PCC, MCC). Also a team coaching certification and new mentor and supervisor specialisations.
Ethics code
ICF Code of Ethics (2025)
Body
EMCC Global
What it offers
Individual accreditation at four levels, with supervision required, plus accreditation of supervisors and training programmes
Ethics code
Global Code of Ethics
Body
Association for Coaching (AC)
What it offers
Individual accreditation at four levels, renewed every three years, with a shorter route for coaches accredited elsewhere
Ethics code
Global Code of Ethics
Body
Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision (APECS)
What it offers
Master-level accreditation for executive coaches, team coaches and supervisors
Ethics code
Global Code of Ethics
Body
British Psychological Society (BPS)
What it offers
Register of Coaching Psychologists, open to chartered members
Ethics code
BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct
Two ethics codes dominate. The ICF revised its own code from 1 April 2025, adding a standard on technology and artificial intelligence (AI). The Global Code of Ethics, now in its fourth version (December 2025), is signed by 12 bodies including EMCC Global, the AC and APECS. Several of these bodies have also signed the Professional Charter for Coaching, Mentoring and Supervision, which is listed in the European Union's (EU) database of self-regulation initiatives. The charter itself states that it has no force of law.
What enforcement looks like
The ICF publishes an annual report on complaints, which gives a rare view of how self-regulation works in practice. In 2025 it received 39 ethics complaints. Of these, 26 fell outside its process, for example because they concerned people who were not ICF members. Eight went to its Independent Review Board, which found two breaches. Both coaches were put on a learning plan.
The same report recorded 206 cases of individuals misusing the ICF brand, such as non-members using its logo or people describing themselves as credentialed after a credential had lapsed. For a buyer, that is the more useful number. The most common problem the ICF deals with is a credential that is claimed but not current, rather than misconduct in the coaching room.
What is changing, and when
None of the changes below creates a licence for coaches. Together they will change what buyers can reasonably expect to see.
Changes affecting coaching, 2025 to 2027
| Date | Change | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | CMA direct enforcement of consumer law begins. Fake reviews banned. | Coaching sold to individuals faces fines for misleading practices. Review platforms must meet the new rules. |
| October 2025 | ASA rulings against online business-growth course adverts | Earnings claims must reflect typical results, not the best case. |
| January 2026 | Senior Leader Level 7 apprenticeship funded only for apprentices aged 21 or under at the start (or under 25 with an education, health and care plan or care experience) | Levy funding for senior leadership programmes that include coaching largely ends for adults. |
| June 2026 | Draft Conversion Practices Bill published (England and Wales) | A new criminal offence. The government's impact assessment names life coaches among those who carry out conversion practices. Coaches are not covered by the exemption for healthcare. |
| September 2026 | Coaching Professional Level 5 apprenticeship no longer government funded for new starts | Coach training moves towards privately funded qualifications and professional-body routes. |
| January 2027 | ICF credential candidates must use a mentor coach holding its new Mentor Coach Specialization. Supervision for renewal must come from an accredited supervisor. | The first time the ICF controls who may mentor or supervise its coaches. |
| 22 January 2027 | Joint committee report on the draft Conversion Practices Bill due | Likely to shape whether and how the Bill is introduced. |
| 2 December 2027 | EU AI Act duties for high-risk AI used in employment begin | AI coaching tools whose results feed performance or promotion decisions may be caught. |
Date
April 2025
Change
CMA direct enforcement of consumer law begins. Fake reviews banned.
What it means
Coaching sold to individuals faces fines for misleading practices. Review platforms must meet the new rules.
Date
October 2025
Change
ASA rulings against online business-growth course adverts
What it means
Earnings claims must reflect typical results, not the best case.
Date
January 2026
Change
Senior Leader Level 7 apprenticeship funded only for apprentices aged 21 or under at the start (or under 25 with an education, health and care plan or care experience)
What it means
Levy funding for senior leadership programmes that include coaching largely ends for adults.
Date
June 2026
Change
Draft Conversion Practices Bill published (England and Wales)
What it means
A new criminal offence. The government's impact assessment names life coaches among those who carry out conversion practices. Coaches are not covered by the exemption for healthcare.
Date
September 2026
Change
Coaching Professional Level 5 apprenticeship no longer government funded for new starts
What it means
Coach training moves towards privately funded qualifications and professional-body routes.
Date
January 2027
Change
ICF credential candidates must use a mentor coach holding its new Mentor Coach Specialization. Supervision for renewal must come from an accredited supervisor.
What it means
The first time the ICF controls who may mentor or supervise its coaches.
Date
22 January 2027
Change
Joint committee report on the draft Conversion Practices Bill due
What it means
Likely to shape whether and how the Bill is introduced.
Date
2 December 2027
Change
EU AI Act duties for high-risk AI used in employment begin
What it means
AI coaching tools whose results feed performance or promotion decisions may be caught.
The draft Conversion Practices Bill deserves a closer look, because it is the only current UK proposal that names coaches. It would make it an offence to carry out abusive conduct intended to change someone's sexual orientation or transgender identity, where that conduct causes serious harm. Healthcare workers are exempt unless their conduct falls far below expected standards. Coaches have no equivalent exemption. In our view the practical risk for mainstream executive coaching is very small, because the Bill targets a specific kind of abusive conduct and does not regulate coaching as an activity. Expect the professional bodies to update their ethics guidance in response.
Buyers have become the regulators
In practice, the strictest rules in coaching are set by the organisations that buy it. Public-sector requirements are the easiest to see.
- NHS Coaching and Mentoring Hub. Coaches must have completed a recognised, accredited coaching programme, such as an EMCC practitioner-level programme or a Level 5 coaching qualification. They must also have regular supervision, keep up their continuing professional development (CPD), work to the Global Code of Ethics and coach at least 12 hours a year. Coaches from outside the NHS must upload proof of indemnity cover.
- Civil Service. An internal coaching platform launched in July 2025 had 281 registered coaches by 18 December 2025, according to a parliamentary answer.
- Central government buying. The Government Commercial Agency's Learning and Training Services agreement (RM6219), which runs to October 2028, includes a coaching and mentoring category. Each buying organisation sets its own accreditation requirements.
Common practice among large private-sector buyers and coaching platforms is similar. A recognised credential, a minimum number of coaching hours, supervision and insurance are typical entry requirements, although each organisation sets its own thresholds. With apprenticeship funding withdrawn, those private requirements are likely to matter more, not less.
AI coaching: where formal rules arrive first
The most concrete new rules affecting coaching apply to software rather than to coaches. AI coaching tools are now common in employer programmes, and AI law reaches them in ways that coaching law never has.
The EU Artificial Intelligence Act
- Since 2 February 2025, AI systems that infer how people at work are feeling from biometric data, such as their face or voice, have been banned, except for medical or safety reasons. According to the European Commission's guidelines, consent does not lift the ban, and inferring emotion from written text alone falls outside it. An AI tool that reads stress or engagement from a coaching video call inside an employer's programme would be caught.
- Since 2 August 2026, chatbots, including AI coaches, must tell users they are dealing with AI.
- From 2 December 2027, AI used to evaluate performance or inform promotion and termination decisions is treated as high-risk, with duties on testing, documentation and human oversight. This date was moved from August 2026 by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744. The Commission's draft guidance indicates that a tool giving development feedback only to the employee is unlikely to be high-risk. If its results go to HR for talent reviews or exit decisions, it probably is.
The Act can apply to UK organisations that sell AI systems into the EU, or whose AI output is used there.
In the UK
The UK has no equivalent AI law. The rules that apply are data protection law, including new rules on automated decision-making in force since February 2026 under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and medical device rules. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said that whether digital mental health software counts as a medical device depends on what it is intended to do. A tool that claims to treat anxiety or burnout can fall within device regulation. A tool that supports general wellbeing usually does not.
Industry standards are self-assessed. The ICF published an AI Coaching Framework and Standards in November 2024, covering disclosure, mental health risk and data handling. Providers check themselves against it. There is no independent certification of AI coaching tools.
How other countries handle it
We looked at more than 15 jurisdictions. None has a licence designed for executive coaches. A few come closer than the UK, and the approaches they use are instructive.
Selected international approaches
| Country | Approach | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | Coaching as a business falls under one of two regulated trades, management consulting or life and social counselling, depending on what the coaching covers | In force. The closest any country comes to licensing coaches. |
| Germany | The Federal Court of Justice ruled in June 2025 (III ZR 109/24) that online coaching programmes can need state approval under distance-learning law, even when sold to businesses. Later rulings narrowed this, and live one-to-one coaching is largely outside it. | A government draft of August 2026 would repeal the law. The approval requirement would end in July 2027. |
| Belgium | A parliamentary resolution (September 2025) asks the government to prepare a legal framework for coaches | Proposed and non-binding |
| South Africa | The national qualifications authority recognises a coaching body and its designations until 2030 | Recognised, but designations are not required to practise |
| United States | Colorado exempts executive, life and business coaches with coach-specific training from mental health licensing, provided they do not practise therapy. Utah's 2024 bill to register life coaches did not get past a first hearing. | No state licenses coaches |
| France and Italy | State-registered coaching qualifications (France) and a voluntary national standard for coaching services (Italy) | Voluntary |
Country
Austria
Approach
Coaching as a business falls under one of two regulated trades, management consulting or life and social counselling, depending on what the coaching covers
Status
In force. The closest any country comes to licensing coaches.
Country
Germany
Approach
The Federal Court of Justice ruled in June 2025 (III ZR 109/24) that online coaching programmes can need state approval under distance-learning law, even when sold to businesses. Later rulings narrowed this, and live one-to-one coaching is largely outside it.
Status
A government draft of August 2026 would repeal the law. The approval requirement would end in July 2027.
Country
Belgium
Approach
A parliamentary resolution (September 2025) asks the government to prepare a legal framework for coaches
Status
Proposed and non-binding
Country
South Africa
Approach
The national qualifications authority recognises a coaching body and its designations until 2030
Status
Recognised, but designations are not required to practise
Country
United States
Approach
Colorado exempts executive, life and business coaches with coach-specific training from mental health licensing, provided they do not practise therapy. Utah's 2024 bill to register life coaches did not get past a first hearing.
Status
No state licenses coaches
Country
France and Italy
Approach
State-registered coaching qualifications (France) and a voluntary national standard for coaching services (Italy)
Status
Voluntary
Germany is the most revealing case. Its courts brought a large part of the online coaching market under an approval regime, and a little over a year later the government proposed abolishing that regime, arguing that general consumer law already does the job. The direction of travel in Europe is currently away from coaching-specific rules, not towards them.
Will it be regulated? Our assessment
This section is CompareHQ's own judgement, based on the evidence above. It is not a prediction anyone can make with certainty.
Our view of what is likely
| Scenario | Our view | Why |
|---|---|---|
| UK licensing, a statutory register or a protected title for executive coaches | Very unlikely before 2030 | The government will not regulate counselling. Parliament has shown no interest. No country has licensed coaches. |
| Professional bodies tighten their own requirements | Already happening | The ICF's mentoring and supervision rules start on 1 January 2027. |
| Buyers ask for more evidence: credentials, supervision, insurance, data handling | Very likely | Public-sector buyers already require it. Funding changes make credentials the main quality signal. |
| AI rules apply to coaching platforms whose results reach HR | Very likely in the EU from December 2027 | The date is set in law. UK rules will continue to come mainly through data protection. |
| A criminal offence covering coaches who carry out conversion practices | Likely, in England and Wales | Depends on the Bill being introduced after the committee reports in January 2027. |
| A single UK coaching body gains formal recognition, such as a Royal Charter | Unlikely | We found no body pursuing it, and the main bodies remain separate. |
Scenario
UK licensing, a statutory register or a protected title for executive coaches
Our view
Very unlikely before 2030
Why
The government will not regulate counselling. Parliament has shown no interest. No country has licensed coaches.
Scenario
Professional bodies tighten their own requirements
Our view
Already happening
Why
The ICF's mentoring and supervision rules start on 1 January 2027.
Scenario
Buyers ask for more evidence: credentials, supervision, insurance, data handling
Our view
Very likely
Why
Public-sector buyers already require it. Funding changes make credentials the main quality signal.
Scenario
AI rules apply to coaching platforms whose results reach HR
Our view
Very likely in the EU from December 2027
Why
The date is set in law. UK rules will continue to come mainly through data protection.
Scenario
A criminal offence covering coaches who carry out conversion practices
Our view
Likely, in England and Wales
Why
Depends on the Bill being introduced after the committee reports in January 2027.
Scenario
A single UK coaching body gains formal recognition, such as a Royal Charter
Our view
Unlikely
Why
We found no body pursuing it, and the main bodies remain separate.
For buyers, the practical conclusion is that regulation will not do the checking for you. The credential, the supervision arrangement and the contract will remain the main protection for the foreseeable future.
What to check before you hire a coach
Because no regulator stands behind a coach, these checks carry more weight than they would in a regulated profession.
Checks before you contract
Questions to ask a coach or provider
For the wider buying process, including matching, contracting and comparing quotes, see how to choose an executive coaching provider.
FAQs
Is executive coaching a regulated profession in the UK?
No. There is no law that sets who may practise as an executive coach, no statutory register and no regulator with power to stop someone practising. Coaching is governed by voluntary professional-body standards, buyers' own requirements and general law such as contract, consumer, data protection and equality law.
Can anyone call themselves an executive coach?
Yes. "Coach", "executive coach" and "coaching psychologist" are not protected titles. Psychologist titles regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), such as "occupational psychologist", are protected, and using one without registration is a criminal offence.
Who regulates coaches in the UK?
No single body does. Professional bodies such as the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), the Association for Coaching (AC) and the Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision (APECS) accredit coaches and run complaints processes for their own members. Their sanctions are limited to membership and credentials.
Is the government planning to regulate coaching?
There is no sign of it. We found no parliamentary question, debate or consultation on regulating coaches in recent years, and in July 2026 the government said it had no current plans to extend statutory regulation even to counselling and psychotherapy.
Are coaching qualifications regulated?
Some are. Ofqual, the qualifications regulator for England, regulates Level 5 and Level 7 coaching qualifications offered by awarding bodies. That regulates the qualification, not the person who holds it. Holding one is not a licence to practise.
What changes for coaches in 2027?
From 1 January 2027, anyone applying for or renewing an ICF credential must work with a mentor coach who holds ICF's new Mentor Coach Specialization, and supervision counted towards renewal must come from an accredited supervisor. From 2 December 2027, EU rules on high-risk AI apply to AI tools used to evaluate performance or inform promotion decisions, which can include some coaching platforms.
Does the EU AI Act apply to AI coaching in the UK?
It can. The EU Artificial Intelligence Act applies to UK organisations that place AI systems on the EU market, and where an AI system's output is used in the EU. A UK employer using an AI coaching tool only for UK staff is outside it, but UK data protection law still applies.
Do executive coaches need insurance?
There is no legal requirement. Many buyers require professional indemnity insurance in practice, including the NHS Coaching and Mentoring Hub for coaches from outside the NHS.
Sources and further reading
- Written question 10095: Counselling and Psychiatry: Regulation (answered 12 November 2024), UK Parliament
- Written question HL1990: Counselling and Psychotherapy: Misconduct (answered 17 July 2026), UK Parliament
- Written question 101385: Civil Servants: Training (answered 6 January 2026), UK Parliament
- Mental Health: Unregulated Treatment, House of Lords debate (2 March 2020), Hansard
- The professions we regulate, Health and Care Professions Council
- Division of Coaching Psychology FAQs, British Psychological Society
- Accredited Registers business plan 2026/27, Professional Standards Authority
- Draft Conversion Practices Bill (25 June 2026), GOV.UK
- CMA to boost consumer and business confidence as new consumer protection regime comes into force, Competition and Markets Authority, GOV.UK (April 2025)
- Employment and Recruitment: Earnings claims, Advertising Standards Authority
- Coaching Professional (Level 5) apprenticeship standard ST0809, Skills England
- Senior Leader (Level 7) apprenticeship standard ST0480, Skills England
- Find a regulated qualification: executive coaching, Ofqual
- NHS Coaching and Mentoring Hub: coach registration terms, NHS Leadership Academy
- Learning and Training Services (RM6219), Government Commercial Agency
- Executive discriminated against after firm failed to offer ADHD training, tribunal rules (Khorram v Capgemini UK plc), People Management (2025)
- What you need to know about the 2025 ICF Code of Ethics, International Coaching Federation
- Introducing the Mentor Coach Specialization (13 April 2026), International Coaching Federation
- Introducing the Coaching Supervisor Specialization, International Coaching Federation
- Ethical Conduct and Compliance Report 2025, International Coaching Federation (July 2026)
- ICF Advocacy Toolkit: United Kingdom, International Coaching Federation
- Coaching industry continues global growth with 5.34 billion USD revenue (2025 Global Coaching Study), International Coaching Federation (September 2025)
- ICF AI Coaching Framework and Standards (November 2024), International Coaching Federation
- Regulation Centre for Excellence, EMCC Global
- Global Coaching and Mentoring Alliance, International Coaching Federation
- Global Code of Ethics for Coaches, Mentors and Supervisors (version 4, December 2025), Global Code of Ethics signatory bodies
- The Professional Charter for Coaching, Mentoring and Supervision, International Coaching Federation (2023 summary)
- Journeys towards the professionalisation of coaching: dilemmas, dialogues and decisions along the global pathway, David E. Gray, Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 4(1), 4 to 19 (2011)
- Is coaching a self-regulating profession or not?, Vikki Brock, Organizational Psychology, 4(1), 33 to 39 (2014)
- Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI), Official Journal of the European Union
- Red Lines under EU AI Act: Unpacking the prohibition of emotion recognition in the workplace and education institutions, Future of Privacy Forum (March 2026)
- Digital mental health technologies guidance launched to help manufacturers and safeguard users, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, GOV.UK (February 2025)
- BGH confirms applicability of the German Distance Learning Protection Act to online coaching and mentoring (III ZR 109/24), Heuking (July 2025)
- Referentenentwurf plant Aufhebung: Das Ende des Fernunterrichtsschutzgesetzes naht, beck-aktuell (September 2026), in German
- Proposition de résolution visant à encadrer légalement le métier de coach, DOC 56 1045/001 (17 September 2025), Belgian Chamber of Representatives, in French and Dutch
- Supervision im Spannungsfeld von Lebens- und Sozialberatung und Unternehmensberatung: Was gilt?, Wirtschaftskammer Salzburg (Austrian Chamber of Commerce), in German
- Colorado Revised Statutes 12-245-217: exemptions, including professional coaches, Colorado Public Law
- Utah Life Coaches Aren't Licensed. Should They Be Regulated? (17 June 2024), ProPublica
- COMENSA professional body record, South African Qualifications Authority
This guide is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the position when it was last reviewed. Take advice on how the law applies to your organisation.