In short, not to become qualified, but to become accredited, yes. You can apply for accreditation under your own steam without becoming a member but it will costs you more and you can’t do it via our accelerated process – you would have to apply online to the AC and take your time – we would say don’t – become a member and do it much more easily with us!

Membership isn’t just about ticking a box though. Given you get the opportunity to join the AC for a year for free with our qualification we can’t think of a reason that you would not apply to be a member?! ‘Member of the Association for Coaching on your CV shows you are committed to being a coaching professional - and they have lots of great resources such as webinars you can access.

When you apply for accreditation you will need to be a member at the point you apply. So for maximum value we would suggest you get cracking with your accreditation whilst you are in your first free year! However, don’t worry if you don’t have the hours to become accredited at that point, if you pay to become a member before your accreditation, you will get an additional one year free membership when you get accredited.