HCPC registration, means registration with the Health Care Professions Council. This is the regulatory board for chiropody/podiatry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and many other Health Professions. On July the 9th 2003 the HPC replaced the old Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM). The CPSM set the standards for State Registration and NHS employment which for Podiatrists/Chiropodists was a minimum of 3 years full time training at an approved institution leading to a degree or diploma in podiatric medicine. Registration with the new HCPC ensures the practitioner meets certain minimum standards of education, though unlike the old CPSM it does not guarantee that the Podiatrist/Chiropodist holding registration has completed an approved course.

This has actually been made more difficult by the Health Professions Council who insist that the obvious differences in training are to be ignored and will only state that all Podiatrists meet their new "minimum standards of proficiency". Any one qualified from 2005 onwards will have without exception completed the degree (BSc) course. This could well lead members of the public to expect that all registered Podiatrists are degree educated which is now not the case. As there is no requirement for a Podiatrist to declare their training level it is up to the patient to ask. Firstly ask if they are a HPC registered Podiatrist, it is a criminal offense to falsely claim they are. If they are registered you can further ask if they have a degree or 3 year diploma in podiatry (BSc or DPodM), it is a breach of the HPC regulations to falsely claim they have. If there is any show of protest at this or if they will only insist they are 'Fully Qualified' but won't be specific, it could well mean they are not.

In order to regulate the majority of people working as Chiropodists/Podiatrists the HCPC allowed onto the register anyone who applies for HPC registration and who meets a minimum set of requirements, through a process known as grandparenting. Grandparenting was a period of transition in podiatry where the HCPC were introducing the protected title to Podiatrists and Chiropodists between 2003 and 2005. To introduce the protected title an exemption period was introduced for practitioners who had not completed the officially recognised "State registered Podiatrist" 3-year Diploma, but had completed a short private sector institution course and had been practicing for at least 3 years in private practice. A two year grace period was allowed for these practitioners to register with the HCPC in order to close the profession with minimal complaint. Many Grandparented Podiatrists/Chiropodists trained with the SMAE institute.