Anyone can call themselves a copywriter. That's a problem.
There’s no licence, no register, no minimum qualification — and AI is making it harder than ever to tell skilled professionals apart. The Copywriter Code fixes that: not by gatekeeping, but by giving qualified copywriters a credible way to stand out, and clients a simple way to recognise them.
Codes & frameworks
Mapped competencies
Annual CPD commitment
Of copywriters back a shared code
What the Code is made of
Three connected documents define what it means to be a professional copywriter — how we behave, how we work, and the skills the craft demands. Start anywhere.
Code of Conduct
How copywriters conduct their profession alongside clients and colleagues — the outward behaviours others experience.
Code of Practice
The nuts and bolts of professional practice: projects, legal responsibilities, commercial relationships and ethics.
Competency Framework
68 competencies across four disciplines and three levels — the skills, knowledge and behaviours the craft requires.
Reach for a higher standard
By subscribing to the Copywriter Code, you make a public commitment across four dimensions of professionalism.
Character
Be honest about your experience. Be transparent about AI use. Protect client confidentiality. Refuse work that’s illegal or deliberately harmful. Act in your clients’ best interests.
Craft
Maintain your competence through 20 hours of annual CPD. Manage projects professionally. Base content decisions on evidence. Apply substantive human review to AI-assisted work. Ensure your work is accessible and legally compliant.
Competence
Know your strengths and your limits. Use the Competency Framework to honestly assess your own capabilities.
Accountability
Accept that complaints can be raised about your professional conduct, and that the Standards Committee may review them.
How these standards help you
Whether you’re developing your skills, advancing your career, or commissioning work, the Code gives you clear benchmarks for excellence.
Develop your skills
Use the Competency Framework to identify gaps, plan your development, and track your professional growth.
Build client trust
Demonstrate your commitment to professional standards and give clients confidence in your work.
Hire with confidence
Use competency profiles and best-practice standards to evaluate and brief copywriters effectively.
Ready to reach a higher standard?
Pro+ membership is how individual copywriters formally adopt the Code. Meet three requirements, and you get the badge, the toolkit, and a public listing that says you hold yourself to a professional standard.
Commitment to the Code
Publicly subscribe to the Code of Conduct and Code of Practice.
2+ years of experience
Demonstrable professional experience in commercial writing.
Ongoing development
20 hours of CPD each year, with a minimum of 5 structured hours.