LearnRun it as a business
Do you need a certification or insurance to sell workout plans?
General information checked on the date shown. It is not legal advice. Rules differ by place and change, so confirm your own position with a lawyer or your insurer.
The short answer
In Australia, the UK and the US we found no law that requires a licence to sell a training program, though industry bodies and employers expect a recognised qualification. Parts of Spain do regulate it by law. Insurers in Australia and the UK say liability cover is not required by law for a self-employed trainer. You will want it anyway, and some policies do not cover online-only or overseas clients. Read your own policy's wording.
This is the worry that stops many people before they start, and most of what is written about it online is either sales copy for a course or out of date. Almost everything below comes from a regulator, a statute, an industry body, or an insurer's or broker's own page. We did not research US insurance or waiver law, which varies by state.
Is a qualification required by law?
| Place | The legal position we found | What the industry expects |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | We found no statute licensing personal trainers. Registration is with AUSactive, the fitness industry association, which describes it as the member's choice1 | AUSactive registration as a personal trainer requires a Certificate IV or Diploma in Fitness, or an exercise science or human movement degree. Registered members must also hold first aid, CPR and insurance12 |
| United Kingdom | The government's careers profile lists no licence, and a search of the government's register of regulated professions returns no entry for personal trainer34 | A Level 3 personal training qualification is described as typical. Membership of CIMSPA, the sector's chartered institute, requires its personal trainer standard and ongoing development56 |
| United States | The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no state licence for fitness trainers. It says trainers "usually must be certified before they begin working with clients"7 | A certification from a recognised body, which employers usually ask for |
| Washington DC | Its registration rule for personal fitness trainers was repealed, effective 19 July 2024. Many websites still say DC requires registration8 | As for the rest of the US |
| Spain | The 2022 Sports Law ordered a national law on sports professions.9 In May 2026 the profession's national council reported it had still not been brought forward.10 Some regions regulate by statute. In Madrid, "personal trainer" falls inside a regulated profession that requires a sports science degree.11 In Catalonia, practising requires registration or membership of the professional college12 | Follow the law of the region where you practise |
Two cautions. First, "we found no law" is not the same as a regulator confirming there is none, and none of these sources addresses online-only sales directly. Second, Western Australia and Queensland have a mandatory fitness industry code that covers personal trainers. On the pages we read, those codes deal with contracts and consumer treatment, not qualifications.1314
Do you need insurance?
It depends where you are, and you should have it anyway.
- Australia. One major insurer of exercise professionals states that public and product liability insurance is not a legal requirement.15 AUSactive requires registered members to hold professional indemnity and public liability cover, and recommends at least A$5 million and A$10 million respectively.216
- United Kingdom. Insurers state there is no law requiring a self-employed trainer to be insured, unless they employ staff, when employers' liability cover becomes compulsory.1718
- Spain. In Madrid and Catalonia, the two regional laws we read, civil liability insurance is required by law. Catalonia excepts people who work only as employees.1112
Does it cover online clients?
Not always. This is the part to read closely before you sell to anyone you will never meet.
| Policy | What its own page says |
|---|---|
| The policy arranged for AUSactive members | Online coaching is covered "subject to all clients residing in Australia". There is no cover for training conducted overseas, and that applies to online clients too19 |
| One UK insurer | Covers live remote sessions, but "does not provide cover for pre-recorded videos uploaded to a video platform"18 |
| Another UK insurer | Covers live and pre-recorded sessions, but will not insure a trainer who never sees clients in person17 |
A program sold through a link can be bought anywhere. Ask your insurer three questions in writing: does the policy cover a program a client follows alone, does it cover pre-recorded content, and does it cover buyers outside your country.
Can you include a meal plan?
This is the area with the clearest written line.
- Australia. A 2017 scope-of-practice guideline for registered exercise professionals, agreed by the fitness and dietetics bodies, says general healthy-eating information, in line with national dietary guidelines, is within a trainer's scope. Advice beyond that is outside it. Its examples of out-of-scope advice include recommending supplements and telling a client to avoid a food group, and it says a dietitian is the professional qualified to design personalised meal plans. Giving example meals and snacks is listed as within scope.20
- United Kingdom. "Dietitian" is a title protected by law, and using it with intent to deceive is a criminal offence. "Nutritionist" is not protected.212223 Nothing we read makes general nutrition advice an offence.
- United States. Rules differ by state. According to the professional body's summary, which is undated, most states license dietitians, some only protect the title and a few have no statute.24 Check your own state before selling individual nutrition advice.
- Australia, titles. "Nutritionist" is not a regulated profession.25
A cautious line: share general healthy-eating guidance and example meals, and refer anything individual, medical or restrictive to a dietitian. Can personal trainers give meal plans? covers this in full.
Does a waiver protect you?
Less than people assume.
- In the UK, a business cannot use a contract term or notice to exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by its negligence. A person is not taken to have accepted a risk just because they agreed to the term.26
- In Australia, AUSactive's guidance says waivers "may not always protect the provider", and recommends independent legal advice.27
- Screening is separate from a waiver, and more useful. Australia's Adult Pre-Exercise Screening System has a first stage that a client can complete alone, which suits online sales. The tool itself states that it gives no guarantee against injury.28 The PAR-Q+ is a widely used international screening form. Its publishers ask that only the current official form is used.29
A waiver tells the buyer about the risks. Screening tells you about the buyer. Neither replaces a program that says clearly who it is for and who it is not for.
Before you sell your first program
Questions people ask
In Australia, the UK and the US we found no law that stops you. In parts of Spain the profession is regulated by law. In practice a qualification is what gyms and registration bodies ask for. Ask an insurer what they need before you assume you can get cover.
One Australian insurer says public and product liability cover is not a legal requirement, and UK insurers say the same for a self-employed trainer without staff. It is strongly advisable everywhere. Check that the policy covers clients who train alone from a program, pre-recorded content and buyers in other countries. Several policies exclude at least one of those.
General healthy-eating guidance and example meals are within a trainer's scope under the Australian guideline. Personalised meal plans, supplement advice and cutting out food groups are outside it. That guideline dates from 2017. Rules elsewhere vary, and in the US they vary by state.
No. A waiver may not protect you, and in the UK it cannot exclude liability for injury caused by negligence. Use pre-exercise screening, state who the program is not for, and hold insurance that covers how you actually work.
Sources
Every source was read and checked on 10 November 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
- AUSactive. Registration requirements. Read November 2026.
- AUSactive. Registered and accredited professional. Read November 2026.
- National Careers Service. Personal trainer. UK Government, read November 2026.
- UK Government. Regulated professions register: search for "personal trainer". Read November 2026.
- Prospects. Job profile: personal trainer. December 2025.
- CIMSPA. Personal trainer practitioner membership. Read November 2026.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: fitness trainers and instructors, how to become one. Read November 2026.
- Council of the District of Columbia. D.C. Law 25-191, Health Occupations Revision General Amendment Act of 2024. Effective July 2024.
- Boletín Oficial del Estado. Ley 39/2022, del Deporte, disposición final sexta. December 2022.
- Consejo COLEF. Regulación profesional. Blog, May 2026.
- Boletín Oficial del Estado. Ley 6/2016, por la que se ordena el ejercicio de las profesiones del deporte en la Comunidad de Madrid. Consolidated text.
- Boletín Oficial del Estado. Ley 3/2008, del ejercicio de las profesiones del deporte (Cataluña). Consolidated text.
- Government of Western Australia, Consumer Protection. WA's fitness code. Read November 2026.
- Queensland Government. Operate as a fitness provider. Read November 2026.
- Guild Insurance. Exercise professional indemnity and liability insurance. Read November 2026.
- AUSactive Helpdesk. Insurance and liability. Read November 2026.
- Insure4Sport. Online coaching insurance. Read November 2026.
- Markel UK. Personal trainer and fitness instructor insurance. Read November 2026.
- Marsh. AUSactive insurance. Read November 2026.
- Fitness Australia, Dietitians Association of Australia and Sports Dietitians Australia. Nutrition advice within scope of practice for AusREPs. 2017.
- Health and Care Professions Council. The professions we regulate. Read November 2026.
- UK legislation. Health Professions Order 2001, article 39.
- British Dietetic Association. Check HCPC registration. Read November 2026.
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Licensure summary of statutes. Undated.
- Healthdirect Australia. Dietitians. Reviewed June 2026.
- UK legislation. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 65.
- AUSactive. FAQs: pre-exercise screening. Read November 2026.
- Exercise & Sports Science Australia, AUSactive, Sports Medicine Australia and Exercise is Medicine Australia. Adult Pre-Exercise Screening System, version 2. 2019.
- PAR-Q+ Collaboration. The PAR-Q+ and ePARmed-X+. Read November 2026.