Registering as a new provider

If you provide, or intend to provide, a regulated activity in England, you must register with the CQC before you start, and it is an offence to carry on a regulated activity without being registered. This applies even if you will not provide it on a regular or permanent basis. Regulated activities include personal care, nursing or treatment, and running a care home or clinic. If you are unsure whether what you plan to do is regulated, we can check it with you, or see the CQC's scope of registration guidance.

CQC registration involves completing an online application, providing evidence that you meet the fundamental standards, and demonstrating appropriate policies, governance, and staffing arrangements. The process is rigorous and can take a few months. Working with an experienced consultant can help you avoid common mistakes and delays.

In most cases, yes. A registered manager application must usually be submitted alongside the provider application, and the CQC assess both together. A few provider types may not need a separate registered manager, but most services do. We help prepare both applications so they are complete and consistent.

A Notice of Decision is the good outcome: the CQC are satisfied and grant your registration, sometimes with conditions you agreed to when applying. A Notice of Proposal means the CQC are not satisfied and propose to either refuse your application or grant it with conditions you did not agree to. It sets out their reasons and gives you 28 days to make written representations, after which the CQC issue their final Notice of Decision.

Yes. If you disagree with the CQC decision, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Care Standards). The Notice of Decision sets out your appeal rights and the time limit for lodging an appeal.

The CQC regulates a wide range of health and social care services including care homes (residential and nursing), domiciliary care agencies, supported living services, shared lives schemes, and a variety of healthcare services. We support new providers across all regulated activity types.

If you are buying or taking over an existing service, or your legal entity changes (for example from an individual to a partnership or a limited company), you cannot simply transfer or amend the existing registration. The incoming provider completes the provider application again as the new entity, so there is continued delivery of regulated activities at the location. Registered managers can apply to continue under the incoming provider or cancel their registration. We manage these transitions so care carries on and no one is providing regulated activities while unregistered. See the CQC's change your registered business type guidance, or our registration support.

Every applicant sends a Statement of Purpose along with a core set of policies and procedures, covering areas such as safeguarding, consent, complaints, infection prevention and control, medicines, recruitment and governance, plus proof of insurance. Most providers also need a financial viability statement, though the exact requirements vary by provider and service type. It is a substantial pack, and the wording and evidence matter as much as the list, which is where we do the heavy lifting.

The CQC set out the full list in their supporting documents guidance.

On top of the core documents, most service types have extra requirements, and what you need depends on the regulated activities you are registering for. For example:

• Premises-based services, such as care homes, also send documents like a fire risk assessment, legionella risk assessment, floor plan, safety certificates and evidence of legal occupancy.
• Home care and other personal care providers complete an additional personal care form.
• Services for autistic people and people with a learning disability add a Positive Behaviour Support policy and a Restraint policy.

CQC may also ask for further information during the assessment itself. Do not send these up front, but have them ready, as not being able to provide them when asked can delay things. Common examples include a duty of candour policy, a whistleblowing policy, your risk management policy and list of risk assessments, staffing structure and rotas, and a sample care or treatment record.

These are only examples. Every service type has its own list, so check the CQC's extra documents by service type guidance for the requirements that apply to you.

A document is not acceptable to the CQC just because it exists. Each policy has to be current and version controlled, correctly referenced to legislation and guidance, consistent with your other documents, free of personal information, and genuinely reflective of how your service operates. Off-the-shelf templates rarely pass as they are, and getting the content right is usually harder than knowing which documents to send. It is a common reason applications stall.

• Incomplete application forms, such as missing information or mandatory sections not filled in
• Missing supporting documents, such as a business plan or a required policy
• Generic policies and forms that do not reflect your service type
• A missing Statement of Purpose, or one that does not reflect the service(s) you plan to provide
• No registered manager application submitted alongside the provider application, where one is required
• Missing evidence such as DBS checks or proof of insurance
• Inconsistencies between documents, or out-of-date references to legislation