How to register with CQC: a step by step guide for new providers

Governance · October 2026 · 6 minute read

To register with CQC you apply through CQC's online provider portal, as the provider, and your registered manager applies alongside you. CQC then checks that you are fit to run the service and that your plans will keep people safe, usually including an interview, before it decides. The work that decides how smoothly it goes happens before you apply. Here is the route, step by step.

1. Check that you need to register

You must register with CQC before you carry on a regulated activity in England. For most new care services that means personal care, and for services delivering clinical care at home it may also mean treatment of disease, disorder or injury. Get this right first: the activities you apply for decide what you are allowed to do, and adding one later means another application.

2. Set up the provider and the nominated individual

The provider is the legal entity that will run the service, usually a limited company. An organisation must name a nominated individual, a director or senior person who is responsible for supervising how the regulated activity is managed. CQC will check that both the provider and the nominated individual are fit to do this.

3. Choose your registered manager

Most providers must have a registered manager who manages the regulated activity day to day. They make their own application to CQC, which needs:

• an enhanced DBS check, countersigned by CQC;
• a full employment history, with any gaps explained;
• evidence of qualifications and training;
• details of referees, including their most recent employer.

They cannot manage the regulated activity until CQC has confirmed their registration.

4. Write your statement of purpose

The statement of purpose sets out who you will support, the regulated activities and service types, where you will work, and how you will run the service. It is a legal document under the registration regulations, and CQC will hold you to it. Write it to match how your service will really work, not how a template says it should.

5. Build the service before you apply

CQC registers a service that is ready to run safely, so it expects the foundations to be in place before people are supported:

• Policies that fit your service, covering safeguarding, recruitment, medicines, consent and mental capacity, complaints, infection prevention and control, and quality assurance.
• A governance system: how you will audit, learn from incidents and know your service is safe.
• A staffing plan: how you will recruit, train, supervise and assess staff, with safer recruitment checks built in. See safer recruitment in care.
• Premises and equipment suitable for the service, including your office if you run a home care service.

6. Apply through the provider portal

The provider application and the registered manager application are made through CQC's online portal. Make sure every document says the same thing: the statement of purpose, the application, the policies and the manager's answers should describe one service. Inconsistencies are the most common cause of questions and delays.

7. The assessment and interview

CQC reviews the applications, may ask for more information, and usually interviews the registered manager and the nominated individual. Some applications also include a site visit. The interview tests whether you understand how the regulations apply to your service, not whether you can recite them. Our guide to preparing for your CQC registration interview covers what to expect.

8. The decision

If CQC is satisfied, it registers the provider and the manager, with conditions such as the regulated activities and locations you can operate. If CQC proposes to refuse, it sends a notice of proposal first, and you have the right to make representations before a final decision.

How long does CQC registration take?

CQC says registration can take a few months and does not publish a fixed decision time. In practice, a complete and consistent application, with a manager who is ready for interview, is the biggest thing you can control.

After you are registered

• Notifications. You must tell CQC about certain events, such as deaths, serious injuries and abuse allegations, without delay.
• Annual fees. CQC charges registered providers an annual fee, set by its fee scheme.
• Your first assessment. CQC will assess the service once it is running, so the evidence you build from day one matters. Our mock CQC inspection checklist is a good place to start.

How Assure Advisory helps

CQC registration support from Assure Advisory covers the statement of purpose, policies and governance, a readiness review and practice interviews, from people who have registered services and run them afterwards.

Sources

• CQC: What is registration? (opens in a new tab)
• CQC: Provider portal (opens in a new tab)
• CQC: Register as a new manager (opens in a new tab)

CQC registration support