Getting registered with the CQC comes down to two things: having the right policies and being able to talk about them. Most people focus on getting the documents together. Far fewer stop to think about what happens when an inspector sits across from them and asks how those policies work in practice.
This guide covers that second part. It walks through the ten policies CQC looks at most in domiciliary care registration interviews, what makes each one strong enough to pass, and how to walk into that room ready to speak to your own documents.
What the interview actually is
The fit person interview is not a test of your care experience. Its purpose is to assess whether you are fit to be a registered manager or provider. That covers your understanding of your legal duties, your accountability, and your commitment to running a service that meets CQC’s fundamental standards.
Inspectors are not trying to catch you out. They want to see evidence that the person running this service understands what that means in practice. Vague answers about putting people first will not meet that standard. Specific answers about how your policies work, and why they are designed the way they are, will.
You will be assessed against five key questions: is your service safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs, and well-led? CQC applies these five questions across all its assessments. Your policies need to show how your service meets each one.
The interview can take place face-to-face, by phone, or online. In some cases, CQC will also visit your premises. Your preparation is the same either way.
The policies CQC will ask about
Before the interview, CQC will have reviewed your application. The inspector will know which documents you submitted and where the gaps are.
Expect to be asked about your policies using real examples. Not “do you have a safeguarding policy?” but “if a family member raised a concern about one of your care workers, what would happen next, and what in your policies covers that?”
Ten policy areas come up most in domiciliary care registration interviews:
Safeguarding. Your policy must cover adult safeguarding, whistleblowing, the role of your local authority safeguarding team, and how concerns are raised and recorded.
Medication management. Cover storage, administration, recording, controlled drugs, and what happens when an error occurs. The incident-reporting section is where most policies fall short.
Infection prevention and control. Your policy must suit a home-based service. A policy copied from a care home template will not pass.
Risk assessment. This covers both service-user risk assessments and environmental assessments in people’s homes. Your policy should explain the process, not just say that assessments will be carried out.
Recruitment and safer recruitment. Show how you conduct DBS checks, check references, and handle gaps in a candidate’s employment history.
Complaints. Your policy must describe the actual process: who handles complaints, within what timeframe, and how feedback drives improvement.
Consent and mental capacity. Address the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Explain how decisions are made when someone lacks capacity, and how consent is recorded and reviewed.
Duty of candour. You are legally required to be open and honest when things go wrong. Your policy must explain what your service will do when an incident occurs.
Staffing and supervision. Cover induction, supervision frequency, skills checks, and how you respond when performance concerns arise.
Good governance. Show how you monitor the quality of your service, track incidents, and make sure the team learns when something goes wrong.
What makes a policy CQC-ready
A policy that holds up under CQC review is specific, right for your service, and operational. That last word matters most.
An operational policy explains what actually happens, not what the organisation plans to do. It names the person responsible for each action, sets timeframes, and connects to other linked policies. A new member of staff should be able to pick it up and follow it without needing anyone to explain it.
Off-the-shelf templates that have been copied and barely changed do not meet this standard. Inspectors see them all the time. The giveaway is a policy that refers to a ward manager in a domiciliary care service, or procedures written for a residential setting that does not exist in your service model.
Your policies must also be consistent with each other. CQC will compare your policies against your Statement of Purpose and your application form. If the details do not match, your application can be returned.
The three most common gaps
Three gaps appear more than any others.
The first is mental capacity. Most applicants have a consent policy, but few have explained what happens when a service user lacks capacity to make a decision. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is the legal framework here. Your policy must show what your service does in practice, not just that you know the Act exists.
The second is medication errors. Policies often cover how medication is given but say little about what happens when something goes wrong. The steps to report it, the escalation process, and follow-up actions are often missing.
The third is record-keeping. Having a GDPR policy is not enough. Your approach to records needs to be consistent across all your policies: who can access them, how long they are kept, and how they are stored.
Preparing for the interview
Read your policies before you go in. Some applicants have had their policies written by a consultant and cannot explain the detail when asked. If you cannot say why your medication error procedure works the way it does, that is a problem.
You will not be expected to quote your policies. You should be able to explain the thinking behind each major one and describe what would happen in a real situation. “If a care worker told you they had given the wrong medication to a client, walk me through what would happen next” is a genuine interview question. Prepare a clear answer.
If there are areas where you feel less confident, write a short answer for each one before the interview. CQC’s own guidance makes clear that the interview is not a pass-or-fail test. If you cannot answer something fully, say so, explain how you would find out, and offer to follow up in writing. That is a better response than guessing.
Be consistent. Inspectors compare what you say with what your documents state. If those two things do not match, that difference will be noted.
Bring your policies to the interview. If a specific question comes up, having the document in front of you is more reliable than memory.
Sources
All sources below are official CQC guidance or legislation.
If you are building your policy library from scratch, HeroDocs gives you a complete set of care policies ready to adapt for your service. It is worth a look before your application goes in.