Most people who start a domiciliary care company come to it the same way. They have worked in care for years. They know what good looks like. They want to do it properly.
That is a great place to start. But getting from that idea to a CQC-registered business is a process. It takes time. It has a strict order. And it requires specific documents that need to be right first time.
The CQC wants your application to be complete first time. If papers are missing, they may send it back, and you may have to start again.” This guide covers every step so you are prepared.
Step 1: Get Clear on What You Are Registering
Domiciliary care in England is a regulated activity. If your service includes personal care, you must register with the CQC before you take on a single client.
Personal care includes things like washing, dressing, helping someone take medication, or supporting them to move safely. Companionship, cleaning, and shopping do not require registration. But the moment your service crosses into personal care, the rules apply.
Most new providers start with personal care. That is what this guide covers.
Step 2: Set Up Your Business
CQC registration is not your first step. It comes near the end. Before you apply, your business needs to exist and be operational.
Legal Structure
Most domiciliary care businesses register as a private limited company through Companies House. This separates your personal finances from the business and looks more credible to councils and commissioning bodies.
Business Plan
Your CQC application requires a business plan. It should cover who you will care for, where you will operate, how many staff you need, and your financial forecast for the first twelve months. A financial viability form also needs to be signed by your accountant. Get your accountant involved early as this is a common source of delay.
Bank Account and Office Address
Open a dedicated business bank account before you apply. You also need a real office address where you can hold meetings and store records securely. It does not need to be large, but it must meet basic health and safety standards.
Step 3: Appoint Your Registered Manager
Every CQC-registered service needs a Registered Manager (RM). This person is responsible for the day-to-day running of the service and must personally register with the CQC alongside the provider organisation.
If you plan to run the service yourself, you apply as both provider and RM. If someone else will fill the role, they must apply for personal registration at the same time as your provider application.
Qualifications
The RM must hold a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, or be actively working towards it. Relevant experience in a care management role is also required.
The Fit Person Interview
Before registration is confirmed, the CQC interviews the RM. This is a structured convConfirm the RM holds or is working towards a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Careersation about their knowledge of regulations and their ability to lead a safe service. The CQC is looking for genuine understanding of safeguarding, medicines management, governance, and how the RM would respond to real scenarios. Memorising answers will not be enough.
Step 4: Sort Your DBS Checks
Every person working with service users needs an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check, with an adults' barred list check included. For your CQC application, the checks for the provider and RM must be no older than twelve months at the point of submission. There are no exceptions.
DBS checks take two to four weeks under normal conditions, but delays are common. Some providers have waited eight to ten weeks. Build at least six weeks into your timeline and start DBS checks before you begin drafting your policies, not after.
Step 5: Build Your Policy Library
This is the part that takes longest and where most applications fall short.
The CQC requires policies that your team actually understands and uses. Having documents that say the right things is not enough. Inspectors ask staff about policies during assessments. If your team cannot explain what a policy says or cannot find it, that is an evidence gap
The following policies must be submitted with your application or be available on short notice:Safeguarding Adults Policy: covers how abuse is identified, reported, and referred, including whistleblowing and safer recruitment procedures
Medicines Management Policy: covers administration, storage, recording, and handling of controlled drugs
Infection Prevention and Control Policy: covers hygiene, PPE use, hand hygiene, and outbreak management
Consent and Mental Capacity Policy: covers how consent is recorded, reviewed, and how best interest decisions are made
Equality and Diversity Policy: covers how your service meets the needs of people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010
Governance and Quality Assurance Policy: covers how the service is monitored, incidents are reviewed, and learning is embedded
Recruitment Policy: covers safer recruitment, reference checks, induction standards, and how you ensure staff are suitable to work with vulnerable adults
Statement of Purpose: a formal CQC document with a required format that describes what your service does, who it serves, and how it is managed
Duty of Candour Policy: covers how your service is open and transparent with service users when things go wrong
Lone Worker Policy: specific to domiciliary care, covers how staff safety is managed when working in people's homes without direct supervision
Risk Assessment Policy: covers environmental risk, moving and handling, falls, medication, and the individual risk assessment process for each service user
Your application must also include a training plan. This should cover the induction programme for new staff, ongoing training requirements, and how you will support staff whose first language is not English. The Care Certificate is the standard for induction in England and your training plan should reference it.
Step 6: Get the Right Insurance
Standard business insurance does not cover the risks of providing personal care to vulnerable adults. You need specialist cover from day one.
At a minimum you need employers' liability insurance (required by law if you have staff), public liability insurance, and professional indemnity cover. Many care-specific insurers bundle these together. Work with a broker who specialises in homecare and compare at least two or three policies.
Step 7: Submit Your CQC Application
Since November 2024, the CQC no longer accepts online applications. All new provider applications are submitted by email to [email protected].
Your submission must include your provider registration application, your Registered Manager registration application, your Statement of Purpose, all required policies, your training plan, your business plan and signed financial viability form, evidence of legal occupancy for your office, and countersigned enhanced DBS certificates for both the provider and RM.
There is no fee to submit your CQC registration application. Once you are registered, you will pay an annual regulatory fee. For domiciliary care this is calculated as £239 plus £54.31 for each person you support, invoiced on your registration anniversary date. The CQC targets twelve weeks to process a complete application. In practice, twelve to sixteen weeks is more realistic. Allow six to nine months in total from the decision to start to receiving your registration.
Step 8: Understand the Single Assessment Framework
Once registered, your service is assessed against the CQC's Single Assessment Framework (SAF). The five key questions stay the same: is the service Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led?
What has changed is how evidence is gathered. Under the SAF, inspectors collect evidence continuously from multiple sources: feedback from service users, conversations with staff, care records, and complaints data. From December 2024, inspectors score each Quality Statement from 1 to 4 using professional judgement.
You cannot get a good rating from policies alone. The evidence must show that policies are understood and followed by your team. Safe and Well-led each carry the most Quality Statements in domiciliary care, with eight each. Medication management, safeguarding, risk assessment, and staff competency are where inspectors look hardest.
Step 9: Getting Your First Clients
Registration is not the finish line. It is the starting point.
New providers access clients through three routes. Local authority contracts involve joining a preferred provider framework and receiving referrals when a council-funded package needs matching to a provider. Getting onto these frameworks requires a formal application and a review of your policies and training standards.
NHS Continuing Healthcare packages are commissioned by Integrated Care Boards. Some areas use an Any Qualified Provider model that opens to new providers periodically. Check Contracts Finder for opportunities in your area.
Self-funding clients are often the most accessible route in the early months. Private homecare rates run between £26 and £38 per hour depending on region and care complexity. Referral relationships with social workers, hospital discharge teams, and GPs help build your client base. A professional website, a Google Business profile, and listings on care comparison platforms all help. Whatever route you pursue, your policies and records must be in order from day one. There is no grace period.
Your Complete Compliance Checklist
Use this checklist to track every step from company registration to welcoming your first client. Download the printable PDF version attached to this article to keep alongside your application.
Before You Accept Your First Client
The time between getting your CQC registration and taking on your first client is one of the most important stages. Use it well.
Make sure every team member has read and signed off on your policies. Run through your care planning process with a practice scenario. Check that your recording systems are set up and your lone worker system is live.
The CQC can contact you or visit within weeks of registration. There is no grace period. Your records, your team's knowledge, and your governance processes all need to be running from day one.
Managing your policy library is one of the most time-consuming parts of running a care business. Policies need reviewing when regulations change, and every update must be signed off by your team with evidence it happened. HeroDocs keeps its policy library aligned to CQC requirements, with built-in staff acknowledgement tracking so you can show inspectors exactly who has read what. It is worth exploring before you build your library from scratch.