Phase 01Complete
Understand the regulator
What CQC actually does, how the five key questions work, what "inspection-ready from day one" means under the 2026 framework review, and what inspectors are trained to look for.
Est. effort
~2 hours
01 · Orientation
What the hub is for
The CQC Registration Hub guides you through everything needed to get your service ready to apply to the Care Quality Commission — without doing the submission for you.
The hub does not submit your application to CQC — you do that yourself when you're ready — but it maps out every requirement, tracks your progress, flags what's missing, and makes sure nothing is forgotten before you send.
Why this matters in 2026
Returned without review
Under the rules CQC introduced on 9 February 2026, incomplete or inconsistent applications are now returned at intake without review. The hub is built specifically around those new requirements.
02 · Orientation
Before you start
A few things worth knowing up front.
Application fee
£0
CQC submission is free
Prep timeline
10–12 wks
Then 10–16 wks for decision
DBS turnaround
4–8 wks
Start these first
Annual fee cap
£92,558
£239 + £54.305/user/site
There is no CQC application fee
Submitting your registration application is free. CQC only invoice you after registration, based on the number of service users you actually support. The annual formula for community and social care is £239 plus £54.305 per service user, per location, up to a maximum of £92,558. If you're registered but haven't started taking clients, your first fee is near-zero.
Typical timelines
Expect 10–12 weeks of preparation work, then a further 10–16 weeks for CQC to process and decide on your application. The longest single variable in your control is DBS checks — these typically take 4–8 weeks. Start them as early as possible.
Set your service type first
Everything in the hub — phases, document checklists, pathway guidance — is calibrated to your service type. You can change this at any time using the Setup button in the top toolbar, or by clicking your service type badge in the header.
03 · Orientation
Inside the hub
The hub sits inside your Care Daily account under Quality & Compliance → CQC Registration in the sidebar. The main content area uses a tab-based layout with eleven views, described below.
A persistent stats bar at the top shows your current snapshot: days to your target submission date, phases completed, your next key milestone, open tasks, and how many of the required documents are ready.
One workspace · eleven tabbed views · nine ordered preparation phases · a live updates feed · an in-context AI assistant — all calibrated to your service type.
04 · Reference
The eleven views
Each tab in the hub is a focused workspace for one part of the registration job. Open them in any order — but most users start with Overview and follow the focus cards from there.
View 01
Overview
Your home base. A progress ring shows your overall readiness percentage, alongside a journey card with service type, target submission date, and current status. Three focus cards surface the most urgent actions and update automatically as you complete tasks.
Open view
View 02
Roadmap & Timeline
A visual timeline that works backwards from your target submission date. Adjust your target date and the roadmap recalculates. Use this view to spot schedule pressure before it becomes a problem.
Open view
View 03
Pathway
Side-by-side comparison of the three CQC pathways — domiciliary care, supported living, and residential care home. Useful if you're unsure how to classify your service, or planning to register multiple types.
Open view
View 04
Key People
Every individual CQC considers "nominated" or "managing" must pass the Fit Person test. This view tracks each person against the full checklist — CV, ID, DBS, references, health and fit declarations — with a per-person fitness percentage.
Open view
View 05
Documents
A central tracker for every document required for your application, organised by phase. Upload directly, or import approved policies from your Care Daily library — imported policies are checked against the February 2026 criteria by the AI review layer before they're marked ready.
Open view
View 06
Evidence of Need
CQC now expects providers to demonstrate genuine local demand. This view helps you gather and document that evidence — local authority contacts, population data, referral pathway information, and demand statistics relevant to your geography.
Open view
View 07
Training
Two integrated courses sit inside the hub. "Understanding CQC" covers the regulatory framework and the five key questions. "Registered Manager Interview Prep" walks through the fit person interview. Both are included from the Growth tier upward.
Open view
View 08
AI & Automation
A context-aware assistant that knows your service type, current phase, and what you've completed. Ask plain-English questions about your application; review uploaded documents; flag issues against the February 2026 criteria.
Open view
View 09
Growth & Brand
Guidance for building your business in parallel with registration — marketing your service, building referral relationships with local authorities and NHS teams, and developing your brand.
Open view
View 10
Knowledge Hub
A curated feed of everything relevant to CQC registration — rule changes, consultation updates, guidance revisions, and sector intelligence. Items are tagged new, updated, or informational.
Open view
View 11
Settings
Configure the hub to match your situation: service type, target submission date, company details, notification preferences, and which sections are visible. Manage integrations here too.
Open view
05 · Reference
The nine preparation phases
Work through these in order. Some phases have dependencies — you can't finalise your Statement of Purpose (Phase 4) until you've established your legal entity (Phase 2), for example — but the hub tells you when something is blocked and why.
2
Phase 02
Legal entity & foundations
Company setup, registered address, employer's liability insurance, professional indemnity, banking, and Companies House requirements CQC checks before accepting an application.
Est. effort
~4 hours
3
Phase 03
Key people & fit persons
Your Nominated Individual and Registered Manager identified; DBS submitted as early as possible. References, employment history, health declarations, and fitness declarations for each person. Budget 4–8 weeks for DBS clearance.
Est. effort
~8 hrs + wait
4
Phase 04
Define your service
Your Statement of Purpose is the single most important document. CQC cross-references every policy against it for consistency. This phase guides drafting an SoP that reflects February 2026 expectations, selecting regulated activities, and defining your user group precisely.
Est. effort
~12 hours
5
Phase 05
Policies & procedures
The complete policy set your service will operate under. Import directly from your Care Daily policy library. The hub checks each policy against your SoP and flags inconsistencies before you submit.
Est. effort
~20 hours
6
Phase 06
Staffing & training framework
Organisational structure, safer recruitment, induction programme, mandatory training matrix, and supervision schedule. Each element must be evidenced and role-specific, not generic.
Est. effort
~10 hours
7
Phase 07
Financial viability
Since 9 February 2026, CQC no longer accepts a separate financial viability document. The business plan itself is now the viability evidence — including a 3-year cash flow forecast.
Est. effort
~8 hours
8
Phase 08
Quality & governance
How you'll monitor the quality of care delivered: complaints handling, safeguarding, incident management, and the systems you'll use to learn from things that go wrong. Maps to the "Well-led" quality statement.
Est. effort
~6 hours
9
Phase 09
Final prep & submission
A complete pack check, email submission rules (10 MB attachment limit, the 1/3 numbering convention CQC expects), and how to prepare for the Registered Manager fit person interview.
Est. effort
~4 hours
06 · Help & support
Getting support
Three support options are available from the header toolbar.
The full channel rundown — live chat, advisory calls, and the in-hub AI assistant — sits in the support panel below. Pick whichever fits your shift.
07 · Help & support
Frequently asked questions
Three ways to get help
Stuck on a phase? Talk to a real person.
Three support options are available from the header toolbar — pick whichever works for your shift.
Raise a ticket
Reply in ~2 hrs
Opens a support request to the Care Daily team for technical issues with the hub itself.
24-hr SLA
Book a 1:1
Free first 20 min
Connects you to an advisory session with your CQC lead — an experienced practitioner who can review your documents and give you a frank readiness assessment.
Same-week availability
Ask Care Daily AI
Instant · 24/7
The in-hub assistant. Right first stop for questions about the registration process, regulatory terminology, or what a specific phase requires.
In the Overview tab