Starting an Adult Care Service? Here's Exactly What to Do
A guided journey to registering with CQC — from forming your company to your first inspection. We've helped hundreds of new care providers get registered and inspection-ready.
Which Adult Care Service
Are You Registering?
The CQC registration journey below applies to all three. Choose your service type to see the specific policies and requirements you'll need.
Residential Care Home
24/7 residential care for adults. Medication, falls prevention, nutrition, infection control, and end of life.
Domiciliary / Home Care
Care delivered in people's own homes. Lone working, community medication, and mobile care team policies.
Supported Living
Support for adults with learning disabilities, mental health needs, or physical disabilities in their own homes.
The tool that guides you through every step of CQC registration
Most providers treat registration as a document-gathering exercise. Care Daily's CQC Registration Hub turns it into a managed process — tracking your progress, surfacing what you need to do next, and helping you produce the documents CQC actually wants to see.
Six phases. Zero guessing.
Click any phase to see exactly what's inside — the tasks, the templates, and the pitfalls new providers run into.
Before anything else, your business needs a legal identity. Most new care providers register as a limited company — this is strongly recommended over sole trader for accountability and investor confidence.
Register Your Legal Entity
Form a limited company via Companies House (limited by shares is most common). You will register as an Organisation with CQC — 84% of new providers in 2025 did so. Avoid registering as an individual unless you are the sole director with no partners or investors.
Required before CQC applicationChoose the Right SIC Codes
Select the SIC codes that accurately describe your service — you can add more than one. The key codes for care businesses are: 87100 Residential nursing care, 87200 Learning disabilities & mental health residential, 87300 Elderly & disabled residential, 88100 Social care without accommodation (domiciliary care), 88990 Other social care without accommodation (supported living). CQC will cross-reference your Companies House entry with your application.
Use all that applySecure Your Office Premises
You need a fixed address to run your service from — even for domiciliary care. The CQC will register this as your location. The premises must be suitable for managing a care service: secure record storage, adequate workspace, and compliance with health & safety requirements. Obtain evidence of legal occupancy (lease agreement or ownership documents). This is a mandatory document as of February 2026.
Lease/ownership docs requiredOpen a Business Bank Account & Arrange Insurance
A dedicated business bank account is required before CQC will process your registration. Allow 2–4 weeks as banks conduct their own due diligence on new care businesses. You must also hold Professional Indemnity, Public Liability, and Employers Liability insurance — CQC will ask for certificates. Ensure policies are specifically worded for care services, not generic business insurance.
Allow 2–4 weeks for bankingHow Long Does Registration Take?
Most providers reach submission in 12–14 weeks. Here's an honest, week-by-week breakdown.
Company Formation
Register your limited company with Companies House with the correct SIC codes. Open a business bank account (allow 2–4 weeks), arrange specialist care insurance, and secure your office premises with a signed lease.
Appoint NI and RM — Start DBS Immediately
Confirm your Nominated Individual and Registered Manager. Begin the CQC-countersigned DBS process for the RM on day one — this takes 4–8 weeks and nothing can be submitted without it. The NI needs an Enhanced DBS countersigned by you as the provider.
Policies, Statement of Purpose, and Mandatory Documents
Customise your Care Daily policy library, write your Statement of Purpose, prepare your business plan with financial forecasts, obtain a financial viability letter from your bank or accountant, and produce your staff training plan and service user guide. All are mandatory as of February 2026.
Submit Application by Email
Email both the provider and registered manager applications to HSCA_Applications@cqc.org.uk with all mandatory documents. Monitor your email daily — CQC gives only 3 working days to respond to any queries. A rejected application loses its place in the queue and is treated as a new submission.
Assessment: Interviews and Possible Site Visit
CQC interviews the NI and RM separately. A site visit may occur, particularly for residential services. CQC aim for 10 weeks — in 2024/25, 54% of applications took longer. Registration is granted with a certificate listing your regulated activities and any conditions.
First Inspection — Quality Statements, Not KLOEs
CQC now inspects against the Single Assessment Framework Quality Statements. Build your evidence base from day one — supervision records, training logs, incident reports, complaint handling. Inspectors want to see embedded practice, not last-minute paperwork.
One subscription replaces
the £10,000 startup spend.
Care Daily isn't just a policy library — it's the complete operational platform for your new service.
500+ Policy Templates
Ready to use from day one — subscribe or buy a one-off licence. All written to your regulator's standards.
- Safeguarding & medication
- Health & safety
- Staff management & HR
- Governance & GDPR
Digital Care Management
Person-centred care plans, daily records, and medication management — all digital from day one.
- Digital care plans
- Electronic MAR charts
- Daily care logs
- Incident reporting
Compliance & Audit Tools
Self-assess against CQC KLOEs, Ofsted Quality Standards, and other regulator frameworks before inspection day.
- Mock inspection tools
- Evidence library
- Compliance dashboard
- Automatic policy updates
Staff Management
Rotas, supervision records, training tracking, and DBS management — everything inspectors will ask to see.
- Staff rotas & schedules
- Supervision records
- Training matrix
- Policy acknowledgement log
Mobile App for Carers
Your care team can log visits, update records, and access policies from their phone — wherever they are.
- Visit logging & clock-in
- Access care plans on mobile
- Offline capability
- Family app integration
UK-Based Expert Support
Our team understands UK care sector regulations — not a generic helpdesk. Real guidance when you need it most.
- Onboarding support
- Compliance guidance
- Help centre & resources
- Priority support available
Real services. Real registrations.
"Setting up our children's home, we needed a full policy set fast. Care Daily gave us everything we needed — properly written, Ofsted-ready, and easy to customise. We couldn't have passed registration without it."
"I was completely new to the sector when I set up my domiciliary care agency. Care Daily walked me through everything — from the policies to the compliance checks. My first CQC inspection went far better than I expected."
The stuff providers ask before they begin.
Ready to Start Your
Care Business?
Book a free demo and we'll show you exactly how Care Daily supports new providers through registration and beyond — from day one to first inspection.