CQC Registration Is the Legal Gateway
In England, any organisation delivering personal care in someone's own home — help with washing, dressing, medication, and similar regulated activities — must register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) before operating. This is a legal requirement, not optional paperwork. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own equivalent regulators — the Care Inspectorate, Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW), and RQIA — with broadly similar principles but their own processes, so confirm which applies to you based on where you'll operate.
You'll Need a Registered Manager
Almost every domiciliary care agency needs a Registered Manager — the person legally accountable for the day-to-day running of the service, who registers with the CQC alongside the provider organisation. They typically hold, or are working towards, a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care. If you're the owner but not the manager, you'll need to recruit one before you can register.
What Your Application Needs to Include
- A Statement of Purpose setting out the services you'll provide, who they're for, and how you'll deliver them.
- Policies and procedures covering consent, safeguarding, medicines management, infection control, equality and diversity, recruitment, and governance.
- An enhanced DBS check, no older than 12 months, for the registered manager and any registered individual providers.
- Evidence of financial viability and appropriate insurance.
Step-by-Step: Getting Registered
- Set up your business entity — sole trader, partnership, or limited company (most agencies choose a limited company).
- Recruit or confirm your Registered Manager.
- Write your Statement of Purpose and core policies — CQC provides guidance on exactly what's expected.
- Submit your CQC application, including the enhanced DBS checks for all relevant individuals.
- Respond to any CQC follow-up questions — incomplete applications are the most common cause of delay.
- Get registered, then prepare for inspection — new agencies are typically inspected within around 12 months of registration.
What Does It Cost?
CQC registration itself is free to apply for, but there's an annual fee for ongoing monitoring once you're registered, which scales with the size of your service. Beyond that, budget for DBS check fees, staff training and qualifications, professional indemnity and public liability insurance, and enough working capital to cover payroll and recruitment before your client base is established.
How Long Does It Take?
Timelines vary based on how complete your application is and current CQC processing volumes — budget several months from a complete submission to approval, and don't set a launch date until you have a registration decision in hand.
Where AI Automation Fits Once You're Registered
Once you're registered and taking referrals, the two things that quietly cost new domiciliary care agencies the most are enquiry calls going to voicemail and last-minute care worker sickness leaving visits uncovered. CareRelay AI's AI Voice Agent and AI Shift Coverage Agent are built specifically to close that gap as your caseload grows past what a small office team can manage on the phone alone.