What this helps you do.
- New providers preparing to apply to CQC.
- Existing providers planning a new location or a change to their regulated activities.
Scope of the review
- Proposed activities, legal entity, locations and relevant registration exceptions.
- Statement of purpose, management arrangements and supporting policies.
- Consistency between the application, staffing plans, premises and operational evidence.
How it works
- Define the service
Agree what you intend to deliver, where and through which organisation.
- Map the evidence
Create a service-specific document list and identify questions requiring clarification.
- Review the application
Check drafts for omissions, contradictions and unsupported statements.
- Prepare for assessment
Work through interview topics and a final readiness review.
What you receive
- Activity and scope note with assumptions recorded.
- Prioritised application-readiness checklist.
- Document review comments and interview preparation points.
Explore a fictional report and action plan, or create your own non-confidential working plan.
What to prepare
- Service description and proposed locations.
- Draft statement of purpose, policies and organisation chart.
- Relevant staffing, premises and financial-viability information, minimised where possible.
Use evidence references in an initial brief. Confidential records need an agreed secure handling route.
Scope and limits
- CQC makes the registration decision and controls its processing timetable.
- The applicant remains responsible for completing, checking and submitting its own application. Support does not guarantee acceptance.
Common questions
Can the review establish whether registration is needed?
It can analyse your proposed activities and identify likely requirements or unresolved scope questions. A generic sector label is insufficient, and uncertain cases may need clarification with CQC.
Will standard policies be enough?
Policies need to describe arrangements your service can actually implement. The review checks their relevance and consistency with your application.
Sources and review
- CQC: Register as a provider (opens in a new tab)
- CQC: New provider application forms (opens in a new tab)
Content version: 1 November 2026. The proposed scope must be confirmed in engagement terms.
Start with a focused brief.
Describe the service and the questions you need this review to address.
Discuss your requirementsA worked example of the review
Illustrative example — not a client case. This shows a possible working method; it does not report an actual engagement or outcome.
Checking that the proposed service and application agree
Suppose a new homecare provider's statement of purpose describes arrangements that do not match its draft staffing and management plan.
- Identify the proposed activities, legal provider and locations, then check the applicable CQC registration guidance and any unresolved scope questions.
- Compare the application, statement of purpose, organisation chart and readiness evidence. Record each inconsistency with a document reference.
- Ask the responsible manager to explain the intended arrangements and correct the documents so that they describe a service the provider can deliver.
- Recheck the revised set together. The applicant completes, checks and submits its own application and retains the supporting evidence.
This preparation exercise does not settle every registration boundary or guarantee CQC's decision.
The applicant's responsibility
CQC requires applicants to complete their own registration application. Support can help clarify scope, review evidence and identify inconsistencies, while the applicant must understand, check and take responsibility for the information submitted.
Prepare against the current guidance for the proposed activities, legal provider and locations. The service must be ready in the ways required by CQC when the application is submitted. Preparation support does not confer registration or permission to start a regulated activity.
Related guidance and next steps
Content version: . Named expert review remains pending for public launch.