A practical, step-by-step guide to starting a domiciliary care agency in England, from CQC registration to your first clients, with notes on supported living, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In short. To start a home care agency in England you register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the regulated activity "personal care", with a registered manager, before you provide any care. You need an office in England, CQC-countersigned DBS checks, a set of policies, a business plan, insurance and staff ready to start. CQC says registration can take several months; its target is a decision within 10 weeks for most valid applications. Its annual fee covers registration.
Providing personal care is a regulated activity, and "it is an offence to carry on a regulated activity without being registered". Personal care means physical help with eating or drinking, toileting, washing or bathing, dressing, oral care or skin, hair and nails, or prompting and supervising someone who cannot decide to do these things without it.
You do not need to register if you only provide housing support or social support, such as help with shopping or companionship. Some agencies offer companionship-only services while their CQC application is under way, but personal care must not start until registration is granted.
Also decide who you will support. If you will support autistic people or people with a learning disability, CQC's statutory guidance Right support, right care, right culture applies and you must read it before you apply.
The provider is "the legal entity carrying on the regulated activity": you as an individual, a partnership or a company. Most agencies register a limited company. A company must name a nominated individual, a director, manager or secretary who supervises the management of the regulated activity.
You need an office address in England. CQC does not accept PO boxes or addresses in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or abroad, and asks home care applicants for evidence of legal occupancy of the premises.
Unless you are an individual provider running the service day to day yourself, you need a registered manager, who applies alongside the provider. CQC expects:
Directors, the nominated individual and the registered manager must all be "fit and proper": of good character, with the right skills and experience, and no history of serious misconduct in a regulated activity.
The individual provider, any partners and the registered manager need an enhanced DBS check with barred list information, countersigned by CQC (unless they are a registered health professional). CQC does not accept certificates from the DBS Update Service or third-party services, and rejects applications with DBS checks more than 12 months old. CQC says the check can take up to 60 working days, so start early.
Every applicant must send:
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Statement of purpose | What you provide, to whom and where |
| Safeguarding policy and procedure | |
| Complaints policy | |
| Consent policy and procedure | |
| Medicines management policy | |
| Infection prevention and control policy | |
| Recruitment policy | |
| Equality, diversity and human rights policy | |
| Governance and quality assurance policies | |
| Public and employer liability insurance | A quote or certificate |
Home care agencies must also send a business plan and financial forecast, evidence of legal occupancy, service user guides and a staff training plan. Have ready, in case CQC asks: duty of candour, whistleblowing, risk management and reportable incidents policies, a person-centred care planning policy, a sample care plan, a sample care contract and your staffing structure and rotas. Services for autistic people or people with a learning disability also need positive behaviour support and restraint policies.
The Data Security and Protection Toolkit is not part of CQC registration, but councils often ask for it in contracts, and it is required if you will access NHS information or systems.
For a new provider, CQC's process is to download its Word application forms and email them, with every supporting document, to CQC in one go. The forms are the main provider form, the manager forms and an "Additional information for providers of personal care" form, which asks how you recruited your directors and manager and for local market research showing demand.
After initial checks, CQC may interview you and your registered manager by phone, online or in person, and may visit your premises. If you cannot agree a date within 28 days, your application may be returned or refused. CQC checks that you are likely to meet the fundamental standards: person-centred care, dignity and respect, consent, safe care and treatment, safeguarding, nutrition and hydration, premises and equipment, complaints, good governance, staffing, fit and proper staff and the duty of candour.
The National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026 for workers aged 21 and over, rising to £13.21 from 1 April 2027 (announced at the Budget on 28 October 2026). For home care the key rule is that travel time between visits counts as working time, so a carer paid only for time at visits can fall below the minimum wage. Read what counts, or check a pattern with our free minimum wage calculator.
CQC will want to see how you plan, record and check care: care plans, risk assessments, medication records, rotas, training and how you learn from incidents. Setting this up before you apply makes your application stronger and your first inspection easier.
Care App gives a new agency care plans, eMAR, a rota, timesheets, pay preparation, invoicing and CQC evidence in one system, with care plan and risk assessment templates to start from. Prices are published, from £12 per user per month, with no setup fee and a free month.
See the home care appPersonal care in supported living is registered as "personal care", like home care, only if there is "a real separation between the provision of personal care and the accommodation agreements". CQC's indicators include separate agreements for care and housing, a genuine choice of care provider, and people having their own front door or exclusive possession of at least part of their home. If care and housing come as one package, it may be regulated as a care home instead. Supported living services for autistic people or people with a learning disability must also show they follow Right support, right care, right culture.
Tip: print this page for a paper copy of the checklist.
CQC does not publish a fixed processing time and says registration can take several months. Its target is for 80% of applications to have a decision within 10 weeks of a valid application. Incomplete applications are rejected and lose their place in the queue.
There is no separate application fee: CQC's annual fee covers registration. For home care the published fee is £239 plus £54.305 per service user per location (2024/25 rates, the latest published), so about £782 a year with 10 service users. Check the current figure with CQC.
CQC expects relevant qualifications, for example a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, and says it would strengthen an application. It is not a strict legal requirement, but managers also need proven management experience.
No. CQC says you do not need to register if you only provide housing support or social support, such as help with shopping. You must register before providing personal care, such as help with washing, dressing, eating or toileting.
You need an office address in England for CQC registration; PO boxes are not accepted. CQC also asks home care applicants for evidence of legal occupancy of the premises.
Checked 26 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice; always check the current position with CQC and GOV.UK.