CQC Location Requirements for Care Providers

A CQC location is not always the place where a person receives care. It may be the premises at which a regulated activity is delivered or the office from which the activity is organised or managed.

Getting the location structure right matters because activities, managers, registration conditions and supporting documents are connected to it. The answer depends on how the service will operate in practice.

What CQC means by a location

CQC describes locations as premises where regulated activities are provided or from which they are organised or managed. The legal provider can have one or several locations, and the registered activities at each location must reflect the real operating model.

• Identify premises where people will receive a regulated activity.
• Identify offices from which community-based care is organised or managed.
• Check whether any premises are merely administrative and fall outside the location definition.
• Map each relevant location to its activities and manager.

Care homes, homecare and supported living

For a care home, the premises where accommodation and care are provided will normally be central to the location. For homecare and supported-living services, the relevant location is commonly the office from which the regulated activity is organised or managed, rather than every person's private home.

• Describe the care-home premises, capacity and intended client group accurately.
• Show where homecare scheduling, records, supervision and operational decisions will be managed.
• Explain management arrangements for supported-living care separately from a person's tenancy.
• Check unusual or distributed operating models directly against CQC scope guidance.

Address and legal occupancy evidence

CQC may require evidence that the provider has valid permission to use the proposed premises. Its supporting-document guidance describes evidence such as ownership documents, a tenancy or lease, or a licence together with the necessary permission. A virtual office or PO box is not a substitute for a suitable location address.

• Make sure the occupancy document names the correct provider or clearly supports its right to occupy.
• Check the permitted use, start date, duration and signatures.
• Obtain landlord or licensor permission where the arrangement requires it.
• Use the exact same address format on forms, plans and supporting documents.
• Follow the latest service-specific evidence list before submitting.

Planning more than one location

1. 1Create a table of every proposed address.
2. 2Record the regulated activities associated with each address.
3. 3Identify the manager responsible for each activity and location.
4. 4Check whether additional location or manager forms are required.
5. 5Reflect the same structure in the statement of purpose and organisation chart.
6. 6Test how governance information will flow from every location to the provider.

CQC office requirements for a domiciliary care agency

When comparing an office for your home care agency, check both your permission to operate there and whether it can support the work. CQC's legal-occupancy guidance says it may assess equipment, accessibility, meeting space and confidentiality. These are useful questions to resolve before committing to premises.

• Can you provide current ownership, tenancy or licence evidence and any required written permission for your specific service?
• Where will managers organise visits, supervise staff and hold confidential conversations?
• How will records and equipment remain secure when the premises are shared?
• Can the location and its arrangements be described consistently in your application and Statement of Purpose?

Can you use a virtual office for CQC registration?

CQC's published legal-occupancy guidance does not accept virtual offices as evidence for a proposed service location. A company correspondence address alone does not establish suitable premises from which to manage care. Check your proposed location against CQC's current guidance before arranging your application around it.

Continue with the domiciliary care CQC registration checklist →

Show that the location is ready and suitable

• Complete relevant premises, fire, infection-control and accessibility checks.
• Secure appropriate records, equipment, utilities and business-continuity arrangements.
• Protect confidential information in offices used to manage community services.
• Prepare leaders to explain how risks will be controlled at the location.
• Resolve planning, occupancy or safety issues before claiming the service is ready.