Step 1: Register a company name
One of the first things you do as a new start up business is come up with your business name and once you’ve decided what that’s going to be, you’ll need to check if it is not already in use and acquire it immediately if not. So, Step 1 is to register your company name on the UK government website, Companies House, the link for which is here; http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ and you’ll need to follow each step on that page to register your company and obtain your registered company number.

Step 2: Start completing the CQC new provider application form
The CQC new provider application form is going to take some time to complete. When completing the application, you will need to provide various documentation such as your business plan, care policies, website information and a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check for your Registered Manager. You can read through the information provided by CQC using this link https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/providers/registration/register-provider to familiarise yourself with the documentation that is required to register with the CQC. Please note, to register with the CQC you will need to register as a new provider using their provider portal which can be found on their website/using the link above (scroll to the bottom of the page on the website and you’ll see a button that reads “Apply to register as new provider”.)

Step 3: Apply for DBS check (Registered Manager)
As briefly mentioned in Step 2, the Registered Manager for your Care Agency will need to obtain a DBS number which can take up to 14 days (sometimes longer depending on the volume of applications) to get back. Only the Registered Manager is required to have a DBS check and the DBS check needs to be submitted via the CQC website https://cqc.disclosures.co.uk/. The Registered Manager should either be a nurse, social worker or someone who has enrolled in/completed their NVQ level 5 in Health and Social care. It should be okay for nurses and midwives to use their existing active DBS.

Step 4: Submitting CQC new provider application form
Once the above steps have been completed and you have put all of the necessary documentation together for the CQC new provider application form, you can submit your application to the CQC using their provider portal which you will have signed up to during Step 2 of this guide. When your application form has been submitted, you can expect to wait for around 8 weeks (which again as mentioned earlier could be longer depending on volume of applications) before hearing back from CQC, who will then get in touch with you to arrange an interview with your Registered Manager. 

There are some more policies that the CQC will require after the application form is submitted to them, before your interview date, and there will be approximately 10 more policies that they request from you.

These are the crucial first steps of starting a care agency and the essential things you need to do. You may be reading this and thinking “only 4 stages, wow that’s easy” but what I want to clarify, just to manage your expectations is this process is not always simple. However, if you have a passion for caring for others and are really committed to starting your own care agency, then I urge you to push forward and during this process remember that, many other people have started their own care agencies, with the right mindset and commitment, there’s no reason why you can’t too.