When you're choosing a care provider for yourself or a loved one, one of the most powerful tools available to you is completely free: the Care Quality Commission (CQC) register. Yet many families are unaware it exists, or don't know how to use it.
This guide explains what the CQC is, how its inspection process works, how to read a provider's rating, and what it means for your family's safety.
💡 Key fact
You can look up the CQC registration and latest inspection report for any care provider in England, completely free of charge, at cqc.org.uk. Always do this before committing to any provider offering personal care.
What is the CQC?
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Established under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, it monitors, inspects, and regulates hospitals, care homes, home care agencies, GPs, dentists, and more.
Its purpose is to ensure that people receive safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care — and to act when standards fall short. This includes publishing the results of inspections online, and taking enforcement action against providers who fail to meet required standards.
Crucially, any provider that delivers personal care (help with washing, dressing, medication, and similar tasks) in England is legally required to be registered with the CQC. Operating without registration is a criminal offence.
The five key questions
CQC inspectors evaluate providers against five fundamental questions. These five areas give you a clear framework for assessing any provider yourself:
The CQC's five questions
1. Safe — Are people protected from abuse, neglect, and avoidable harm?
2. Effective — Does the care, treatment and support achieve good outcomes?
3. Caring — Do staff treat people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect?
4. Responsive — Are services organised so they meet people's individual needs?
5. Well-led — Is there strong leadership, governance, and a culture of learning and improvement?
How the inspection process works
CQC inspections can be announced or unannounced. Inspectors visit in person, speak with service users and their families, observe care being delivered, and review records and policies. They typically look at:
- Staff recruitment practices, training records, and DBS checks
- Care plan quality and how well plans are followed in practice
- Medication management and safety practices
- How complaints are handled and what happens as a result
- The quality of management oversight and governance
- Feedback from people using the service and their families
After the inspection, the CQC publishes a full inspection report on its website, along with an overall rating and ratings for each of the five key questions.
Understanding CQC ratings
CQC uses a four-tier rating scale:
- Outstanding — exceptionally high standards. The provider consistently exceeds what is required and innovates in delivering care.
- Good — the provider meets all requirements and delivers good quality care. The majority of well-run providers are rated Good.
- Requires Improvement — the provider does not meet one or more requirements and must improve. Check the inspection report for specifics.
- Inadequate — serious concerns. The provider poses a risk of harm. Enforcement action is likely. Avoid.
⚠️ What 'Requires Improvement' really means
A 'Requires Improvement' rating should not automatically rule out a provider — particularly if the rating is old and the provider has since made changes. However, you should ask the provider directly what they did in response to the inspection, and verify on the CQC website when the next inspection is due.
How to look up a provider on the CQC website
- Go to cqc.org.uk and click "Find a care service".
- Search by the provider's name or postcode.
- Click the provider's listing to view their overall rating and ratings per question.
- Download the full inspection report (PDF) to read the detail behind the rating.
- Note the date of the last inspection — older ratings may not reflect current standards.
What if a provider isn't listed?
If you cannot find a provider on the CQC register, there are two possibilities: they are not registered (which is illegal if they provide personal care), or they only provide services that don't require registration — such as companionship only.
Always ask any provider directly for their CQC registration number and verify it yourself. A reputable provider will have this information readily available and will welcome the question.
✓ Acrux Support Services
Acrux Support Services operates in full compliance with CQC-compliant standards. All our care workers are DBS checked, professionally trained, and supervised regularly. We welcome questions about our regulatory standing and are always transparent with families about our quality processes.