New providers · Home care
Starting a home care agency in England
Starting a domiciliary care agency means setting up a business, registering with CQC for the regulated activity of personal care, and having working systems ready before your first client. This guide sets out the main steps in order, so you know what to prepare and roughly when.
MyCareCompliance brings practical CQC audits, evidence, workforce oversight and improvement actions into one platform for adult social care providers.
7 days free. Plans from £24.99 per organisation per month, inclusive of VAT. Features vary by plan. Compare plans and trial terms.
Last reviewed: 28 September 2026. Independent guidance from AJG Advisory — not official CQC guidance. Always check the official sources listed below for current requirements.
Who it applies to
People planning to provide personal care to people in their own homes in England. If you only provide help with tasks like shopping or cleaning and no personal care, CQC registration may not be required — check CQC's scope guidance.
The main steps
- Decide your model: private clients, local authority contracts, or both — this affects pricing and paperwork
- Set up the legal entity (usually a limited company), bank account, insurance and ICO data protection registration
- Identify your nominated individual and registered manager
- Write your statement of purpose and core policies
- Apply to CQC for registration for personal care; expect checks and an interview
- Recruit safely: DBS, references, right to work, induction and training
- Set up your audit, action and governance systems before your first visit
What to have ready before your first client
- Initial assessment and care plan templates
- Medication support policy and MAR recording
- Rota and call monitoring approach
- Complaints, safeguarding and incident procedures
- A first-month audit schedule
Practical checklist
- Company, insurance and ICO registration complete
- Registered manager and nominated individual identified
- Statement of purpose written
- Core policies adopted and staff-ready
- CQC application submitted
- Safer recruitment files complete
- Audit schedule set for month one
How MyCareCompliance can help
Once registered, MyCareCompliance gives a new agency a guided set-up: add your first location, choose your service type, build a monthly audit schedule and complete a short first audit. It does not register you with CQC or guarantee registration.
Official sources
MyCareCompliance is founded by Jack Green, ACC Accredited Care Consultant, with over 10 years in adult social care and registered manager experience. Read Jack’s background.
See how the platform organises this work
Genuine product screenshots using demo data. Scores show internal assurance, not CQC ratings. Features vary by plan.
Need to manage this in your service?
Use MyCareCompliance to organise audits, actions, evidence and governance in one place. 7 days free, then from £24.99 per month for the whole organisation, inclusive of VAT. Features vary by plan.
MyCareCompliance does not guarantee a CQC rating or inspection outcome.