England · CQC fees · Community social care
CQC charges a home care agency no application fee. You pay an annual fee per location, worked out from how many people you support. Here is the exact formula with a calculator, worked examples, and how long registration takes.
Quick answer
There is no CQC application fee. CQC says its fees "cover all the costs of: initial registration changes to your registration, and our activities associated with monitoring, inspection and rating".
For a home care (community social care) service, the annual fee for each location is £239 + (number of service users × 54.305), up to a maximum of £92,558. An agency supporting 10 people pays £782.05 a year. CQC sends an invoice with your exact fee, and its 2019/20 fees scheme "remains valid until further notice".
Registration itself "can take a few months", and you cannot provide personal care until CQC confirms it. An incomplete application is rejected at the first check, which costs you more time than anything else.
Enter how many people you expect to support with personal care at each location. The calculation is CQC’s own; your invoice states the exact fee.
Annual CQC fee
£782.05
About per month
£65.17
£239 + (10 × £54.305) = £782.05, for 1 location.
These are CQC’s fees, not CareRulebook’s. CQC, provider fees payable: community social care
Annual CQC fee for one location, by the number of people you support:
| People supported | Annual fee | About per month |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | £293.31 | £24.44 |
| 5 | £510.53 | £42.54 |
| 10 | £782.05 | £65.17 |
| 20 | £1,325.10 | £110.43 |
| 30 | £1,868.15 | £155.68 |
| 50 | £2,954.25 | £246.19 |
| 100 | £5,669.50 | £472.46 |
CQC says: "We conduct a rigorous registration assessment that can take a few months. You cannot manage regulated activities until we confirm your registration." It assesses applications in the order it receives them and does not publish a decision deadline. What you control is getting through each stage first time:
Two avoidable delays: DBS checks for registered persons must be countersigned by CQC, and "Applications with expired DBS checks (over 12 months old) will be rejected without further review."
No. CQC charges no application fee. Its annual fee covers initial registration, and for homecare it is £239 plus £54.305 for each person you support, per location: about £782 a year for 10 people.
"Fees cover all the costs of: initial registration changes to your registration, and our activities associated with monitoring, inspection and rating."
No. No separate fee. CQC charges an annual fee per location, which covers initial registration.
"Fees cover all the costs of: initial registration changes to your registration, and our activities associated with monitoring, inspection and rating."
No. Not for homecare since 1 July 2025. CQC rejects the application and emails you why. A corrected resubmission counts as a new application and loses its place in the queue.
"You can correct and resend it, but this will count as a new application and will not keep its place in the queue."
No. Homecare agencies are exempt. You do need a business plan with a 12-month, month-by-month financial forecast.
"You also need to send us your financial viability statement, unless you are: a corporate provider an NHS trust a care home a home care (domiciliary care) agency a supported living service (SLS)"
No. CQC charges no separate application fee. Its annual fee covers initial registration, changes to your registration, and monitoring, inspection and rating.
For each location, £239 plus £54.305 for each person you support with regulated activities, up to a maximum of £92,558 (1,700 people or more). For 10 people that is £782.05 a year. CQC sends an invoice with your exact fee.
It emails your registered manager and nominated individual the month before the invoice is issued. If you do not reply, it keeps reminding you and looks at inspection reports and capacity tracker data.
CQC says its registration assessment is rigorous and can take a few months, and does not publish a decision deadline. You cannot provide personal care until CQC confirms your registration. Incomplete applications are rejected at the first check, which sends you back to the start.
CQC says its 2019/20 fees scheme remains valid until further notice. It holds a public consultation whenever it proposes to change fees, and a new scheme needs the Secretary of State’s consent.
CQC says non-payment of fees is a reason it may cancel a registered provider’s registration.
CQC consults publicly before it changes fees. Leave your email and we will tell you when a change affects your fees or your registration documents.
No spam. Only emails about rule changes that affect homecare in England. How we use your email.
England
Office and premises
Running it from home, and the legal occupancy evidence CQC needs.
England
How to start a home care agency in England
The full CQC registration guide.
Tool
CQC registration checklist
Every step and document, tailored and emailed to you.
England
CQC business plan and forecast
Put the CQC fee in your 12-month forecast.
England
The CQC registration interview
What CQC looks for at the assessment stage.