How to register a domiciliary support service with CIW in Wales (2026)

The Act says: "A “domiciliary support service” is the provision of care and support to a person who by reason of vulnerability or need (other than vulnerability or need arising only because the person is of a young age) is unable to provide it for him or herself and is provided at the place in Wales where the person lives (including making arrangements for or providing services in connection with such provision)." (RISCA Sch. 1 para. 8(1)). Care means care relating to "the day to day physical tasks and needs of the person cared for (for example, eating and washing)" and the related mental processes, such as remembering to eat and wash (RISCA s.3(1)(a)). CIW’s practice note lists help with bodily functions, continence, oral care and medication administration, each "including prompting the individual to do this" (CIW Guide, Annex 1).

Supported living and extra care count. "This regulated service includes the provision of supported living and extra care housing. Providers of these types of services must ensure that the contractual arrangements they have in place with individuals using their services are separate from any contractual arrangements in relation to the accommodation provided." (CIW Guide 2.4)

Not a domiciliary support service

• Support only. The 2017 Regulations exclude "the provision of support only" (reg. 3(1)(a)). CIW: "Services that provide support only are not domiciliary support services. However, if support is provided as part of a wider package which includes the provision of “care” this does not fall within the exemption." (CIW Guide 2.4)
• Four or fewer people. The Regulations exclude "the provision of care and support to four or fewer individuals at any one time" (reg. 3(1)(b)). CIW reads it this way: "A service that provides care and support to four or fewer named individuals at any one time is exempt from registration. This includes co-operatives which employ carers to provide care and support to four or fewer named individuals." (CIW Guide 2.4) Welsh Government has discussed regulating these micro-care services (below).
• Personal assistants. "Personal Assistants are exempt from registration on the basis that they work solely under the direction and control of the person receiving care or a related third party." (CIW Guide 2.4; see also reg. 3(1)(e), which applies where no employment agency or business is involved)
• Introduction agencies. A person who introduces care workers but "has no ongoing role in the direction or control of the care and support provided is not to be treated as providing a domiciliary support service (regardless of whether or not the introduction is for profit)" (RISCA Sch. 1 para. 8(3)). Arranging a rota, organising cover for sickness or leave, reviewing the care plan or continuing to charge the person for the care worker’s service would be an ongoing role (CIW Guide, Annex 4).
• Nursing by a registered nurse. The Regulations exclude "the provision of nursing care by a registered nurse" (reg. 3(1)(h)).

CIW’s Annex 3 decision tree walks through other cases too, such as an employment agency that only supplies care workers to care homes or other regulated services (CIW Guide to registration, Annex 3). Pretending to be registered, with intent to deceive, is a separate offence (RISCA s.44).

You do not register once for all of Wales. "These geographical areas follow the Regional Partnership Board footprints and can be found at Annex 5. Each geographical area will become a condition of your registration and an individual service for the purposes of inspection." (CIW Guide 2.4) The seven areas are Gwent, North Wales, Cardiff and Vale, West Glamorgan, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, West Wales and Powys (CIW statement of purpose guide, glossary).

• A statement of purpose for each area. "For domiciliary support services, a statement of purpose is required for each regional partnership area in which the service is being provided." (CIW SoP guide 3.2)
• One application can cover several. "Where a service provider has applied to register more than one service as part of the same application, we issue a determination Notice per service resulting in the service provider becoming registered with us." (CIW Guide 7)
• Standard conditions. For community services, the standard conditions of registration are the geographical area and the designated responsible individual (CIW Guide 7.5).
• The RI as manager. An organisation’s RI can manage the service only if it is registered for no more than two areas, among other conditions (reg. 67(3); see below).

CIW counts each area as a service, so its figure of 750 domiciliary support services on 31 March 2025 is a count of services, not providers (CIW Annual Report 2024-25). It reported a 7.9% increase in 2024-25, adding 55 services (CIW), with 32 services cancelling their registration (CIW), and said: "We are aware there is potentially a saturation of domiciliary support in some local authority areas, which may adversely impact the financial sustainability of some providers." while in some rural counties commissioners reported a shortage (CIW Annual Report 2024-25).

"All applications to register a regulated service must be made via Care Inspectorate Wales Online." (CIW Guide 5) The form has three parts: the provider, the service, and the responsible individual, who completes their own section online before the applicant submits (CIW Guide 5.1 to 5.3). It also asks for the scale of charges (Registration Regs Sch. 1 para. 29), the average weekly hours of domiciliary support you intend to provide (CIW Annex 8), and the manager’s Social Care Wales registration number, where appropriate (CIW Annex 8).

The statement of purpose

CIW calls it "a key source of evidence used by us to inform decisions to grant or refuse applications for registration", and checks the service against it at every inspection (CIW SoP guide 2.3 to 2.4). CIW checks that it complies with Schedule 2 of the Registration Regulations and CIW’s guide (CIW Annex 9). CIW publishes a template (March 2026) you can use (CIW template); it asks for the average number of care hours delivered per week (section 3), how you meet language needs including the Welsh language offer (section 4A), and "how the responsible individual will maintain oversight of the management, quality, safety and effectiveness of the service including frequency of visits to the service" (section 7). CIW reminds providers that making a false statement is an offence under section 47 of RISCA (CIW SoP guide 1.2).

The money

CIW’s financial assessment looks for this: "There are no concerns in relation to the financial viability of the applicant to provide the service as set out in the application and SoP." (CIW Annex 9) CQC asks a new homecare agency in England for a 12-month forecast; CIW asks for a business plan covering the first two years (see the comparison).

Insurance

The Registration Regulations ask for "a certificate of insurance in respect of liability which may be incurred in respect of death, injury, public liability, damage or other loss" (Sch. 1 para. 37), and CIW’s expectation is that "public liability insurance is in place for the named service, is in date and accounts for losses under both public and employers liability" (CIW Annex 9). CIW does not publish a minimum level of cover that we could find; ask your broker and CIW.

The 2017 Regulations say: "The service provider must ensure that the following policies and procedures are in place for the service", then name ten (reg. 12(1)). Failing to comply with regulation 12(1) is an offence (reg. 85).

When CIW sees them

Not with the application, on CIW’s published list. CIW’s determination framework expects this: "The applicant makes available a copy of the mandatory policies and procedures required by the Regulations at the registration inspection." It adds: "All policies and procedures meet the requirements of the Regulations and Statutory Guidance." and "We have the option to take the copy of the policies and procedures away with us and return them at a later date." (CIW Annex 9). CIW’s guide does not say how it sees the policies if it decides no registration visit is needed; ask CIW (our open questions).

Beyond the ten

"The service provider must have such other policies and procedures in place as are reasonably necessary to support the aims and objectives of the regulated service set out in the statement of purpose." (reg. 12(3)) Every policy must be "appropriate to the needs of individuals for whom care and support is provided", consistent with the statement of purpose and kept up to date, and the service must follow them (reg. 12(4)-(5)). Welsh Government’s statutory guidance adds: "Policies and procedures are proportionate to the service being provided in accordance with the statement of purpose." (statutory guidance, regulation 12)

The Regulations also require other documents and systems, including a written guide to the service (reg. 19), a signed service agreement (reg. 20), a personal plan before care starts, or within 24 hours in an urgent case (reg. 15), reviewed at least every three months (reg. 16(1)), and records kept for adults for three years from the last entry (reg. 59(3)(f)).

The responsible individual (RI)

The application designates "an individual as the responsible individual in respect of each place" (RISCA s.6(1)(c)). For a company, the RI must "be a director or similar officer of the body" (RISCA s.21(2)(c)(i)); a public limited company may also use its company secretary (s.21(2)(c)(ii)). CIW: "Our expectation is that this would be a Director, registered with Companies House. Where a Director is unable to fulfil this role, you may designate a “similar officer”. However, you will be required to provide an explanation as to why this role cannot be undertaken by a Director." (CIW Guide 4.1)

Before registration. "As part of the registration process RIs will be required to complete a questionnaire and undertake a suitability interview." (CIW Guide 4.3) The four questions in CIW’s Annex 6 ask about:

1. appointing a suitable manager and reporting the appointment (Q1);
2. overseeing the management of the service, including when the manager is absent (Q2);
3. visiting the service, and how often (Q3);
4. monitoring, reviewing and improving quality, including the quality of care review (Q4).

The RI brings photographic ID, and proof of any qualifications listed on the form, to the interview (CIW Annex 9), gives two references on their competence for the role (CIW Guide 6.3), and uploads a medical reference on CIW’s form (CIW, Register a service), where their GP ticks either that there is "nothing in the individual’s medical records which would impact on their ability to comply with the duties" or that a condition or disability may affect it (CIW medical reference form). Where a medical reference cannot be obtained, CIW will consider a self declaration (CIW Annex 8).

After registration.

• Meet staff and the people supported in each area at least every three months (reg. 73).
• Report to the provider on the adequacy of resources every quarter, unless the provider is an individual (reg. 74).
• Make sure quality is reviewed at least every six months, with a report to the provider unless the provider is an individual (reg. 80).
• Keep the provider’s policies up to date, having regard to the statement of purpose (reg. 79).
• Use their own CIW Online account for notifications and variations, and "should not share the login details of their account with other persons" (CIW Guide 8).

Some of these duties carry personal offences: failing to comply with regulations 73 and 74, among others, is an offence by the RI (reg. 86).

The manager

The RI appoints a person to manage the service. That person must be "registered as a social care manager with Social Care Wales" (reg. 35(2)(e)), and Social Care Wales tells managers: "You must be registered before your first day in a new job." (Social Care Wales) A social care worker with a Level 3 qualification (or the Level 4 USW Step Up to Management certificate) can register as a manager while enrolled on the Level 4 or Level 5 leadership and management qualification, and then has three years to get Level 5, which they must hold before renewing (Social Care Wales). The duty to have a manager is not met if the manager is absent for more than three months (reg. 67(5)).

Can the RI be the manager? For an organisation, only if it is registered for no more than two areas, the RI is fit to manage and registered as a social care manager with Social Care Wales, and CIW agrees (reg. 67(3)).

Social Care Wales registration and its fees

Care workers register too: "You have six months to register from the date you start working in your role." (Social Care Wales). "Everyone who’s registered with us must pay fees." (Social Care Wales fees)

For the application, CIW requires a DBS check for all individual applicants and RIs: "For this check to be valid it must be less than 3 months old at the point of submission of the application or the individual must be on the DBS Updates Service." (CIW Guide 5.4) "We will need to view this certificate, as part of the registration process. This can either be sent to us by recorded post or brought with the individual to their suitability interview." (CIW Guide 5.4) CIW’s DBS page says "All social care workers in Wales must hold a current DBS certificate which has an ‘Enhanced with Barred List’ check for the relevant work force area", and that for most services a current certificate can support the application if, among other things, "It is for an enhanced with barred list check and relates to the workforce area you are applying for" (CIW DBS page).

CQC’s rule differs on both points. For CQC’s registered persons (individual providers, registered partners and registered managers), "Applications with expired DBS checks (over 12 months old) will be rejected without further review." and "We cannot accept certificates from the DBS update service or submissions from 3rd party services, such as U-check." (CQC DBS guidance). CIW’s check covers individual applicants and responsible individuals. A certificate that suits CQC may be too old for CIW, and an Update Service subscription that CQC will not accept is one of CIW’s two routes.

For your staff, after registration. If a worker is on the Update Service, check their certificate status at least annually (reg. 35(5)); if not, apply for a new certificate at least every three years (reg. 35(6)).

Every applicant for a domiciliary support service gives an undertaking that "a domiciliary support service will not be provided by way of a visit which is shorter than 30 minutes unless either condition A, B or C is met." (RISCA s.8(1)), and CIW checks that "the applicant has agreed to provide the service in accordance with s.8 of the Act" (CIW Annex 9). The 2017 Regulations repeat it for each visit’s allocated time (reg. 41(4)).

• Condition A (care a council arranges under the 2014 Act). Where a council meets the person’s needs under the 2014 Act through the service: the worker has visited the person before during the plan, and the visit is only a safe-and-well check, or its tasks can reasonably be, and are, completed to the required standard. (s.8(2)-(3))
• Condition B (other care, such as privately arranged care). Where condition A does not apply: a shorter visit is consistent with the arrangement agreed with the person (or someone acting for them), the visit is only a safe-and-well check, or its tasks can reasonably be, and are, completed to the required standard. (s.8(4)-(5))
• Condition C (any visit). "Condition C is that the visit is curtailed at the request of the person being visited." (s.8(7))

Each care worker gets a schedule of visits, and "The schedule of visits must delineate the time allocated for travel time, the time allocated for each visit and (if applicable) the time allocated for rest breaks." (reg. 41(2)) Travel time must be sufficient for the distance and for factors such as traffic congestion and parking (reg. 41(3)), and "a record is kept of the time spent by each domiciliary care worker on travel time, visits and rest breaks" (reg. 41(5)).

If you employ care workers on non-guaranteed hours (zero-hours) contracts, regulation 42 requires you to offer a choice once these conditions are met: "the domiciliary care worker has been employed by the service provider under a non-guaranteed hours contract for the qualifying period", they have worked regular hours in the three months before the end of that period, you have decided the hours are needed on an ongoing basis, and they have performed satisfactorily (reg. 42(2)). For a worker who starts now, the qualifying period is three months from the start of employment, and if a worker chooses to stay on a zero-hours contract, a new three months runs from that choice (reg. 42(3)).

The choice is between "a contract of employment where the number of hours required to be worked per week is at least the average number of hours worked per week during the preceding three months" and one with fewer hours (reg. 42(1)). "But this requirement does not prevent the service provider employing a domiciliary care worker on any other type of contractual arrangement which has been agreed between the provider and the worker, including a further non-guaranteed hours contract." (reg. 42(1)) The duty does not cover someone engaged under a contract for services (reg. 42(3)).

In the statement of purpose. It must give "details of how the provider will meet individuals language and communication needs, including through the medium of Welsh" (Registration Regs Sch. 2(n)). CIW’s template asks you to describe "the extent to which the service makes provision for the Welsh language offer" (CIW template, section 4A).

In the Regulations. "The service provider must take reasonable steps to meet the language needs of individuals." (reg. 24)

In the statutory guidance. "Service providers evidence their commitment to deliver or work towards actively offering a service in the Welsh language to individuals whose first language is Welsh." (statutory guidance, regulation 24)

What the Active Offer means. "An ‘Active Offer’ simply means providing a service in Welsh without someone having to ask for it." (Welsh Government Active Offer information pack) The Active Offer principle at the core of Welsh Government’s More than just words framework (its plan for 2022 to 2027) "places a responsibility on health and social care providers to offer services in Welsh, rather than on the patient or service user to have to request them" (More than just words).

Our reading: the guidance’s words "or work towards" suggest a new provider without Welsh-speaking staff can set out a plan, such as recording each person’s language choice and building Welsh into recruitment. CIW has not said what evidence it looks for at registration; ask CIW.

The statutory duty to report. Under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, "If a relevant partner of a local authority has reasonable cause to suspect that a person is an adult at risk and appears to be within the authority's area, it must inform the local authority of that fact." (SSWBA 2014, s.128(1)). The relevant partners are listed in section 162(4). They include police, other councils by agreement, the Secretary of State and probation providers for offender management, local health boards, NHS trusts, some Welsh Ministers’ and Commission for Tertiary Education and Research functions, and anyone regulations specify (s.162(4)). Our reading: a private care provider is not on that list, so the section 128 duty itself does not apply to it, unless regulations add it; we did not check those regulations.

You still report. The Wales Safeguarding Procedures say: "All those whose agencies are not included as ‘relevant partners’ above are still expected to report any safeguarding concerns in the same way as those with a specific duty to report. This includes both paid and non-paid practitioners in third sector organisations (this includes: independent contractors and sub-contractors, independent professionals and private organisations)." (Wales Safeguarding Procedures, adults, section 2) "The relevant authority is the one in which the safeguarding concern is thought to have occurred." (section 2)

What the 2017 Regulations require.

• A safeguarding policy and procedures "for the prevention of abuse, neglect and improper treatment" and for responding to allegations (reg. 27). The statutory guidance says safeguarding policies "should reflect and align with the Wales Safeguarding Procedures" (statutory guidance, regulation 27).
• A notification to CIW of "Any abuse or allegation of abuse in relation to an individual that involves the service provider and/or a member of staff" (Sch. 3 para. 13). "Unless otherwise stated, notifications must be made without delay and in writing." (reg. 60(4)) CIW asks for notifications through CIW Online (CIW notifications), and changed some of its forms, including the abuse notification, from 30 September 2026 (CIW).
• A disciplinary procedure that makes "a failure on the part of an employee to report an incident of abuse, or suspected abuse, to an appropriate person" grounds for disciplinary proceedings (reg. 39(2)(b)).
• Any use of control or restraint recorded within 24 hours (reg. 29(4)).

CIW says: "Initial applications – in general it can take up to 14 weeks (it can take longer if more information is required or additional information required is not returned on time)" (CIW, Register to provide a service)

• Acceptance. "An application will not be accepted until it has passed our completeness check, this is to ensure that key information is valid and or included." (CIW Guide 5.5)
• Quality. "We will complete an initial assessment of the quality of the application within three weeks of its allocation to the registration inspector. If the application is assessed as poor quality, we will arrange a meeting with the provider to give feedback on what needs to be improved." (CIW Guide 6)
• Queue. "We will usually assess applications in the order they have been accepted; however we will be responsive to pressures in the sector." (CIW Guide 6)
• Start date. "Applicants must not start to provide a service before registration is granted by CIW issuing them with a Notice of Decision." (CIW)

Is there a visit if the office is my home?

CIW’s registration site visit decision matrix, for a new domiciliary support service, lists a visit as "Less likely" where the premises is a commercial unit, and "Yes" where "Premises is not a commercial unit (for example, a personal address or care home)" (CIW Guide, Annex 18). CIW adds: "In all cases, this will only form part of the decision as to whether a visit is undertaken. Each application is considered on its own merits and all available information is taken into account." (Annex 18) So plan for a visit if you work from home. Among the factors CIW considers where a visit is deemed less likely, the matrix lists a lease agreement and a checklist completed by the provider (Annex 18); we did not find that checklist published. CIW also says it may ask for a premises checklist and visit, and "An application for registration should not be submitted unless the premises is ready for assessment." (CIW Guide 6.5)

Whatever the office, "The service provider must ensure that the premises used for the operation of the service have adequate facilities for ... the supervision of staff; the secure storage of records." (reg. 47), and CIW’s expectation is that "the applicant has legal right to use the premises for the purpose of providing a regulated service", with a sufficient notice period if you rent or lease (CIW Annex 9).

Our reading: we found no CIW registration fee and no CIW annual fee for a domiciliary support service. RISCA lets the Welsh Ministers make regulations "requiring a fee to be paid by a person" applying to register or continuing to be registered (RISCA s.40(1)). We found no such regulations on legislation.gov.uk, and CIW’s registration pages list no fee. That is not the same as CIW confirming there is none, so ask CIW before you budget on it.

The costs we did find belong to others:

• Social Care Wales charges registered managers £80 a year and care workers £30 a year (Social Care Wales fees). These are Social Care Wales fees, not CIW fees.
• Other costs we did not research: DBS checks, insurance, and any charge your GP makes for the medical reference.

Penalties are separate from fees: see the annual return below.

• The first inspection. "The timing of the first inspection is determined at registration." (CIW Code of Practice 5.3) CIW’s scheduling model then points to routine (18 months), early (12 months) or priority (6 months) intervals for domiciliary support services (section 6). Inspections are usually unannounced, but CIW may give a domiciliary support service a short period of notice so it can plan to hear people’s views (4.10).
• Ratings. CIW rates Excellent, Good, Requires improvement or Requires significant improvement against each theme: well-being, care and support, and leadership and management (environment is for accommodation-based services only) (CIW inspection framework). There is no overall rating (Code of Practice 4.15).
• Showing your rating (in force since 31 March 2025). "A relevant service provider must show on every website maintained by it or on its behalf, and which relates to its relevant regulated service, the most recent inspection rating" (Inspection Ratings Regulations 2025, reg. 3(1)). The duty to display it at the office does not apply where the office is not accessible to the public (reg. 3(4)(b)), and CIW lists a service provided from someone’s private home among those that do not have to display a poster (CIW ratings page).
• Publishing the annual return (in force since 1 April 2026). "An annual return must be published on the service provider’s website no later than 91 days following the end of the financial year to which it relates." (Annual Returns Regulations 2017, reg. 10(3), inserted by the 2026 Regulations) Welsh Government described 26 May as the established deadline for submitting the return to CIW (consultation, 2025), and said the 91 days means by 30 June each year, first for 2025-26 returns (consultation, 2025). "To comply with this legal requirement, service providers will need to have their own website." (Welsh Government)
• Penalties, not fees. The 2026 Regulations add failing to publish to the same penalty notice provision that covers failing to submit (2026 Regulations, reg. 3). Welsh Government said the penalty for failing to submit is level 4 on the standard scale, currently £2,500 (consultation, 2025), and proposed the same amount for failing to publish (consultation, 2025).
• Notifications. The provider and the RI notify CIW of the events in Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 3 and in Schedule 4 (regs. 60 and 84), through CIW Online (CIW).
• Your statement of purpose. Revisions go to CIW, the people you support and others at least 28 days before they take effect, unless a change must take effect immediately (reg. 7). CIW says to review it at least annually (CIW SoP guide 4.1).

In force

• Annual returns must be published on providers’ websites (from 1 April 2026). Publish the annual return on your website no later than 91 days after the financial year end. (W.S.I. 2026/74)
• Ratings on your website (from 31 March 2025), as above (W.S.I. 2025/389).
• CIW’s notification forms changed from 30 September 2026. These are changes to CIW’s forms, not to the Regulations (CIW).

Being considered, with no draft that we found: micro-care

Welsh Government’s engagement report on micro-care services recorded local authority suggestions to regulate services that support four or fewer people, through Social Care Wales registration or a reduced level of CIW registration. The report says these suggestions would require changes to the existing legislation, and we found no draft published as of 9 October 2026. CIW’s 2024-25 annual report says it is working with Welsh Government to consider this further. (Welsh Government engagement report, January 2024; CIW Annual Report 2024-25) CIW also reported several councils supporting micro-care, where individuals or small businesses support fewer than five people (CIW Annual Report 2024-25). Until the law changes, the four-or-fewer exemption stands.

We did not find an open consultation affecting domiciliary support services when we checked on 9 October 2026. The statutory guidance we quote is the March 2024 edition (Welsh Government). We will email Wales rule-change alerts when something changes (sign up below), and every nation’s and state’s changes are on our rule changes page.

CQC registration does not cover Wales: providing a regulated service in Wales without CIW registration is an offence, whatever your CQC status (RISCA s.5). CIW also looks at your record elsewhere: "We may contact other regulators (such as Social Care Wales or the Care Quality Commission) for information where appropriate." (CIW Guide 4) These CQC habits do not carry over; each is shown beside what CIW requires or asks for.

Wales also has rules with no CQC counterpart on this page: one service per area, 30-minute visits, the zero-hours offer, the Active Offer and Social Care Wales registration for managers and care workers. For the England side, see our guide to registering with CQC; if you are registering in England too, our CQC registration pack writes the documents CQC asks for. It is written to England’s rules, not CIW’s.

CIW’s guidance leaves some points open. Where this guide gives our reading, check it with CIW before you rely on it:

• Fees. Whether CIW charges any registration or annual fee (we found none).
• Policies without a visit. How CIW sees your policies if it decides no registration visit is needed.
• The premises checklist. Where the provider’s premises checklist in Annex 18 is published.
• Sole traders. Which financial documents an individual applicant uploads, and whether floor plans apply to an office-based service.
• Four or fewer. How CIW counts people who start and stop, such as respite clients.
• Several areas. Whether CIW expects a different manager for each area.
• The Active Offer. What evidence CIW looks for at registration from a provider still working towards it.
• Insurance. Whether CIW expects a minimum level of cover.