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Start a care business
Get registered properly, first time
CQC and Ofsted registration, business planning, policies and Registered Manager readiness. Scoped as a fixed fee and delivered in seven days.
- Fixed fee agreed up front
- Seven-day delivery
- Across England
Registration is a test of evidence, not enthusiasm
The regulator is not assessing how much you care. It is assessing whether the service you have described on paper can actually run safely on a wet Tuesday in February when two staff have phoned in sick. That is why applications stall: rarely bad intentions, usually thin evidence.
We write applications the way an inspector reads them. A statement of purpose that matches the service you will really run. Policies that reference your own systems rather than a generic template. A financial model that survives being questioned. And a nominated individual and Registered Manager who can answer for all of it in interview.
What you get
- Service model and statement of purpose written for your actual operation
- The full application drafted and checked before it goes near submission
- A policy and procedure suite matched to your regulated activities
- A business plan and financial model you can put in front of a bank or a landlord
- Registered Manager and nominated individual interview preparation
- A named consultant who stays with you until you are registered
Alongside you, not above you – we work with you as a partner, not a critic.
Choose your service type
Each route has its own evidence set, its own fee and its own commissioning reality. Pick the closest match and you will get the detail first and a short form second.
Domiciliary Care Agency
Care delivered in people's own homes. Registration, call monitoring, rostering and a manager CQC will accept.
Residential Care Home
Premises, staffing model and governance built to satisfy registration and the first inspection.
Nursing Home
Nursing-led registration, clinical governance and safe staffing evidence for a higher-acuity service.
Supported Living
Where housing ends and regulated care begins, set out clearly enough to register and to commission.
Complex Care
Clinical oversight, competency frameworks and delegated healthcare tasks evidenced properly.
Live-In Care Agency
Working time, placement matching and supervision arrangements that stand up to scrutiny.
Day Care
Day services and day centres, including where activity does and does not require registration.
Introductory Agency
The introductory model set out honestly, with the line between introducing and providing kept clean.
LD & Autism Residential
Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture evidenced in the model rather than quoted at the end.
Children's Home
Ofsted registration, Regulation 44, location risk assessment and a Registered Manager who qualifies.
Supported Accommodation
Ofsted registration for 16 and 17 year olds, including categories and quality standards evidence.
Not listed? Start here
Tell us the service you have in mind and we will confirm the registration route and the fee.
The process
Book, send, receive - seven days
No open-ended retainers and no drip-fed invoices. We agree the scope, you send what we ask for, and the work comes back within seven days of receiving it.
Book
A free consultation of around thirty minutes. We establish the service you intend to run, the registration route it falls under, and anything in the plan likely to trip the application. You leave with a written scope and a fixed fee.
Send
You return one evidence pack: identity documents, premises or office details, your intended staffing model, and whatever you have already drafted. One list, one deadline, no chasing you twice.
Receive
Drafts arrive within seven working days. You review them, we revise once as standard, then we walk the submission through with you and prepare you for interview.
Fees
What registration costs
Every engagement is quoted as a fixed fee before any work starts. Where you land in the range depends on the regulated activities involved, the number of locations and how much you have already built. Regulator application fees are separate and paid by you directly.
| Service type | Fixed fee range |
|---|---|
| Introductory agency | £1,250 – £3,500 |
| Day care | £2,250 – £5,500 |
| Domiciliary care agency | £2,750 – £6,000 |
| Live-in care agency | £2,750 – £6,500 |
| Supported living | £3,000 – £7,000 |
| Residential care home | £3,500 – £8,000 |
| Complex care | £3,500 – £8,500 |
| LD & autism residential | £4,000 – £9,000 |
| Nursing home | £4,500 – £9,500 |
Ranges apply to a single location in England. Multi-site groups, re-registrations and changes of provider are scoped separately.
Questions
Before you apply
How long does registration take?
Our drafting takes seven working days. Everything after that belongs to the regulator, and their clock only starts once the application is accepted as complete. The commonest cause of delay is a thin submission that comes back with questions, so we would rather spend an extra few days on evidence than lose months to correspondence.
Do I need a Registered Manager in place before I apply?
For most regulated activities the manager application runs alongside the provider application, and the regulator will want to interview them. If you have not appointed anyone yet, say so early. We can prepare the provider side while a suitable candidate is found, and our managers rail exists for exactly this problem.
Can I apply before I have premises or an office?
A residential or nursing service cannot register without a specific location, because the premises themselves form part of what is assessed. Domiciliary and supported living services have more latitude, but you still need a genuine registered address and arrangements that work on paper and in practice.
What happens if the application is refused?
A refusal is not the end of it. There is a representations stage, and most refusals turn on evidence that was missing rather than a provider who was unfit. We take on refused and withdrawn applications, work out what the regulator actually objected to, and rebuild the case. Come to us before you resubmit, not after.
Is Ofsted registration different?
Yes, materially. Children's homes and supported accommodation are registered under a separate framework with its own quality standards, its own manager qualification requirements and its own inspection rhythm. Location risk assessments and Regulation 44 arrangements have no equivalent on the adult side. We hold both, and we do not treat one as a variation of the other.
Once you are registered
Registration is the first stage, not the destination. Most start-up clients come back to us within the first two years for one of these.
Stay compliant
Mock inspections, audit cycles and an evidence library that answers the well-led question before anyone asks it.
Win the work
Framework applications, tender writing and pricing built on your true cost of delivery rather than the going rate.
Fill the manager gap
Introductions to Registered Managers who are already known to us and already understand the framework you work under.
Know what you need?
Book a call and we will scope it on the spot.
Not sure yet?
Tell us what you need and we will point you to the right route.