Free CQC notification checker
Something’s happened and you’re not sure whether to tell CQC. Answer two or three questions and get a clear answer – which form, how fast, and what else to do – based on CQC’s own guidance.
- ✓ Free
- ✓ No sign-up
- ✓ Takes 1 minute
- ✓ Nothing saved or sent
Step 1 of 2: What happened?
What happened?
Pick the closest match. If more than one applies, deal with the most serious first – you can run the checker again.
Helpful check: if you’re here because something feels serious, that instinct is usually right. When in doubt, notify – CQC would far rather hear about it than not.
Your answers stay on this page – nothing is saved or sent anywhere, and no client details are entered.
A note on this checker
This tool summarises the notification guidance published on cqc.org.uk (checked July 2026) for registered adult social care providers in England. It is built by everyLIFE Technologies, is not produced by or affiliated with CQC, and is not legal advice. Always check the linked CQC page before you rely on an answer, and when in doubt, notify – the risk sits in staying silent, not in telling them.
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When something happens, your records are ready.
PASS records incidents, accidents and near misses as they happen, with timestamps, actions and a complete audit trail – so when a notification is needed, the facts are already in one place. See it working with a free tour, guided by a real person.
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How to use this checker
- Pick what happened. Eight incident types cover the notifications home care services deal with most. No client details are entered at any point.
- Answer the clarifiers. One or two questions decide which side of CQC’s rules the incident falls on – the same tests CQC’s own guidance uses.
- Follow the verdict. It names the exact notification form, links to CQC’s own page for it, and reminds you what else the incident may trigger.
- Print the decision record. A dated record of what you checked and what you decided – useful evidence of good governance either way.
Three rules that never change
When in doubt, notify
Notifying is not an admission of fault – it’s evidence of a well-led service. The breach is failing to notify, never notifying too much.
CQC is not the only call
A CQC notification does not replace a safeguarding referral to the local authority, a police report, or your duty of candour conversation with the people affected.
Record everything, always
Even when no notification is needed, record the incident, your decision and your reasoning. “We considered it and here’s why not” is a strong answer at inspection.
CQC notifications: your questions answered
Where do this tool’s answers come from?
Every verdict follows the notification guidance CQC publishes for providers, and links to the relevant page on cqc.org.uk so you can check the source before acting. We reviewed the pages in July 2026; CQC updates them from time to time, so the linked page is always the final word.
How do I actually send a notification?
Two routes: online through the CQC provider portal, or by emailing the completed Word form for that notification type to CQC’s notifications inbox. Each verdict links to the CQC page with the right form. Incomplete forms get returned, so fill in everything they ask for.
How quickly do I need to notify?
CQC’s wording for incident notifications is “as soon as possible”. In practice that means the same working day wherever you can – once the people involved are safe, the notification comes next, not at the end of the week.
Is notifying CQC an admission that we did something wrong?
No. Notifications are a legal duty and a sign of a well-led service – inspectors expect to see them. The compliance risk runs the other way: failing to notify is a breach in itself, whatever the underlying incident.
Does a CQC notification replace a safeguarding referral?
No. They are separate duties to separate bodies. A safeguarding concern usually means a referral to your local authority safeguarding team as well as a CQC notification, and sometimes a police report too. Your local safeguarding procedures set the referral route.
Is this checker really free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no email capture. Your answers stay on this page – nothing is saved or sent anywhere, and no client details are entered at any point. We make PASS, the care management platform, and free tools like this are our way of being useful to the sector.
Ready before anything happens.
PASS keeps incidents, actions and audit trails in one place, so notifications take minutes instead of an evening. Take a free tour and see it with your own service in mind.
👉 Get started with PASSTrusted by 1,250+ home care providers nationwide.
