Free CQC tools for domiciliary care providers

Free tools for checking your service

Check inspection readiness, review care records or medicines, and decide what to improve next.

9 free resourcesNo sign-up requiredLinks to official sources

Maintained by Ghulam Rasul SafiReviewed 3 September 2026Content and source standards

Choose a starting point

What do you need to do today?

Pick the option that matches your task: run a private self-check, use a checklist or learn how CQC evidence fits together.

Already know what you need? Browse all nine resources.

Independent, not official. These tools do not predict a rating, guarantee an inspection result or replace current legal, regulatory or clinical advice.

Resource library

Choose from nine free tools

Open any resource without an account or email address. None asks for information that identifies a person receiving care.

Current briefing · sources checked 3 September 2026

CQC assessment changes in 2026

See what CQC uses now and what it is still testing for different care sectors. Follow the official timeline and use six actions that still make sense if the details change.

Includes CQC's update from 27 August
Separates current requirements from pilots and planned changes
Links to the official sources used

Read the current provider brief

Printable working tool · approximately 20 minutes

25-point inspection-readiness checklist

Check 25 essential controls across Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Record what you can prove today and give each gap an owner.

Five practical checks under each key question
Private browser-based working copy with local auto-save
Print-friendly layout for review meetings

Open the checklist

Private planning tool · approximately 3 minutes

Audit planner

Use your main concern, service size and timing to choose a starting review and see its guide price.

Plan a starting review

Before hiring a consultant · 16 checks

How to choose a CQC consultant

Check experience, independence, working method, data protection and report quality before hiring a consultant. Use the same standard for every supplier, including GR Safi.

Open the buyer checklist

Printable working tool · approximately 15 minutes

Medicines audit checklist

Check 15 areas covering responsibility, safe support, medicine administration records (MARs), problems, staff competence and leadership review.

Open the medicines checklist

Printable working tool · approximately 15 minutes

Care records audit checklist

Check 15 areas from assessment and consent through daily records, changes, reviews, record security and proof that improvement worked.

Open the care-record checklist

Private self-check · approximately 5 minutes

CQC readiness check

Answer 15 questions in your browser and receive a concise list of the controls that may deserve attention first.

Start the private check

Practical guide · approximately 8 minutes

CQC evidence guide

See how rules, daily practice, records, people’s experience, results and learning should connect.

Read the evidence guide

Illustrative example · webpage and PDF

Sample compliance report

See how a report can link findings to what was checked, order them by risk and set out actions.

View the sample report

Choose by need

Choose a tool for your current concern

You do not need to use every tool. Start with the one that matches your current task.

Inspection approaching

Prepare for inspection

Check 25 areas of your service. Record what is missing and agree who will act.

Use the inspection checklist

Medicines records unclear

Review medicines

Check 15 areas, including administration records, staff competence and how medicines problems are handled.

Use the medicines checklist

Care records inconsistent

Check care records

Compare care plans with daily notes and reviews. Find changes in need or concerns that have been missed.

Use the records checklist

Choosing a consultant

Compare consultants

Use 16 questions to compare experience, working methods, record handling and what you will receive.

Compare suppliers fairly

How the resources work

What these tools can and cannot do

Each resource helps you check evidence and set priorities. The result is not proof that a service is compliant.

Ask for evidence

Prompts ask what proves the point, who owns the action and whether it worked.

Set priorities

The tools help you focus on the records and actions that matter to the current problem.

Show the limits

Examples are labelled, limitations are visible and no rating or inspection outcome is promised.

Link to official sources

Important statements link to CQC so providers can check what applies before acting.

Official sources first

Check current CQC guidance

CQC’s current published approach keeps five key questions and uses standards called quality statements. It groups the information it considers into six categories. The sources used vary by care sector and by the point being assessed.

CQC said on 27 August 2026 that testing for different care sectors was continuing and that it planned further discussions in the autumn. Check the current method, the information expected for your sector and the rules that apply before relying on any internal checklist.

How CQC assesses providersCurrent assessment guidance and updates

Assessment frameworkFive key questions and quality statements

Evidence categoriesHow CQC groups the evidence it considers

CQC August 2026 updateContinued testing and planned autumn engagement

CQC June 2026 pilot noticeTesting, timing and regulatory status of the pilots

GR Safi working standardsPublished facts, written checks and clear limits

GR Safi content standardsWho wrote it, which sources were used, when they were checked and how corrections are made

When to consider an independent review

If the issue is serious, keeps returning or is hard to assess from inside the service, plan a focused review before sharing any details.

Plan the review Request an audit