What Qualifications Do You Need to Start a Care Agency?

You do not need a qualification to own a care agency, but CQC registration depends on the people you name. This page sets out what the provider, nominated individual, registered manager and care workers each need, what CQC checks, and what changes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Looking for the full setup process rather than role-specific qualifications? Read our complete guide to starting a domiciliary care agency.

Book a Consultation Call 0333 5770877

Care professional greeting an older client

No set

qualification is needed to own a care agency. CQC assesses whether the provider is fit to run it.

For home care, CQC says a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management, or an equivalent, would strengthen your registered manager's application. If you do not meet that yourself, you can recruit a manager who does.

At Care Sync Experts, we prepare new providers and registered managers for CQC registration, including the fit person interview.hello@caresyncexperts.co.uk

Written by the Care Sync Experts registration team. Last updated 9 October 2026.

Quick answer

You do not need a qualification to own a care agency in the UK. What CQC tests is fitness: the provider must be fit to run the service, and in England every agency run by a company needs a registered manager with the qualifications, competence, skills and experience to manage it.

For home care, CQC says a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management, or an equivalent, would strengthen your manager's application. If you do not meet that yourself, you can recruit a registered manager who does.

Qualifications to Start a Care Agency, Role by Role

CQC looks at each person named on your application separately. This is what each role needs.

Role	Qualifications	What CQC checks
Provider (the company or individual)	No set qualification. CQC assesses whether the provider is fit to carry on the regulated activity.	Fitness, good character, financial viability and an understanding of the regulations
Nominated individual	No set qualification. Must be a director, manager or secretary of the organisation.	Responsible for supervising the management of the regulated activity
Registered manager	The qualifications, competence, skills and experience to manage the service (Regulation 7). For home care, CQC says a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management, or an equivalent, would strengthen the application.	Enhanced DBS check countersigned by CQC, full work history and a CQC registration interview
Care workers	No qualification needed to start. Induction against the 16 Care Certificate Standards.	Enhanced DBS check with an adult barred list check before they provide personal care

Owners and Directors: No Set Qualification, but CQC Tests Fitness

The provider is the legal entity that carries on the regulated activity, usually a limited company. Its directors do not need care qualifications. CQC must be satisfied that the provider is fit: that the people running it are of good character, that the business is financially viable and that you understand what the regulations require of you.

If you register as an individual rather than a company, you do not need a separate registered manager as long as you are fit to manage the service yourself and will be in full-time day to day charge of it. CQC then assesses your character, health, qualifications and experience, and you need an enhanced DBS check.

The Registered Manager: What CQC Expects

A company providing personal care must have a registered manager for each regulated activity. Regulation 7 says the manager must be of good character, able by reason of their health to do the job after reasonable adjustments, and have the necessary qualifications, competence, skills and experience. It does not name one qualification.

CQC's guidance for new managers is more specific for home care. It says a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management, or an equivalent qualification, would strengthen your application, that you must have proven management experience, and that recent experience of managing a relevant regulated service is highly desirable. You also give a full work history from age 16 and explain any gap longer than four weeks.

If you plan to be the manager yourself

Be honest about your evidence. A manager with no diploma and no recent management of a regulated service will find the CQC interview hard. Many founders either start the diploma before applying or recruit an experienced manager and take the nominated individual role instead. Our guide to CQC registered manager requirements covers the interview and the ongoing duties, and our CQC interview preparation page explains how we coach applicants.

The Nominated Individual

When a company or other organisation registers, it names a nominated individual as its main contact with CQC. That person must be employed as a director, manager or secretary of the organisation, be able to speak for it and is responsible for supervising the management of the regulated activity. There is no set qualification, but CQC assesses their fitness. See CQC nominated individual requirements.

DBS Checks for Key People and Care Workers

Your registered manager applicant needs a current enhanced DBS check countersigned by CQC, with a certificate issued in the last 12 months. CQC says DBS checks for your main contact can usually take up to 60 days, so start them before anything else. Every care worker who will provide personal care needs an enhanced check with an adult barred list check before they start work.

From 5 October 2026 a standard DBS check costs £20 and an enhanced check costs £41.

Can You Start a Care Agency With No Care Experience?

Yes. Care experience is not a legal requirement for the owner, and plenty of owners come from outside care. The condition is that someone with the right experience runs the service day to day. In practice that means recruiting a registered manager whose experience matches the people you plan to support, and learning the regulations yourself well enough to answer CQC's questions as the provider.

You do not need to be a nurse. A home care agency that helps people with washing, dressing, eating and medicines provides personal care. Providing nursing care in people's homes is a different regulated activity with its own requirements.

Care Worker Training and the Care Certificate

Care workers do not need a qualification before they join you. New starters should be inducted against the 16 Care Certificate Standards. The Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate is an Ofqual accredited qualification built on the same 16 standards, assessed in the workplace. Eligible employers in England can claim up to £1,540 per learner through the Learning and Development Support Scheme, which needs an up to date account on the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set.

Plan mandatory training such as safeguarding, moving and handling, medicines and infection control before your first visit.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Wales: the service registers with Care Inspectorate Wales, and all managers and home care workers register with Social Care Wales. See our CIW registration guide.
Scotland: the service registers with the Care Inspectorate, and most care roles register with the Scottish Social Services Council, which sets the qualifications needed for registration.
Northern Ireland: the agency registers with RQIA, and registration with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council is compulsory for the social care workforce, including managers.

Official sources

Ready for the Full Process?

Our step by step guide covers forming the company, policies, the CQC application, 2026 costs and winning your first clients.

Read how to start a care agency in the UK

Watch before you start

Three walkthroughs from the team that files these applications: what a care agency costs to set up, the order to do it in, and whether the market is worth entering right now.

How Much Do I Need to Start a Care Agency in the UK
What it actually costs to get a UK care agency off the ground, from company formation through to the CQC fee.
How to Set Up a Care Agency: Everything You Need to Know
The full set up sequence for a new care agency, in the order a new provider has to do it.
Home Care Agency in 2026: Is Now the Right Time to Start?
Where the home care market stands going into 2026, and what that means for anyone deciding whether to start now.

Get In Touch

To talk through who should be your registered manager, call 0333 577 0877 or email hello@caresyncexperts.co.uk. We offer an initial consultation.

Call 0333 5770877

Frequently asked questions

You do not need a specific qualification to own a care agency. CQC assesses whether the provider is fit to run it, and every agency run by a company needs a registered manager with the qualifications, competence, skills and experience required by Regulation 7. For home care, CQC says a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management, or an equivalent qualification, would strengthen a manager's application.

Regulation 7 does not name one qualification. CQC's guidance for new managers says that for home care a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management, or an equivalent, would strengthen the application, and that recent experience of managing a relevant regulated service is highly desirable. A manager without it needs strong evidence of competence and experience.

Yes. Many owners come from business backgrounds and appoint an experienced registered manager to run the service day to day. CQC still assesses your fitness as the provider or nominated individual, so you need to understand your legal responsibilities and how the service will meet the regulations.

No. A home care agency that provides personal care, such as help with washing, dressing and medicines, does not need a nurse to own or manage it. Providing nursing care in people's homes is a different regulated activity with its own requirements.

Your registered manager applicant needs a current enhanced DBS check countersigned by CQC, with a certificate issued in the last 12 months. Care workers who provide personal care need an enhanced check with an adult barred list check before they start. From 5 October 2026 an enhanced check costs £41 and a standard check costs £20.

New care workers should be inducted against the 16 Care Certificate Standards. The Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate is an Ofqual accredited qualification based on the same standards, and eligible employers in England can claim up to £1,540 per learner through the Learning and Development Support Scheme.

Yes. In Wales the service registers with Care Inspectorate Wales, and managers and home care workers register with Social Care Wales. In Scotland the service registers with the Care Inspectorate and most care roles register with the SSSC, which sets the qualifications needed. In Northern Ireland the agency registers with RQIA, and registration with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council is compulsory for the social care workforce.