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CQC Provider Information Return writing

CQC PIR writing service for adult social care providers

A PIR writing service drafts the written answers in your CQC Provider Information Return, the yearly return every adult social care service must send within 28 days of CQC's request. We write yours for a fixed £750 + VAT: a briefing call with your registered manager, a checklist for the data sections, and every free-text answer drafted within CQC's 500-word limit and checked by a second consultant, ready for your registered manager to submit.

We write PIRs for domiciliary care, supported living, extra care housing, care homes and Shared Lives. Because we also support CQC registration and compliance, your answers match your policies, notifications and records.

Get your PIR writtenWatch the 3-minute guide0333 577 0877
A registered manager checking her service data before completing the PIR

28 days

is the legal limit to return your PIR once CQC asks. Not sending it is an offence CQC can prosecute directly.

The PIR in 30 seconds

The CQC PIR in 30 seconds

Checked against CQC guidance on

What a PIR is
The Provider Information Return: a yearly online form telling CQC about your people, staff and partners, and how your service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
Who gets it
Every registered adult social care service, once a year, usually in the anniversary month of its first CQC site visit. The link goes to the registered manager.
The deadline
CQC gives 4 weeks from its email. By law the return is due no later than 28 days from the day after you receive the request.
What it asks
Numbers on people, staff, training, complaints and safety, plus around 15 written answers of up to 500 words each.
If you do not send it
Failing to send it is an offence under Regulation 22. CQC can prosecute directly, without serving a warning notice first.
Does it set your rating
No. CQC uses it to monitor services, and ratings come from the whole assessment. Inspectors still read it, so it needs to be accurate.
Watch in 3 minutes

What is a CQC PIR form?

Our short guide for care providers, from the Care Sync Experts YouTube channel. In this video:

  • What the PIR is, and how it maps to CQC's five key questions
  • Why it is mandatory under Regulation 17(3), and how CQC uses it to monitor your service
  • The three things providers find hard: the four-week deadline, the range of data and keeping it accurate
  • How we help: writing your PIR, reviewing a draft you have written, and guiding you through it

What the CQC PIR asks, form by form

CQC sends a different form for each type of service. A location registered for more than one type gets a PIR for each. Shared Lives schemes and specialist colleges have their own forms, with questions on carer approval and quality assurance.

Community form

Domiciliary care agencies, supported living and extra care housing

  1. Successes and barriers to good care
  2. People who use your service
  3. Staff
  4. Commissioners and partnerships
  5. Quality assurance and risk management
  6. Service settings
  7. Domiciliary care agencies
  8. Supported living
  9. Extra care housing
  10. Anything else

Residential form

Care homes, with and without nursing

  1. Successes and barriers to good care
  2. People who use your service
  3. Services you provide
  4. Staff
  5. Commissioners and partnerships
  6. Quality assurance and risk management
  7. Anything else

The written questions, up to 500 words each

From the community form. The residential form asks much the same, plus a question on video monitoring.

  1. 1.1Describe what is going well and the impact this is having on people using your service.
  2. 1.2Describe the barriers that you are facing that make it difficult to provide good quality care to people using your service.
  3. 2.6aHow have you met people's specific communication needs or preferences?
  4. 2.11How do you make sure you meet the Accessible Information Standard?
  5. 2.13What specific work have you undertaken in the past 12 months to ensure your service meets the needs of people using your service with protected equality characteristics, and what impact has this had?
  6. 2.14What specific work have you undertaken in the past 12 months to ensure equality and inclusion for your workforce, and what impact has this had?
  7. 2.15How do you ensure your staffing is sufficient in numbers and quality to meet all the needs of those you care for?
  8. 2.16What practical examples can you give as to how you and your workforce apply human rights principles (fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy)?
  9. 4.2How do you work in partnership with other specialist services, for example speech and language, dementia, tissue viability, nutrition and reablement?
  10. 5.1How do you minimise the risk of infection at your service?
  11. 5.4aWhat are the main complaints you have received in the past 12 months and what have you changed as a result?
  12. 10.1Tell us anything else you wish to share about your service that is not included in your other answers.

The numbers it asks for

Most questions are counts, usually over the past 12 months or 28 days. They need to agree with your notifications and records.

  • People you support and their dependencies
  • Notices served in the past 12 months
  • Restrictions and restraint incidents
  • Staff, leavers and vacancies
  • Agency hours in the past 28 days
  • Care Certificate and Level 2 qualifications
  • One to one supervision
  • Duty of candour incidents
  • Medicines errors and covert medicines
  • Complaints in the past 12 months
  • Digital social care records
  • Home care: visits, missed visits and visits of 15 minutes or less in the past 28 days
  • Home care: zero hours contracts and travel time pay

Source: CQC, PIR question guidance for adult social care community and residential services. Question wording shortened in places. Checked 16 October 2026.

Example PIR answer

What a strong PIR answer looks like

Question 1.1 asks what is going well and the impact on people. Two answers from the same fictional home care agency: one CQC learns nothing from, and one it can test against what people tell it.

Generic answer
We provide high quality person centred care to all our service users. Our staff are well trained, caring and compassionate. We have received lots of positive feedback from clients and families and we always put people first. We are committed to continuous improvement and to meeting CQC standards.

48 words. No change, no impact, no evidence: every agency could send it.

What CQC's guidance for question 1.1 asks for

  • What has worked well, and the impact on people using your service
  • Feedback from people, or monitoring that shows positive results
  • Examples of innovation, without names or personal details
Specific answer

In the last 12 months we introduced named care teams, so each person is visited by no more than four regular care workers. Before the change people saw an average of nine different care workers a month. Our March survey showed 92 percent of people now know the care workers who visit them, up from 61 percent. One person living with dementia had stopped eating well when unfamiliar staff visited.

With a consistent team and a meal plan agreed with her daughter, she has regained weight and her GP has stopped her nutritional supplements. Missed visits fell from 11 in the previous year to 2, and both were reviewed with the person and their family within 48 hours. We now plan to extend named teams to our new rural round.

  • Says what changed and when
  • Shows the impact on people, with numbers
  • Uses one anonymised story as evidence
  • Links to monitoring: surveys and missed visits
  • Ends with the next step
  • Plain text the form accepts

Illustrative example. The agency and figures are made up to show the structure; your answers are written from your own service and data.

Some of the providers we have worked with

Step by step

How we write your PIR in 7 steps

Your registered manager knows the service; we know what CQC asks and how to answer it in 500 words. This is how we turn one conversation and your records into a finished PIR, well inside your deadline.

What working with us looks like

Fixed fee per PIR
£750 + VAT
Your briefing call
60 to 90 minutes
The limit we write each answer to
500 words
CQC's deadline, which we plan back from
4 weeks
A consultant and a registered manager talking through the service at a deskStage 1 of 4

Steps 1 to 2

Brief

  1. Tell us your deadline

    Send us the date on your CQC invitation and the form type: residential, community, Shared Lives or specialist college. If your location is registered for more than one service type, CQC sends a PIR for each and we plan them together.

    Book as soon as the email arrives: four weeks goes quickly.

  2. Briefing call with your manager

    A 60 to 90 minute call with your registered manager, working through every written question: what has gone well, the barriers, staffing, partnerships, infection control, complaints and the stories that show your care.

    The best answers come from your service, not from a template.

A manager pulling staffing and training figures from her recordsStage 2 of 4

Step 3

Gather

  1. Your data checklist

    We send a checklist for every number the form asks for, from dependencies and restraint to leavers, agency hours, training, medicines errors and complaints, with the period each one covers. For home care that includes visits, missed visits and short visits in the past 28 days.

    We check the numbers agree with your notifications and records.

A consultant going through a draft with a care providerStage 3 of 4

Steps 4 to 5

Write and review

  1. We draft every written answer

    Each answer is written to CQC's question and guidance, within the 500-word limit, with what changed, the impact on people and the evidence behind it. No names or personal details, and plain text without the symbols the form rejects.

    Answers are written to work under the current framework and the one CQC is moving to.

  2. Second review, then yours

    A second consultant checks every answer against the question, the word limit and your data. You then read it, and we make your changes until it reads as your service.

    Your name goes on it, so it has to sound like you.

A care team going through their service information togetherStage 4 of 4

Steps 6 to 7

Submit

  1. Your manager submits

    Your registered manager pastes each answer into the form, in order, and submits before the deadline. We stay on hand while they do. CQC emails a confirmation with a reference number and a summary to keep.

    Draft in a document first: CQC warns answers can fail to save.

  2. Ready for questions

    We give you the finished answers and a note of the evidence behind each claim, so your manager can show it if your inspector follows up. Keep it for next year: the PIR comes round every year.

    Inspectors may ask about anything you have written, so every claim should be one you can show.

You keep your PIR link. CQC says it must not be shared, so your registered manager enters the answers and submits.

How much does PIR writing cost?

Our PIR writing service is a fixed fee of £750 plus VAT per PIR, so you know the price before we start. Here is what it covers and what we need from you.

CQC PIR writing

£750+ VAT per PIR

A fixed fee for one CQC Provider Information Return. A location with more than one service type receives a PIR for each, and we quote those together.

  • A 60 to 90 minute briefing call with your registered manager
  • A checklist for every number the form asks for
  • Every written answer drafted within the 500-word limit
  • A second consultant's review against the question and your data
  • Your changes made until it reads as your service
  • Support while your registered manager submits
Get your PIR written

What we need from you

  • The deadline and form type from your CQC email
  • An hour or so of your registered manager's time
  • Your figures for the past 12 months and 28 days
  • Recent feedback, audits and any improvement plans

Never send us your PIR link. CQC says it must not be shared, and we do not need it.

PIRs we write

  • Domiciliary care
  • Supported living
  • Extra care housing
  • Residential care homes
  • Nursing homes
  • Shared Lives

Getting ready for an inspection too? Our CQC mock inspections test the same evidence your PIR describes.

8 PIR mistakes to avoid

Most PIR problems are not about the writing. They are about how the form behaves and how your answers line up with what CQC already knows about your service.

  • Typing straight into the form

    CQC warns answers occasionally fail to save when you exit. Write every answer in a document first, then paste it in.

  • Using symbols the form rejects

    Hyphens, apostrophes, pound signs, bullet points, quotation marks and dashes can cause errors. Write in plain sentences.

  • Sharing the link

    The link is unique to your service. A registered person must complete it, so never forward it to a consultant or colleague.

  • Leaving it to the last week

    Unsubmitted entries can be lost at the deadline, and an extension is only at your inspector's discretion. Start in week one.

  • Numbers that do not match

    Restraint, incidents, complaints and staffing figures should agree with your notifications and records, or they invite questions.

  • Generic answers

    Words like high quality and person centred tell CQC nothing. Say what changed, the impact on people and how you know.

  • Attaching documents

    The PIR takes no attachments, and CQC asks you not to send printed copies. Everything has to fit in the answers.

  • Missing the barriers question

    Question 1.2 asks about barriers to good care. Name them, their effect on people and what you are doing about them.

The PIR in 2026

The form is the same. The framework around it is changing.

CQC's PIR forms and guidance have not changed, and each question still links to the five key questions. CQC has said it will stop scoring, rate directly at key question level and bring back sector-specific key lines of enquiry. We write answers that hold up under both.

Not sure your service would stand up to an inspection today?

Book a CQC mock inspection
Client reviews

What care providers say about working with us

Care providers describe working with us, in their own words, on Trustpilot and Google.

Trustpilot

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  • First of all i want to give Millicent…

    First of all i want to give Millicent her flowers. I recently became a registered manager ( OLIVE BRANCH CARE & SUPPORT LTD) because of her. She knows her stuff, she takes you through the whole process, the Q&A with encouragement and guidance. I am usually a nerve wreck, but I made it. I couldn't not have wished for a better person than her. THANK YOU MILLICENT. YOU ARE THE BEST.

    Audrey Eastwood

    3 October 2026

    Read full review by Audrey Eastwood on Trustpilot

  • Excellent Support Throughout Our CQC Registration Journey

    Care Sync Experts provided excellent support throughout our CQC registration journey for Tailored Healthcare 4 You Limited. The team was professional, knowledgeable and very supportive throughout the process. They provided valuable guidance with our application, policies, supporting documents and preparation for the CQC registration process. What I particularly appreciated was their willingness to answer questions, explain requirements clearly and provide support whenever we needed clarification. Their guidance helped us navigate what can be a detailed and demanding registration process with greater confidence. We are very grateful for their contribution towards the successful CQC registration of our company and would happily recommend Care Sync Experts to other care providers looking for professional CQC registration support. Thank you to the entire team for your continued support.

    Philip

    3 September 2026

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  • Thanks to Care Sync Experts

    Care Sync Experts supported with well tailored documentations for the CQC application, good prep/training for the CQC interview and prompt communication throughout the CQC registration stages which led to the success of Novaedge application I had an excellent experience working with Care Sync Experts on my CQC registration application. From the very beginning, their team demonstrated exceptional professionalism, knowledge, and commitment to ensuring my application met the required CQC standards. They provided clear guidance throughout the entire process, helped me prepare all the necessary documentation, and ensured I was fully ready for every stage of the application. Their attention to detail, prompt communication, and willingness to answer every question gave me confidence and made what could have been a stressful process much smoother. I truly appreciated their personalised support and expertise. Thanks to their dedication, I felt well-prepared throughout my CQC registration journey. I would confidently recommend Care Sync Experts to anyone seeking reliable and professional support with CQC registration and healthcare compliance.

    Novaedge Services Limited

    25 July 2026

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  • The Experience that I have had with…care sync was a 5 star experience

    The Experience that I have had with Care Sync experts is so excellent and effortless. Care sync experts assisted me with the CQC registration of my company. It was a 5 star experience. Coming from a healthcare background myself, I worked with a group of dedicated experts who knows what there are doing. I will like to thank Colin who handled my registration process with the Care sync expert team in such a way that the process looked so simple.

    E. Lustre

    21 July 2026

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  • Care Sync Experts are reliable

    Care Sync Experts are reliable, honest and operate with integrity. All the staff are knowledgeable and supportive whenever you need guidance. I recommend them for all those loking for CQC support services.

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    12 June 2026

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  • I am genuinely grateful that I chose Care Sync

    I am genuinely grateful that I chose Care Sync Experts to support me in establishing my domiciliary care company, Precious Care. From my very first conversation with them, it was clear that they truly understood my needs. Their knowledge, expertise, and professionalism were evident from the start—they really do live up to their name. The support provided to me and my wider team was exceptional and truly limitless. No matter how small the question, they were always available, approachable, and ready to help. From day one, Millicent and Collins made us feel valued and important. Speaking with them felt like talking to people I had known for years—warm, reassuring, and always willing to go the extra mile. Every phone call ended with clarity and confidence. Millicent’s guidance, training, and ongoing support were outstanding and made the entire process smooth and stress‑free. Without hesitation, I would recommend Care Sync Experts as the go‑to professionals for anyone seeking EXPERT support in this field.

    PN

    27 March 2026

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  • CQC interview confidence building

    I found the material I was given very informative. This helped build my confidence during my CQC interview preparation. The staff responded to my inquiries timeously

    Lilian Muzorewa

    23 February 2026

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  • 100% Support: How Care Sync Experts Made Our CQC Certification A Reality

    I couldn’t be more grateful for Care Sync experts exceptional support during our CQC interview presentations. From the very beginning, Millicent and Collins were not only professional but also incredibly approachable and dedicated. Every time we needed assistance, they were right there ready to help with guidance, expert advice, and all the information required to ensure our success. When our interview dates kept changing, Care Sync flexibility truly set them apart. They rescheduled sessions without hesitation and even provided extra sessions, going far beyond what we had paid for. Their unwavering commitment was a crucial factor in us achieving our CQC certification. Thanks to their 100% support, Victory Growth Care Services is now proudly registered with CQC. I wholeheartedly recommend Care Sync expats for anyone looking for top-notch, dependable support in navigating the complexities of CQC interviews. Their team truly makes a difference!

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    12 February 2025

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  • Outstanding Tender Writing Services

    I recently used Care Sync Experts for the first time to complete a tender, and I am thrilled to say that they won it for me! Their team is absolutely brilliant. They took care of everything with professionalism and expertise, making the whole process smooth and successful. I would 100% recommend Care Sync Experts to any provider looking for someone to write their tender. Their work is of a high standard, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

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CQC PIR FAQs

Last reviewed

In adult social care, PIR stands for Provider Information Return: the annual online form the Care Quality Commission (CQC) asks every registered adult social care service to complete. In other settings PIR can mean something else, such as a post-implementation review in business or a post infection review in the NHS.
A CQC PIR is a yearly return in which an adult social care service tells CQC about the people it supports, its staff, its partnerships and how it is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. It mixes numbers, such as staffing, training and complaints, with written answers of up to 500 words each. It is required under Regulation 17(3) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
A PIR writing service drafts the written answers in your Provider Information Return and helps you gather the data it asks for, so your registered manager can submit an accurate, specific return on time. Care Sync Experts writes your PIR for a fixed fee of £750 plus VAT: a briefing call, a data checklist, every written answer drafted within the 500-word limit, a second review and support until you submit.
Our PIR writing service is a fixed fee of £750 plus VAT per PIR. That covers the briefing call with your registered manager, the data checklist, drafting every free-text answer, a second consultant's review and support while you submit. A location registered for more than one service type receives a PIR for each, so we quote those together.
CQC gives you 4 weeks from the invitation email. The law sets the outer limit: Regulation 17(3) requires the return no later than 28 days beginning on the day after you receive the request. If you need longer, ask your CQC inspector directly and copy in ASCinspections@cqc.org.uk; an extension is at the inspector's discretion.
Yes. When CQC asks for a PIR you must send it. Failing to comply with Regulation 17(3) is an offence under Regulation 22, and CQC lists it as an offence it can prosecute directly, without first serving a warning notice. On conviction the court can impose a fine up to level 4 on the standard scale.
CQC emails the link to the registered manager, and a registered person must complete and submit it. The nominated individual is told the request has been sent but does not get a separate link unless they are also the registered manager. The link is unique to your service and must not be shared, so a consultant drafts the answers and your registered manager enters and submits them.
Once a year. CQC mainly uses the anniversary month of your location's first site visit, though it can send the invitation in a different month. You can find that date on your CQC profile under all inspection reports and timeline, using the earliest report and ignoring reports under the old system.
It depends on your service type. The residential form has seven sections: successes and barriers to good care, people who use your service, services you provide, staff, commissioners and partnerships, quality assurance and risk management, and anything else. The community form covers domiciliary care, supported living and extra care housing, with extra sections for each. Shared Lives and specialist colleges have their own forms.
Each free-text answer is limited to 500 words, because CQC wants a snapshot of the service. There are around 15 written answers on each form, alongside numeric and yes or no questions. If CQC needs more detail, your inspector will contact you.
Not directly. CQC says it uses the PIR to monitor services, that it is not a pre-inspection document, and that judgements about quality and ratings are based on the whole assessment. But inspectors read it, and a return that is vague, late or inconsistent with your notifications and records invites questions you would rather not face.
Possibly. Extensions are at your inspector's discretion. Contact the inspector directly and copy in ASCinspections@cqc.org.uk so CQC knows if an extension is granted. Ask early, before the deadline, and give a reason.
CQC warns that answers occasionally fail to save when you exit the form, and that you can lose entries if you do not submit by the deadline. Draft every answer in a separate document first, then copy it in. Avoid special characters such as hyphens, apostrophes, pound signs, bullet points and quotation marks, which the form can reject.
Not so far. CQC's PIR forms and guidance are unchanged, and the question guidance still links each question to the five key questions. What is changing is the assessment framework: CQC has said it will rate directly at key question level and bring back sector-specific key lines of enquiry. We write PIR answers that work under both.
We write PIRs for domiciliary care agencies, supported living, extra care housing, residential and nursing care homes, and Shared Lives schemes. If your location is registered for more than one service type, CQC sends a PIR for each, and we write them together so the answers agree.
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