CQC Provider Information Return (PIR): What It Asks, Deadlines and How to Complete It
What the PIR is, who receives it and when, what the residential and community forms ask, the figures to prepare, what CQC says about the deadline, and how to write concise, evidenced answers.
The CQC Provider Information Return (PIR) is an annual online form that registered adult social care providers complete to tell CQC about their service, what has changed and how they make sure care is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. CQC says it is required by law under Regulation 17(3) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The registered manager receives an email with a unique link and a 4-week deadline, once per calendar year, and CQC uses the answers to monitor services between inspections.
The PIR is one of the few times CQC asks you for a structured picture of your service without visiting. It is short on words (most free-text answers are limited to 500 words) but heavy on figures, so the providers who cope best are the ones who already have their numbers to hand. This guide sets out what CQC’s own guidance says about who receives the PIR, what it asks, the deadline and how to complete it, so you are not starting from a blank page when the email arrives.
Key takeaways
- The PIR is sent once per calendar year, mainly in the anniversary month of your location’s first site visit.
- The registered manager gets the link and has 4 weeks to submit. The link is unique and must not be shared.
- Residential forms have 7 sections and community forms 10, with many questions needing numbers from the past 12 months.
- Free-text answers are capped at 500 words and no attachments are allowed.
- CQC says PIRs not returned by the deadline mean no Well-led rating better than requires improvement.
- CQC says the PIR is not a pre-inspection document and ratings are not based on it alone.
In this guide
What Is the CQC PIR?
CQC asks adult social care services for information every year, including changes made and how the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. The PIR is the tool for that, and CQC says it is required by law under Regulation 17(3) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (CQC: Provider information return). CQC says it uses the information to understand how a service is performing between inspections, to assist decisions, as part of inspections and to understand trends across adult social care. Some data may feed national reporting such as the State of Care report, and it is not attributed to individual providers (CQC PIR guidance).
The form you get depends on your service type: residential, community, Shared Lives or specialist colleges. If your location is registered for more than one type you receive a request for each (CQC: Common PIR queries).
Who Receives the PIR and When?
CQC’s process (CQC):
- The registered manager receives an email with a link to the online form and a 4-week deadline. It happens once per calendar year, mainly in the anniversary month of the location’s first initial site visit, although CQC may sometimes send it in a different month.
- The nominated individual is told about the request but does not get a separate link unless they are also the registered manager.
- The link is unique to your organisation and must not be shared. It is pre-filled with your location and provider details, and you should contact CQC if any are wrong.
- If the registered manager’s email is wrong, the nominated individual gets a link to correct it, and CQC says updates must be provided within one week. You must also submit the statutory notification form. See changing a registered manager.
To find your anniversary month, use CQC’s find and compare services, open “all inspection reports and timeline”, and check the date of your earliest report’s first site visit (CQC advises ignoring reports listed under its old system). If a service changes ownership, CQC says the new provider needs to complete a new PIR, and the previous provider’s cannot normally be accepted (CQC: Common PIR queries).
What Does the PIR Ask?
The residential and community forms are organised like this (residential question guidance, community question guidance):
| Residential form | Community form |
|---|---|
| 1. Successes and barriers to good care | 1. Successes and barriers to good care |
| 2. People who use your service | 2. People who use your service |
| 3. Services you provide | 3. Staff |
| 4. Staff | 4. Commissioners and partnerships |
| 5. Commissioners and partnerships | 5. Quality assurance and risk management |
| 6. Quality assurance and risk management | 6. Service settings |
| 7. Anything else | 7 to 9. Domiciliary care, supported living and extra care housing questions, then 10. Anything else |
Typical numeric questions, all covering the past 12 months unless stated, include how many people are supported, how many were given notice to leave and why, staff who left, vacancies, full-time equivalent posts, agency hours in the past 28 days, how many staff have the Care Certificate and a Level 2 qualification, how many have a named person for regular one-to-one supervision, notifiable safety incidents that met the duty of candour harm threshold, medicines errors, complaints and whether you use a digital social care record. Questions are linked to CQC’s key questions and quality statements. See the 34 quality statements.
Figures to Prepare Before the Email Arrives
Because many answers are counts, keep running totals through the year. Where the figure comes from in your own records:
| PIR topic | Records to draw it from |
|---|---|
| Staff leavers, vacancies, full-time equivalents, agency hours | HR and rota records |
| Care Certificate and Level 2 completions | Training records. See staff training matrix and mandatory training |
| Staff with a named supervisor and regular one-to-one supervision | Supervision records. See staff supervision log |
| Duty of candour incidents | Incident log. See incident management log and duty of candour |
| Medicines errors | Error log. See medication error log |
| Complaints and what changed as a result | Complaints log. See complaints log |
| Notices to leave and reasons | Admissions and discharge records |
CQCLogic’s incident, medication error, complaints, supervision and training logs keep these totals as you go, and its audit tracker records the changes you have made. Verify any total against your source records before submitting.
Writing Strong Answers
CQC’s guidance asks you to describe the impact of changes made in the past 12 months on people using the service, give specific anonymised examples, refer to the characteristics of good and outstanding ratings, and explain barriers you face and what you are doing about them. Answers are capped at 500 words, and if CQC wants more, your inspector will ask (CQC: Tips on how to complete the PIR). A pattern that works for each free-text answer (our suggestion):
- What the service does now in that area.
- What changed and when.
- What measurable difference it made for people using the service.
Weak vs strong
Weak: “We maintain high standards and staff are well trained.” Strong (illustrative): “In March we introduced competency assessments before staff administer medicines. Recorded medicines errors fell from 9 in the previous six months to 3 in the following six.” Do not include names or personal details.
There is no official completed example from CQC, and CQC says not to attach documents. Your answers stand on their own, and the real detail is followed up at assessment.
The Deadline and What Happens If You Miss It
You have 4 weeks. Extensions are at the inspector’s discretion: contact them directly and copy in CQC’s inspections team so it knows (CQC: Common PIR queries). CQC’s older PIR guidance says that if you do not complete and return the form by the deadline it will not award a rating better than requires improvement for Well-led, and that the date you receive or return the form does not decide the date of your next visit (CQC PIR guidance, written for specialist colleges). CQC’s more recent common queries page adds that the PIR is not a pre-inspection document and that ratings are not based on the PIR but on information gathered across the inspection. Read together, treat a missed deadline as a real risk to your Well-led rating, and do not assume a weak return moves your inspection date. If you never received the request, check spam and your registered email address, then contact CQC.
Completing the Online Form: Practical Tips From CQC
- Use the link in the registered manager’s email in Firefox, Chrome or Edge, and do not open it on several computers at once.
- Answer questions in order, since mandatory ones (marked *) must be completed to move on. Use “N/A” for text fields and “0” for numeric fields that do not apply.
- Exiting saves your entries, and CQC emails a unique link to return. CQC has warned that entries can occasionally fail to save, so draft answers in a separate document and paste them in.
- Only one person should edit. If several people draft, share the text, not the link, to avoid answers being overwritten.
- Press Submit. You get a confirmation email with a reference number. Do not forward copies to CQC.
- There is no paper version except in exceptional circumstances such as no internet access or reasonable adjustments.
After submission CQC may contact you to clarify answers. For more, see the PIR question guidance by service.
Using the PIR Year-Round
Your PIR answers, and the figures behind them, are a useful yearly snapshot of quality. Compare each year’s numbers, use the “barriers” and “planned changes” answers to shape your improvement plan, and review them at your governance meeting. See CQC self-assessment and how often CQC inspects.
Keep the figures ready all year
CQCLogic’s logs and audit tracker keep incident, complaint, medicines, supervision and training records in one place, so the PIR is a summary rather than a scramble. Enter your Location ID to get started free or view a sample improvement plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does PIR stand for in CQC?
PIR stands for Provider Information Return. It is the annual online form CQC asks registered adult social care services to complete.
How often do I have to complete a CQC PIR?
CQC says it is sent once per calendar year, mainly in the anniversary month of your location’s first initial site visit, although it may sometimes send it in a different month.
Who completes the CQC PIR?
The registered manager, who receives the link. The nominated individual is notified but does not get a separate link unless they are also the registered manager. CQC says the link is unique to your organisation and must not be shared.
How long do I have to submit the PIR?
CQC gives a 4-week deadline in its email. Extensions are at the inspector’s discretion, so contact them directly and copy in CQC’s inspections team.
What happens if I miss the PIR deadline?
CQC’s older PIR guidance says it will not award a rating better than requires improvement for Well-led if the PIR is not returned by the deadline. Treat the deadline as firm and contact your inspector early if you need more time.
Is there an example of a completed CQC PIR?
CQC does not publish a completed example. It publishes the question guidance for each service type, and advises concise answers with anonymised examples and no attachments.
Does the PIR decide when CQC will inspect?
CQC’s guidance says the date you receive or return the PIR does not determine its next visit, and that the PIR is not a pre-inspection document. Ratings are based on the information gathered across the whole inspection.
Do we need a new PIR if we change owner?
Yes. CQC says new PIRs are required where the service is taken over by a new provider, and the previous provider’s PIR can no longer be accepted, except in exceptional circumstances.
Sources: CQC: Provider information return (PIR) · CQC: Common PIR queries · CQC: Tips on how to complete the PIR · CQC: PIR question guidance, residential · CQC: PIR question guidance, community · CQC: Completing the PIR guidance (specialist colleges)