Care Home Compliance Checklist: Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Annual Checks
CQC does not hand you a checklist, but it does expect regular checking. This is a practical schedule of the compliance checks care managers commonly run, what each one proves, and how to keep the evidence.
A care home compliance checklist is a schedule of the checks a manager runs daily, weekly, monthly and annually to show the service is safe and well-led. CQC does not publish a fixed list, but Regulation 17 requires regular audits and effective systems, so the frequencies below are common practice you should adapt to your service’s risk.
Search for a “care home compliance checklist” and most results are cleaning schedules or a generic inspection prep list. What managers actually need is a rhythm: what to check every shift, every week and every month, so that evidence exists before an inspector asks. This guide lays that out, and says plainly where the frequencies are conventions rather than rules.
A note on frequencies
The intervals below are common practice, not CQC requirements. Some areas, such as fire safety and water hygiene, have their own legal or technical requirements, so take advice for your building and service. Use higher frequency for higher risk.
Key takeaways
- Regulation 17 expects regular audits and systems that assess, monitor and improve quality and safety.
- Layer your checks: quick daily checks, sample-based weekly checks, structured monthly audits and annual reviews.
- A check only counts if it is recorded, dated, signed and acted on.
- Findings must flow into actions with an owner, or the audit proves nothing.
In this guide
What CQC Expects You to Check
CQC’s Regulation 17 guidance says providers must have systems and processes “such as regular audits of the service provided” and must assess, monitor and improve quality and safety. It also expects providers to assess and mitigate risks to people’s health, safety and welfare (CQC: Regulation 17). The regulation does not say which check, or how often, so managers design a schedule that covers each key question, Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led.
Daily Checks
Short, every shift or every day, and signed off by the person doing them:
| Check | What it protects | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Handover: risks, changes, concerns, safeguarding flags | Safe, Responsive | Signed handover notes |
| Medicines: administration gaps, stock, storage and fridge temperature | Safe | MAR check, temperature log |
| Incidents and accidents from the last 24 hours reviewed | Safe, Well-led | Incident log with manager review |
| Staffing against the rota and dependency needs | Safe, Effective | Rota with actual cover recorded |
| Walk-round: environment, call bells, cleanliness, hazards | Safe | Walk-round sheet |
| Food, fluids and weights for at-risk residents | Effective, Caring | Charts reviewed and signed |
Weekly Checks
| Check | What it protects | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Sample of care plans and daily notes against current needs | Effective, Responsive | Sample record with findings |
| Medicines audit sample and error or near-miss review | Safe | Audit sheet, medication error log |
| Open complaints and concerns, and response deadlines | Responsive, Well-led | Complaints log |
| Safeguarding concerns and referral outcomes | Safe | Safeguarding log |
| Overdue actions from audits and meetings | Well-led | Action log with owners |
| Upcoming DoLS expiries and notifications due | Safe, Well-led | DoLS tracker, notifiable events |
Monthly Checks
| Check | What it protects | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Governance meeting reviewing incidents, complaints, audits and actions | Well-led | Minutes and action log. See the meeting agenda |
| Scheduled audits: medicines, infection control, care plans, environment | Safe, Effective | Completed audits. See the audit schedule |
| Training compliance and expiries | Effective | Training matrix |
| Supervision and appraisal compliance | Effective, Well-led | Supervision log |
| Staffing levels and dependency review | Safe | Dependency tool. See safe staffing |
| Feedback from residents, families and staff, and what changed | Caring, Responsive | “You said, we did” record |
Quarterly and Annual Checks
- Quarterly: trend analysis of incidents, falls, complaints and medicines errors; review of the risk register; mock inspection of one or two key questions (see mock inspection questions).
- Annually: review of every policy (see how often to review policies), staff appraisals, fire risk assessment review, statement of purpose review, and your improvement plan. If you complete a Provider Information Return, see our PIR guide.
- Whenever things change: after an incident, a change of manager, new guidance or a CQC report.
For fire and RIDDOR, see fire safety and RIDDOR reporting.
Making the Checks Count as Evidence
- Record it. An unrecorded check cannot be shown to an inspector.
- Date and sign it, by name, not initials only.
- Turn findings into actions with an owner and a deadline.
- Close the loop. Re-audit to show the fix worked.
- Review the pattern, not just each check, at the governance meeting.
The most common gap is a run of ticked boxes with no actions arising, which suggests the check is not really looking.
Running the Schedule Without Paper Chasing
CQCLogic’s compliance daily log gives your team shift, daily, weekly and monthly sign-off tasks you can customise, with PDF export. Alongside it, the audit schedule comes pre-loaded with 12 audits and their frequencies, records completions and findings and sets re-audit dates, and the governance meeting manager keeps the agenda, minutes and actions together.
Turn the checklist into a system
See a sample improvement plan, view pricing or get started free.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a care home compliance checklist?
A schedule of the checks a manager runs daily, weekly, monthly and annually to show the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, with a record of each check.
Does CQC provide a compliance checklist for care homes?
CQC publishes regulations and guidance but no single mandatory checklist. Regulation 17 expects regular audits and effective systems, so each provider designs its own schedule.
What should be checked daily in a care home?
Commonly handover and risks, medicines administration and storage, incidents from the last 24 hours, staffing against the rota, a walk-round of the environment and food and fluid charts for at-risk residents.
How often should care home audits be done?
Regulation 17 expects regular audits but sets no schedule. Monthly is common for key audits such as medicines, infection control and care plans, with higher-risk areas checked more often. See our audit schedule template.
How long should compliance records be kept?
Retention depends on the type of record and the law that applies to it. CQC expects records to be created, stored and destroyed in line with current legislation and guidance, so check the rules for each record type.
Who should sign off compliance checks?
The person carrying out the check signs it, and the registered manager or nominated person reviews the pattern at the governance meeting. Record both.
How do I show inspectors the checks lead to improvement?
Keep an action log showing each finding, the action taken, who did it and the re-audit result. See how to prepare for a CQC inspection.
Sources: CQC: Regulation 17, Good governance