Appeal a CQC Enforcement Decision: First-tier Tribunal Process, 28-Day Deadline and What to Expect

Appeal a CQC Enforcement Decision: First-tier Tribunal Process, 28-Day Deadline and What to Expect

Which CQC notices you can appeal and which you cannot, the 28 day deadline, how the First-tier Tribunal process runs, what the Tribunal can do and what to do in the first week.

You can appeal a CQC Notice of Decision, an urgent notice (section 31) or a magistrate’s urgent cancellation order to the First-tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber), in writing, within 28 days of service. You cannot appeal a warning notice, a penalty notice, an action plan request or a conviction. Before a Notice of Decision you can make written representations against a Notice of Proposal, and CQC’s guidance gives 28 days for those too. For warning notices the route is written representations within 10 working days. If you appeal a non-urgent decision you can carry on providing the service. If CQC used urgent procedures, its decision stays in place unless the Tribunal decides otherwise.

This guide is for registered providers and registered managers who have received a CQC notice and want to know whether, how and when to challenge it. “Enforcement notice” is a general phrase: CQC’s own policy has no notice formally called that, so the first job is to identify which notice you have. The route to challenge depends entirely on the type. Everything below is drawn from CQC’s guidance and the Health and Social Care Act 2008, linked in the sources section, and we mark where a detail comes from a law firm article or may have changed.

If your deadline is close, start with the first week checklist. This guide is general information, not legal advice: because deadlines are short and strict, take specialist legal advice as soon as you receive a notice of decision or an urgent notice.

What can you appeal, and what can you not?

The right of appeal comes from section 32 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and covers decisions on the civil enforcement route (section 32). CQC’s enforcement policy says there is no right of appeal to the Tribunal in relation to warning notices, penalty notices or conviction for offences (CQC: Representations and appeals).

The 28-day deadline

An appeal must be made in writing to the Tribunals Service within 28 calendar days of the date you were served with the Notice of Decision, or the date the magistrate’s order was issued. Section 32(2) says no appeal may be brought more than 28 days after service of notice of the decision or order. CQC says that if you do not appeal, the Notice of Decision or order becomes final as soon as the 28 day period expires, or earlier if you tell CQC in writing that you do not want to appeal (CQC: Representations and appeals).

For the Notice of Proposal stage, CQC explains how it counts service: for notices sent by email the day of service is the next working day after CQC sent it, and for notices sent by post it is three calendar days after posting. Keep the email or envelope and count from the earliest possible date. If you are close to the limit, take legal advice immediately.

How to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal

1. Get specialist legal advice the day the notice arrives. The deadline is short and the grounds and evidence need planning.
2. Check the notice for its date of service, the decision, the reasons and any information about the Tribunal.
3. Submit the appeal in writing to the Tribunals Service using the application form CQC links to, within 28 days.
4. Keep operating or stop, as the notice requires. CQC says that if you appeal a non-urgent Notice of Decision you can continue to carry on the regulated activity, but an urgent decision stays in place.
5. Prepare the evidence as the Tribunal directs. CQC says both sides exchange bundles of evidence before the hearing.

What happens after you appeal: the Tribunal process

When the Tribunals Service receives a properly submitted appeal in time, it arranges a hearing to consider all the relevant evidence and make a decision. CQC says hearings can be held at the Tribunals Service’s London offices or at local venues across the country. The appeal process is completely independent of CQC.

A 2021 article by the law firm Ridouts, published by the Suffolk Care Association, describes the usual steps. The detail may have changed, so check the Tribunal’s current rules and directions:

• CQC is notified of the appeal and has 20 working days to respond formally, or 3 working days in urgent cases, deciding whether to oppose or allow it.
• Short case management hearings, usually by telephone, set the timetable for evidence up to the final hearing.
• The parties exchange witness statements and agree the hearing bundle. Negotiation often takes place between the parties during this phase, and a case can end by agreement, for example with a consent order imposing conditions instead of cancellation.
• The article says the burden is on CQC to prove the facts it relies on, and that the Tribunal decides afresh on the state of the service at the final hearing, so improvements made after the decision can be put in evidence.
• It can take around 6 to 9 months from launching an appeal to a final hearing in non-urgent cases.

What can the Tribunal do?

Section 32 sets out the Tribunal’s powers:

Can you keep operating while you appeal?

CQC’s guidance gives two answers:

• Non-urgent Notice of Decision: if you appeal, you can continue to carry on the regulated activity.
• Urgent procedures: CQC’s decision remains in place unless and until the Tribunal decides otherwise. The Tribunal ensures that appeals against urgent action are fast-tracked, and CQC’s urgent notices must explain the fast-track option and how to appeal.

It is a criminal offence to carry on a regulated activity after suspension or cancellation takes effect, or to ignore a condition. See urgent suspension and cancellation.

Before the appeal: representations against a Notice of Proposal

For non-urgent conditions, suspension or cancellation, CQC serves a Notice of Proposal first. Your chance to stop the process before a Notice of Decision is a written representation. Key points from CQC’s guidance:

• Submit full representations and evidence within 28 days of service. You cannot say you will submit later and then send more.
• Representations must be in writing. CQC cannot accept verbal representations (section 27(1)). Email HSCA_NoP_Representations@cqc.org.uk, using CQC’s form if you wish.
• Useful evidence includes photographs showing action taken, external professional reports or audits, and documents that answer CQC’s specific concerns.
• CQC aims to respond within 40 working days of receiving representations. A National Representations team that is independent of the inspection team makes a recommendation to a delegated authority, who decides whether to adopt the proposal.
• If CQC does not adopt the proposal, it withdraws it, though it can issue a new one. If it adopts it, it serves a Notice of Decision with details of how to appeal.

See our guide to notices of proposal and written representations. For a warning notice, the route is representations within 10 working days: see how to respond to a warning notice.

Timeline at a glance

First week checklist

1. Record the date and method of service and the exact deadline. Diarise it.
2. Instruct a specialist healthcare regulatory solicitor.
3. Check what the notice requires now. For urgent notices, comply and protect people while you challenge.
4. Start an evidence file: improvement actions with dates, audits, staffing and rota evidence, training records, reports from external reviewers.
5. Notify the people who need to know, such as your provider or board, your insurer and your commissioners.
6. Keep improving. The Tribunal can consider where the service stands at the hearing, as Ridouts describes.

Our guide to responding to an Inadequate rating and CQC enforcement action explained cover the wider context.

Sources and how this was checked

• CQC: Representations and appeals (notices of proposal, notices of decision and urgent cancellation orders).
• CQC: Enforcement policy, representations and appeals (updated 25 June 2026).
• Health and Social Care Act 2008, section 32 (appeals to the Tribunal), on legislation.gov.uk.
• Ridouts via Suffolk Care Association: Provider v. The CQC, how to appeal enforcement action (10 November 2021), for Tribunal procedure details. Check current Tribunal rules.

Read on 23 October 2026.