Displaying Your CQC Rating: What Regulation 20A Requires and the 21-Day Rule
Displaying your rating is a legal duty, not a marketing choice. Here is where it must appear, the deadline, what happens if you are challenging the rating and how to do it properly.
You must display your CQC rating at each location where you provide regulated activities and on any website where you describe your service, no later than 21 calendar days after CQC publishes it. Regulation 20A applies to Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate ratings, you must show the date it was given, and CQC can prosecute without first serving a warning notice.
Regulation 20A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 applies to every provider with a CQC rating. CQC’s own page, how providers must display ratings, sets out the practical detail, including free posters and a website widget.
This guide covers what to display, where, by when and how to handle a rating you are challenging or have inherited. It is part of staying compliant with CQC regulations during and after an CQC inspection.
Key takeaways
- Display the rating at every location delivering a regulated service and on any website that describes the service.
- The deadline is no later than 21 calendar days after CQC publishes the rating on its website.
- Always display the most recent rating, with its date, conspicuously and legibly.
- You must still display it while a rating review is under way, but may add a note.
- CQC can prosecute for a breach without a warning notice.
In this guide
Who Must Display a Rating?
If CQC’s page for your service shows a rating of Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement or Inadequate, you must display it. If your service has not yet been inspected, there is no rating to display. Some service types are exempt from CQC’s duty to rate, such as primary dental services and children’s homes. Those providers may use CQC’s “Regulated by” graphics instead.
Check your service’s CQC page. Providers have a provider page (the organisation) and location pages (each place where care is delivered). Display each location’s rating where that location operates.
Where and When Must You Display It?
- At each premises: at least one sign showing the most recent rating for that location. If the location has no rating of its own, show the provider’s overall rating.
- At your principal place of business: the overall rating and the ratings for particular premises, making clear which relates to which.
- On every website you maintain: CQC’s web address, where on CQC’s site the latest assessment can be found, and the latest ratings, clearly attributed.
- Deadline: no later than 21 calendar days after publication on CQC’s website.
- Standard: legible, conspicuous, in a place accessible to people using the service, and showing the date each rating was given.
CQC provides posters to download and print and an online widget for websites. You can use your own materials if they include everything required. CQC’s guidance says posters should be clear and conspicuous, printed in colour and A4 or larger. For care homes and community-based services, including homecare, supported living and Shared Lives, CQC lists what must be shown on its service-type pages.
What If You Are Challenging the Rating?
CQC says you must still display the rating even if you have submitted a request for a review. You may add a note explaining that you have asked for a review, but the rating must remain clear and conspicuous. See how to challenge a CQC draft report for the factual accuracy and rating review routes.
If You Are Rated Requires Improvement or Inadequate
CQC encourages you to show what you are doing to improve alongside the rating. Its posters include a space for you to say how people can find out about improvements since the rating was published. CQC strongly encourages you to use that box. You must write only within the box, but you can add extra information next to the poster so long as it does not detract from it.
That makes a published improvement plan summary a good message. See how to respond to an Inadequate rating and Requires Improvement explained.
Taking Over a Service: Inherited Ratings
If you take over a location, or run the same service from a new address, CQC’s website may show its regulatory history, meaning the previous rating and report. If you choose to display an inherited rating you must make clear that it was awarded to the previous provider. You do not legally have to display it, and CQC may take action against a provider that displays false or misleading ratings information. See buying and selling a care home.
A Simple Process for Every New Rating
- Set a task when the draft report is published: “new rating, display within 21 days”.
- On publication, download the correct posters and update the website widget.
- Print in colour, replace old posters at every premises and check they are visible to residents and visitors.
- Date-stamp the check and file a photo as evidence.
- Check marketing, brochures and third-party listings do not show an outdated rating.
Enforcement
CQC’s guidance says it can prosecute for a breach of Regulation 20A, or part of it, and can move straight to prosecution without first serving a warning notice. It may also take other regulatory action. See CQC enforcement action explained.
CQCLogic can pull your inspection history from the CQC register when you link your location, and you can refresh it to see a new rating. Its task tracking lets you assign the 21-day display checks to named people with due dates.
Turn a new rating into a dated action list
CQCLogic helps you track the 21-day display deadline and generate an improvement plan from your inspection data. See a sample improvement plan, view pricing or get started free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to display my CQC rating?
Yes. Regulation 20A requires providers with a CQC rating to display it at each location delivering regulated activities and on websites where they describe their service.
How long do I have to display a new CQC rating?
No later than 21 calendar days after CQC publishes it on its website, for both posters and websites.
Do I display my rating if I have asked for a review?
Yes. You must still display it, though you may add a note that you have requested a review. The rating must remain clear and conspicuous.
Can I use my own poster instead of CQC’s?
Yes, as long as it shows everything required, but CQC’s posters and widget are designed to make sure you include all required information.
Should I display the previous owner’s rating?
You do not have to. If you choose to display an inherited rating, you must make clear it was awarded to the previous provider. Displaying false or misleading information may lead to action.
What are the penalties for not displaying a rating?
CQC can prosecute for a breach of Regulation 20A without first serving a warning notice, and it may take other regulatory action.