CQC Inspection Checklist for Domiciliary Care: Free Excel Checklist, Documents and What Inspectors Check (2026)
A free scored checklist built for home care agencies, the documents to have ready, how CQC assesses home care and how to turn the results into an action plan. No sign-up needed.
CQC does not publish an official inspection checklist for domiciliary care. It assesses home care services against five key questions: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led? A useful checklist tests your evidence against each one. The free Excel checklist on this page has 53 home care checks (12 Safe, 10 Effective, 8 Caring, 9 Responsive, 14 Well-led) with evidence prompts, regulation references, an automatic score and RAG rating, a documents list and an action log. The checks are our suggestions, not CQC requirements.
This page is for registered managers, nominated individuals and care coordinators of domiciliary care (home care) agencies in England. It explains what CQC looks at in home care, how inspections tend to run, which documents to have ready and how to use a checklist to find gaps first. It compares the main free checklists and says plainly what ours does and does not do. Where something comes from CQC we link the source; everything else is our suggestion.
Download the free home care checklist
CQC readiness checklist for domiciliary care (.xlsx): 53 checks grouped under the five key questions, with evidence to see and regulation for each, a Yes/Partly/No/N/A result, automatic score and Green/Amber/Red rating per key question, a documents-to-have-ready list and an action log. No email form. Our layout, not a CQC form.
Key takeaways
- There is no official CQC checklist for home care. CQC assesses against five key questions and gathers evidence from people, staff, partners, observation, records and outcomes.
- CQC says home care and supported living inspections are more often announced a few days ahead, so you may have little time to find documents.
- Home care evidence is different from care home evidence: visit data, spot checks, lone working and continuity of carers matter.
- Score honestly: a “Yes” needs evidence you can show, not a policy.
- Every Partly or No should become an action with an owner, date and evidence of completion.
In this guide
- What does CQC check in a domiciliary care agency?
- How home care inspections work
- What is in the free checklist
- Documents to have ready for an inspection
- Applying to register a home care agency: a checklist
- Free home care checklists compared
- How to use the checklist
- Sources and how this was checked
- Frequently asked questions
What does CQC check in a domiciliary care agency?
CQC applies the same five key questions to home care as to other services, and gathers evidence from people’s experience, staff and leaders, partners, observation, records and processes, and outcomes. In home care, observation often means visiting people in their own homes with their agreement and speaking to care workers, as well as reviewing records at your office. See the 5 CQC key questions for what each asks.
| Key question | What this means in home care (our examples) |
|---|---|
| Safe | Visits delivered on time, safe medicines, risks in people’s homes assessed, enough staff with realistic travel time, safeguarding acted on, lone working managed, safer recruitment |
| Effective | Needs assessed before the service starts, trained and supervised care workers, consent and capacity, working with GPs and district nurses, daily notes showing outcomes |
| Caring | Regular carers who know people, dignity in personal care, people involved in decisions, spot checks that observe kindness |
| Responsive | Personalised plans reviewed with people, flexible visit times, complaints handled and learned from, accessible information |
| Well-led | A registered manager and governance that work: audits, missed visit analysis, action logs, provider oversight, notifications and an open culture |
How home care inspections work
According to CQC’s guide for care workers (updated 26 June 2026), most inspections are unannounced, but home care and supported living inspections are more often announced a few days ahead. That is because CQC needs people at the office and care workers available, and wants to arrange contact with people receiving care. In practice (our summary): expect requests for documents and data at short notice, calls to people using the service and their families, conversations with care workers and the registered manager, and possibly visits to people’s homes. See how often CQC inspects and the inspection day checklist.
What is in the free checklist
| Key question | Checks | Examples of checks |
|---|---|---|
| Safe | 12 | Late and missed visits monitored and learned from; medicines records and competence; risk assessments in people’s homes; lone working and on-call; key safes and handling money; recruitment checks |
| Effective | 10 | Pre-service assessments; induction and competence sign-off; training matrix including learning disability and autism training; supervision and spot checks; capacity and consent; working with professionals |
| Caring | 8 | Spot checks observe dignity; continuity of carers; involvement in decisions; privacy in personal care; independence promoted |
| Responsive | 9 | Plans personalised and reviewed; changes to visit times; complaints; accessible information; capacity checks before accepting packages |
| Well-led | 14 | Governance meetings and audit schedule; provider reports; missed visit analysis; feedback; policies; duty of candour; notifications; rating displayed; fit and proper persons; action tracking |
Each check lists the evidence to see and the regulation it relates to. Choose Yes, Partly, No or N/A. The score is (Yes + half of Partly) divided by (Yes + Partly + No), with our suggested bands of Green 90% or more, Amber 70 to 89% and Red under 70%. Those bands are ours, not CQC’s. Download the checklist (.xlsx).
Documents to have ready for an inspection
Our suggestion for home care, which is also a sheet in the Excel file:
- Statement of purpose and service user guide, current and accurate.
- Rotas and visit schedules for the last four weeks, with actual visit times from call monitoring.
- Late and missed visit log with actions and analysis.
- Sample care plans and risk assessments, with review dates and the person’s involvement.
- Medication records (MAR or eMAR), error log and competency records.
- Training matrix, induction and Care Certificate records, including learning disability and autism training. See mandatory training.
- Supervision, appraisal and spot check records.
- A sample of recruitment files (DBS, references, right to work, history).
- Governance meeting minutes, audit schedule and results, and the action log. See domiciliary care governance policy.
- Complaints, compliments, incident and safeguarding logs, and the notifications log. See CQC notifications.
- Policy register and business continuity plan. See CQC policies and procedures.
- Insurance certificates and evidence your CQC rating is displayed.
Applying to register a home care agency: a checklist
If you are asking about the application rather than an inspection, CQC says it will reject an application if you do not send all required documents, or if they contain incorrect or out-of-date information (CQC: Supporting documents). For a home care provider applying for personal care, CQC asks for the documents everyone sends (statement of purpose, complaints, consent, equality, governance and quality assurance, infection prevention and control, medicines, recruitment and safeguarding policies, insurance and, where needed, a building control certificate), plus a business plan and financial forecast, evidence of legal occupancy, service user guides, a staff training plan and an additional form for providers of personal care. See how to register with CQC for the full process.
Free home care checklists compared
As shown on each site on 25 October 2026:
| Source | What you get | Access |
|---|---|---|
| CQC | Lists of supporting documents for registration; no inspection checklist | Free |
| CQCLogic (this page) | Excel checklist with 53 home care checks, scoring, documents list and action log | Free download, no form |
| Unique IQ | Interactive PDF with 50 requirements mapped to the draft 2026 key lines of enquiry and a readiness score | Free, emailed after you complete a form |
| Log my Care | Two-page, 10-step checklist as a PDF | Free, emailed after you complete a form |
| HM Care Planner | A blog checklist of five areas and a weekly readiness routine | Free, on the page |
The draft 2026 frameworks are not in force, so we built ours around the five key questions and regulations, which apply under both the current and proposed approaches.
How to use the checklist
- Work through it as a team with your registered manager and coordinators, looking at the evidence listed, not only at policies.
- Be honest. A Partly is not a Yes. Ask someone independent to challenge the scores.
- Log actions. Every Partly or No goes into the action log with an owner, a due date and the evidence that will show it is done.
- Re-run it every six months and after an incident, complaint or change in the service.
- Go deeper where you scored low. Use the free audit pack, the mock inspection template and the care plan template.
A checklist shows where you think you stand. It does not predict or replace a CQC assessment.
Sources and how this was checked
- CQC: Supporting documents for new provider applications.
- CQC guide for care workers on what to expect during an inspection (updated 26 June 2026), as summarised on our how often CQC inspects page.
- Pages read 25 October 2026: Unique IQ, Log my Care, HM Care Planner.
The checks, bands, documents list and examples are our suggestions, not CQC requirements.
Turn checklist gaps into tracked actions
CQCLogic keeps audits, actions, evidence and training in one place with owners and deadlines, so gaps found in a checklist are tracked to closure. It does not submit anything to CQC. See a sample improvement plan, view pricing or get started free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does CQC publish a checklist for domiciliary care?
No. CQC publishes lists of supporting documents for registration and assesses services against the five key questions, but it does not publish an inspection checklist. Our free checklist is our own suggestion.
What does CQC look for in a home care inspection?
Whether the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, using evidence from people using the service, staff and leaders, partners, observation, records and outcomes. In home care that includes visit data, care plans, medicines records, spot checks and governance.
What should I include on a CQC visit checklist?
Evidence for each of the five key questions: visit and rota data, care plans and risk assessments, medicines records, training and supervision records, recruitment files, governance minutes and audits, complaints and incident logs, notifications and policies.
What are the 5 things CQC looks for?
CQC asks five key questions: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led? Each is rated and combined into an overall rating.
What are the 13 CQC standards?
Older guides list 13 fundamental standards. CQC’s current list has 14, because visiting and accompanying (Regulation 9A) is included. Visiting applies to care homes and hospices rather than home care. See our CQC compliance guide.
How much notice does a home care agency get of a CQC inspection?
CQC says most inspections are unannounced, but home care and supported living inspections are more often announced a few days ahead. There is no fixed notice period we could find, so keep documents ready.
What documents does a domiciliary care agency need ready?
Statement of purpose, service user guide, rotas and visit data, care plans and risk assessments, medication records, training matrix, supervision and spot checks, recruitment files, governance minutes and audits, complaints and incident logs, notifications log, policies, business continuity plan and insurance.
Is there a free CQC checklist for home care?
Yes. The Excel checklist on this page is free with no sign-up. Others, such as Unique IQ and Log my Care, are free but emailed after you complete a form.
How often should I run the checklist?
We suggest at least every six months and after any incident, complaint or change in the service. CQC sets no frequency for internal checks.
Can I use the checklist for supported living?
You can adapt it. The key questions are the same, but remove or change checks that do not apply and add checks for accommodation and tenancy arrangements. Take care that the registration scope is right for your service.