CQC Location ID: What It Is and Where to Find It (Plus Your Provider ID)

CQC Location ID: What It Is and Where to Find It (Plus Your Provider ID)

The quickest ways to find your CQC Location ID, how it differs from your Provider ID and “registration number”, and what to do if you cannot locate it.

A CQC Location ID is the unique reference CQC gives to each registered location. It starts with “1-” and appears in the web address of your service’s page on the CQC website (cqc.org.uk/location/1-…) and on your registration certificate. It is different from your Provider ID, which identifies the organisation that runs the service and appears in the provider page address (cqc.org.uk/provider/1-…).

People search for a “CQC location ID”, “provider ID” or “registration number” and often mean slightly different things. This guide separates them, shows the fastest ways to find each one and explains what to do if you have lost your certificate. You need a Location ID for many CQC forms and lookups, and to start a free improvement plan with CQCLogic.

Location ID vs Provider ID vs “Registration Number”

Both IDs follow the same pattern: “1-” followed by a run of digits. Community sources note that the digit run is commonly 9 or 10 digits, so do not rely on a fixed length. If a form asks for a “CQC ID” and you manage one home, it almost certainly wants the Location ID.

Way 1: Read It From the CQC Website Address (Fastest)

1. Go to CQC’s Find care services.
2. Search for your service by name or postcode and open its profile page.
3. Look at the web address in your browser. The number after /location/ is your Location ID, for example cqc.org.uk/location/1-XXXXXXXXX.
4. To find the Provider ID, use the link on that page that says the service is “Provided and run by” your organisation. The address changes to /provider/ and the number after it is the Provider ID.

The service page also has a registration details page, which lists the details CQC holds about the location. If the service has changed name or address, see CQC’s registration guidance for how changes are handled.

Way 2: Your Registration Certificate

CQC states that once you are registered, your registration certificate “will show the address and CQC ID for each location included” in your registration (CQC: What is a location?). Layouts can differ. One primary care guide notes that the Provider ID is at the top of the certificate and each Location ID sits in the main body under the relevant site address (Londonwide LMCs), so read the labels rather than assuming a position.

Cannot find the certificate?

Registered providers can use the CQC provider portal, which CQC says lets them submit some notifications and manage aspects of their registration, and to check their provider registration certificate (CQC: Provider portal). If you cannot access it, contact CQC. Its phone line is 03000 616161, open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm excluding bank holidays (CQC: Contact us).

Way 3: Other Places It Appears

• The CQC provider portal. Registered providers can view registration details and nominated individuals and registered managers listed on the registration.
• CQC data downloads and API. If you need IDs for many locations, CQC publishes data sheets listing registered locations and an API that includes all active and inactive providers and locations, under the Open Government Licence (CQC: Using CQC data).
• Your own records. Statement of purpose, application paperwork and correspondence from CQC often quote the IDs. See our statement of purpose guide.

Several Locations? One Provider ID, Many Location IDs

A provider that runs several services has one Provider ID and a separate Location ID for each registered location. Make sure you use the ID for the specific service you are working on. In CQCLogic, each CQC-registered location has its own inspection report and needs its own improvement plan, so gather the Location ID for every service you want to cover. See group pricing.

What Counts as a “Location”?

CQC uses “location” for the place where a regulated activity is delivered to people, such as a care home, or the place it is organised or managed from, such as the office of a home care agency. When you register you must identify each location in your statement of purpose, and CQC restricts your registration to the locations named in your conditions. If you add or remove a location you must apply to vary your conditions. CQC sets out nine detailed rules in What is a location?. For the registration process itself, see how to register with CQC.

What You Can Do With Your Location ID

• Look up your own service, ratings and inspection reports on the CQC website.
• Complete CQC forms and provider portal tasks that ask for your CQC ID.
• Start a free CQCLogic plan. Enter your Location ID, or search by service name, and CQCLogic pulls your latest inspection report and builds your priorities from it. No Location ID? You can upload your inspection report PDF instead.

Sources: CQC: What is a location? · CQC: Provider portal · CQC: Find care services · CQC: Using CQC data · CQC: Contact us