GUIDE
What CQC expects in the business plan you submit with a registration application
CQC’s guidance lists seven things to include, then assesses against nine. The nine sections, what each asks for, and how this differs from a bank’s plan.
Last reviewed: 08 September 2026
The business plan is one of eleven documents the application requires
CQC’s registration process for a domiciliary care or supported living provider requires a business plan demonstrating financial viability and operational readiness, alongside ten other items: the provider application form, the registered manager application form where the two are submitted together, a Statement of Purpose specific to the home care model, governance policies, a training schedule, evidence that the registered manager and the nominated individual each meet fit and proper person requirements, DBS certificates, proof of identity and right to work, and an additional form specific to providers of personal care.
Source: GoZtartUp internal CQC requirements reference, verified 23 August 2026.
What CQC’s own guidance says the plan should contain
CQC publishes a page in its supporting-documents guide titled “Business plan and financial forecast”, last updated 24 August 2026. It applies to home care (domiciliary care) agencies, supported living services, and ambulance services.
CQC states the purpose plainly:
Your business plan helps us check that your service will be financially stable and well-managed.
And the consequence of thin detail:
If your plan does not include enough detail your application may not be successful.
The page names seven things and then assesses against nine
Under “What to include”, CQC lists seven items: a summary of your plan, background information about your company, details of your service, market research, who is responsible for each task, your company structure, and financial forecasts.
The page then sets out nine sections, each with its own heading and its own requirements. Two of them appear nowhere in the seven-item list: Pricing structure and SWOT analysis. A plan written from the bullet list alone is missing two sections the page goes on to specify in detail. Write to the nine headings, not the seven bullets.
The nine sections, and what each asks for
| Section | What CQC asks for |
|---|---|
| Summary of your plan | Your company’s background and experience with this type of service, and how that experience helps you meet the needs of the people who will use it |
| About your company | What the company does and how it stands out from competitors; the management team’s relevant experience and qualifications; why the team is suitable to manage the regulated activity; how their experience fits the people who will use the service. CQC adds: “Make sure this information relates to the service user bands you’ve selected in your application form” |
| Details of your service | The services provided, how they will be provided, who the service is for, and why it will succeed in the local market |
| Pricing structure | For home care and supported living: how you will charge. CQC names four questions: whether you charge by the hour, 45 minutes or 30 minutes; how you charge for evenings and bank holidays; whether Local Authority and private funding are charged the same; and what you charge for double-handed calls |
| Market research | Recent local research and how it was done; evidence of local demand for your specific service; local competitors; markets you plan to target; and “research that shows how you decided your pricing and staff pay, including how much you will pay staff” |
| SWOT analysis | Strengths, weaknesses or challenges, opportunities for growth, and threats and risks. CQC allows “or equivalent structured business analysis” |
| Staff responsibilities | All main tasks and roles, with a named person against each. CQC: “Every significant task must have someone specific assigned to it” |
| Company structure | Ownership structure including investors, and company structure. CQC: “This information must be accurate and reflect the actual structure and roles in place” |
| Financial information | A monthly breakdown of income and expenses for the first 12 months, including all costs and income associated with the regulated activity |
Source: CQC, “Business plan and financial forecast”, cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/registration/supporting-documents-provider/document/business-plan-forecast, page last updated 24 August 2026, read 6 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The 12-month monthly breakdown is one requirement, not two
The requirement to provide “a monthly breakdown of income and expenses for your first 12 months of business” appears twice on the page, once under Pricing structure and once under Financial information. It is the same requirement stated in two places. One monthly forecast covering twelve months satisfies both mentions.
How this differs from a business plan written for a bank
CQC states the purpose of the document it asks for:
Your business plan helps us check that your service will be financially stable and well-managed.
That is a different question from the one a lender asks. A lender is deciding whether it will be repaid. CQC says it is checking financial stability and management of the service.
The practical consequence sits in what CQC asks for and what a lender does not. CQC asks for a named person against every significant task, for a company structure that “must be accurate and reflect the actual structure and roles in place”, and for research showing how staff pay was decided. None of those belongs in a document written to raise money.
This page does not say how CQC reads any particular plan, or what happens to a plan written one way rather than another. CQC’s own words about insufficient detail are the only statement of consequence on its page: “If your plan does not include enough detail your application may not be successful.”
The Statement of Purpose is a separate document, and is not the business plan
The Statement of Purpose is its own required item on the application, distinct from the business plan. People merge the two, submit one document, and are asked for the other.
Source: as above.
Three requirements that are about consistency, not completeness
Three of CQC’s requirements ask for the plan to agree with the rest of the application rather than merely to contain a section.
- The company section must “relate to the service user bands you’ve selected in your application form”.
- The market research must be “relevant to the service user bands you selected”.
- The company structure “must be accurate and reflect the actual structure and roles in place”.
A plan can contain all nine sections and still not meet these three, because they are about whether the plan matches the application it arrives with.
Pricing and staff pay are linked in the source itself
Under Market research, CQC asks for “research that shows how you decided your pricing and staff pay, including how much you will pay staff”. Under Pricing structure, it asks how you will charge.
The link is CQC’s, not this page’s. The rate charged and the wage paid are asked about in the same document, and the research behind both is asked for explicitly.
Related guides
How much does CQC registration cost?
The honest cost of registering a care business, beyond the regulator’s fee.
Read the guide →What happens if CQC refuses your registration application
The notice of proposal, the 28 days, and whether you can apply again.
Read the guide →