1. Getting a Provider Portal account
Who has been invited
We have sent email invitations to access the Provider Portal to all registered providers with 100 locations or fewer.
These invitations have been sent to:
- the business owner (individual, nominated individual or partners)
- registered manager(s)
What to do if you have not received an invitation
I have not received an invitation email
You will only receive an invitation if you are in a regulated role at a provider that has already been invited (see above). If you think you should have received an invitation but haven’t, please check the spam or junk folder in your email program first. If you still don’t have the email, please contact us on 03000 616161 (select option 3). We're open from 8:30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday.
The provider I work for has been invited, but I am not in a regulated role
You should speak to someone in your organisation that is in a regulated role and ask them to set you up as a ‘Delegated User’.
2. Account creation
Account set-up
You will have received an email inviting you to set up an account with the CQC Provider Portal. The email will indicate the provider organisation(s) you work for.
The email will contain a link. When you click on the link you will be taken to the first of five pages on the Provider Portal which you need to complete in order to activate your account.
Confirmation
The first page asks if you are the correct recipient of this email. If you tick ‘Yes’, you will proceed to the ‘account email and password’ page. If you tick ‘No’, there are two possible outcomes:
- If you see a list of people, this means multiple invitations have been sent to people associated with one email address. You should select your name from the list. You will then proceed to the ‘account email and password’ page.
- If you see an error message, please double check that you are the intended recipient of the email ie that you haven’t clicked the link in an email addressed to someone else.
Account email and password
Your Provider Portal account user name is your email address. The Account email and password page lets you change your user name to an alternative email address. If you change your account email, an email will be sent to the new address you have entered. This new email will also contain a link to the Confirmation page and you will follow the same steps outlined in this guide.
Set up your security questions
The next page asks you to choose two security questions and set your answers for them.
Alternative contact email address
When you submit forms via the Provider Portal, you will be sent confirmation emails and, by default, they will be sent to the email address you have used as your username. If you want them sent to a different address, for example, so that colleagues can access them from a general admin address, you can specify one by clicking ‘Create’ on this page. This is completely optional and if you do not require an alternative email address, tick the 'I accept CQC terms and conditions' box. This opens a new page titled ‘Create an alternative contact email address’.
Create an alternative contact email address
*Only opened if you have clicked ‘Create’ on the ‘Providers that you are associated with’ page.* Use this page if you want all confirmation emails for submissions of forms for this provider to be sent to an email address different from your personal address. This email address is referred to as the 'alternative contact' email address. (Note that, if you do this, you will have to verify the new email address before you can use it. An email will be sent to the address you’ve entered, with instructions on how to verify it.)
If you have not taken the step above, and are still on the ‘Providers that you are associated with’ page, tick the ‘I accept the CQC Terms and Conditions’ box.
Confirm new account
This page confirms that you have completed the new account process. Click the LOGIN button to go to the login screen for the Provider Portal. Enter your email address and the password you created earlier, to log in.
Confirmation email
You will receive a ‘Welcome to CQC Provider Portal’ email at the email address you have chosen.
Add a new user to your account
Log in to the CQC Provider Portal.
Go to the ‘Manage users’ tab at the top right of the page.
On the ‘Manage users' accounts’ page, select the ‘+ Add a new user’ tab.
Choose whether you are adding an individual or a group.
Add the email address of the person (or group) you’re adding and confirm it.
Add the new user’s name details.
You can set the new user’s admin levels under five headings, give them authority to specify what other colleagues can do, and include a personalised message which will be included in the invitation email the system will send to them.
(The invitation email will be sent to the person you’re adding.)
You will see a feedback page offering you choices of what to do next.
If you click the ‘All users’ tab on the ‘Manage users’ accounts’ page, you will see an overview of all the users attached to your provider, including the person you’ve just added. The new person/group will have a flag next to their name indicating they are ‘new’, and their status will be ‘Invited’.
(Note, if ‘Invited’ does not appear next to their name, it indicates that the invitation email has not been sent to them. If you see this, or for any other reason discover they haven’t received the email, you have the option to re-send the invitation by clicking the ‘Re-send’ button.)
Upon receiving their ‘invitation email’ the person or group you’ve invited will have to complete the account creation process. (See the section above which explains the account set-up process.
When they have completed the process you will see their status on the ‘All users’ tab change from ‘Invited’ to ‘email verified’.
Account creation FAQs
Q. I have received an email to create a CQC Provider Portal account. What is this?
A.The email that you have received is the first step in creating a CQC Provider Portal account. The CQC Provider Portal is an online system that allows registered care providers to complete transactions with CQC quickly and efficiently
Users of the Provider Portal can submit statutory notifications and apply to make variations to their registration via easy-to-use, responsive online forms.
The forms you can complete via the Provider Portal include:
Registration variation forms
- Add or remove regulated activities, locations, partners or registered managers.
- Telling us about certain events such as changes to your statement of purpose.
Notifications
- Events that stop your services running safely and properly
- Incidents report to, or investigated by, the police
- Serious injury to a person using your services
- Death of a person using your services
- Abuse, or allegations of abuse, of a person using your service
- Deprivation of liberty
- Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer notification
The email will include a link. Click on it to go to the first step in the account creation process.
Q. Why am I given the opportunity to use different email addresses?
A. At various points in the procedure you are given the opportunity to enter different email addresses. The email address you provide will be your username to log into the portal and also the address that any password reset requests will be sent to. On the ‘Providers that you are associated with’ page you can opt for receipts for forms you have sent us to be sent to a separate email.
Q. We all share the same email address and would like to continue with this, why can't we?
A. You can. You will need a personal email address - unique to you - to log into the portal, but you can get all correspondence about the transactions you submit online sent to a shared address by creating a 'Provider Portal alternative contact' email address. All personal/account activity will continue to go to your personal address.
Q. Why am I being asked to change my provider address?
A. Changing the provider address isn’t essential. The ‘Provider Portal alternative contact email address’ is an address that any email that is generated as part of a transaction on the CQC Provider Portal is sent to. It is completely optional. The alternative contact address is not to be confused with the ‘address for service’.
Q. What is the difference between an 'account email address' 'an alternative contact email address' and an 'address for service' email address?
A. Your account email address is unique to you. It is your username and must be used when you log in to the Provider Portal. This can be changed at any point by navigating to the ‘My account’ section when you are logged in to your account and then selecting ‘Change your account email’. (Please note that, if you change your account email, your account will be restricted until your new account email has been verified.)
The Provider Portal alternative contact email address is an alternative email address you can create to receive all correspondence about Registration applications and/or Notifications which you submit via the Provider Portal. It is purely optional.
Your address for service email address is where we send any Notice of Decisions and/ or Certificates in relation to your registration. Creating or amending an 'alternative contact email address' will NOT change your address for service. This can only be updated by completing and submitting a Statutory Notification form: Change your address for service email address.
Q. Does creating an alternative contact email address change our 'address for service' email address?
A.No. Your Provider Portal alternative contact email address is where we'll send confirmations of Notifications and/or Registration forms submitted via the Provider Portal. Your 'address for service' can only be updated by completing a Statutory Notification form: Change your address for service email address.
Q. What is a ‘Group Account’?
A. The group account option has been introduced to allow a section of a provider, for example, a hospital ward to gain access and submit forms via the Provider Portal.
Q. We are a large provider and we all use the same email address - how does this work?
A. All regulated individuals at a provider will receive an email marked for their attention. In that email there will be a link. Click it to begin the account creation process which starts by asking you to confirm you are the person invited. If you are, you can proceed with the process. If you are not, select ‘No’ and a list of individuals linked to that email address will appear.
Once you have confirmed you are the person addressed in the email, you will be asked if you want to change your personal email account. You don’t have to but if you do, the new email address must be unique and cannot be used by more than one person because it will become your identity to use when logging in to the Provider Portal.
You are also given the option to create a Provider Portal alternative contact email address. This email address is where we will send confirmations of registration applications or notifications which you submit via the Provider Portal. If you don't create an alternative contact email account, the confirmations will be sent to your personal email address. Unlike the personal account email, the ‘alternative contact email address’ can be used by more than one individual.
Q. Who can add new users?
A. The process of creating an account or adding a new user will need to be completed by an admin user. Admin user status is assigned to people who hold regulated as well as certain registered roles. To identify which users currently have Admin status you will need to navigate to the ‘Manage users’ tab in the top right hand corner of the Provider Portal.
On this tab you will see a list of all users who have an account. On the left hand side directly next to each account holders name you will see the symbol which reads Admin. Once an Admin user has logged in to their account and navigated back to the same ‘Manage users’ tab, they will be able to see a tab directly above the listed account holders, titled ‘Add a new user. Click this and follow the instructions.
Q. Who can verify my account email?
A. Anyone with access to the email address in question will be able to verify the account. The account cannot be used in its full capacity until the account has been verified. Until then the account holder will only be able to change their personal account details.
The process of verifying an account is as follows: a user with the relevant permission level will create a new account. Upon creating an account an email will be sent to the email address specified stating when the account was created. (If the recipient cannot find the email they should check their spam/junk folders.) The new account holder must click the link in the email they have received and this will open to the verification page in their internet browser.
The new account holder will then be asked to confirm that the account is related to them, be offered the chance to change their account email (which acts as their user name log-in), to choose a password and set security questions. The new account holder will then finalise the verification by accepting the terms and conditions and selecting finish.
** Please note:There is no expiry logic applied to the verification process meaning that after a new user has received their verification email their new account can be verified at any time.**
Q. How can I delete an account?
A. Only admin users can delete accounts. Admin user status is assigned to people who hold regulated as well as certain registered roles. The following roles can be assigned admin user status:
- Registered Partner
- Responsible Individual
- Nominated Individual
To delete an account an Admin user will have to first click on the ‘Manage users’ tab at the top right-hand corner of the Provider Portal. On the ‘Manage users’ page you will see a list of all users, with several actions alongside their names.
To delete an account you will identify the user you wish to remove and select ‘Delete’. Please note that only a delegate user can be deleted using this method as delegate users do not hold regulated roles. If you wish to remove an account for any user who does hold a regulated/registered role, you will need to complete the relevant registration variation application form. Once the form is processed it will return the regulated person's account to delegate status, meaning it can be deleted by an 'admin' user.
Q. Do I have to change email address?
A. No, you can leave it all the email addresses as they are. We recommend that the account email address you use is secure, one you remember and easy for you to access as it is the user name you'll need to use to log into the portal. It is also the default address where we send any transactional emails generated when you submit a form via the portal. If you want these confirmation emails to be sent to a different address, for example to a general admin address where they can be accessed by colleagues, you should create an alternative email address. You can do this by navigating to the 'Your details' page, clicking the last link 'Create an alternative contact email address' and then clicking 'Amend' on the right of the page and entering the new email address.
Q. I am registered with several providers - how will this work for me?
A. The process only varies on the last page of the account creation process where a transaction / provider email address can be entered. At this stage, you can enter a different email address for each provider, if you choose. If no alternative email address is added, all transactional mail will be sent to your username email address.
Q. I did not receive an email but my colleague did. Why?
A. Check your spam / junk folder. If you still don’t have the email, please contact us on 03000 616161 (select option 3). We're open from 8:30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday.
Q. My name is not listed as one of the people associated with this account, but it should be.
A. If you want access to the portal, you will need someone with an admin account to set one up for you.
3. User roles and permissions
User roles and permissions
What you, as an individual user, can do on CQC’s Provider Portal is determined by the permissions you are given. These permissions are first allocated when your account is set-up and what you can do will largely depend on your role (although the type of organisation you work for will also have an effect in some circumstances).
Permissions are not static and will change if your role or organisation changes. For some users, permissions can be changed (extended or restricted) by an administrator within their provider. An individual can also have more than role and can be associated with more than one organisation.
This document is intended to help you understand how the Provider Portal works and to make decisions about how you as an individual or as an organisation want to use it.
If you have any questions about permissions, or the Provider Portal in general, please email enquiries@cqc.org.uk or call 03000 616161 (select option 3). Our National Customer Service Centre opening hours are Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5.30pm, excluding bank holidays.
Guide to user roles and permissions
Download our guide to user roles and permissions (PDF | 244 KB)
4. Disclosure and Barring Service Checks (DBS)
What is a CQC-DBS check?
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) allows employers to access the criminal record history of people working, or seeking to work, with vulnerable groups.
A CQC-DBS disclosure is an enhanced DBS disclosure that's been countersigned by CQC. You'll need to apply for it on the CQC Disclosure Service site. The check results in a DBS certificate and disclosure number. The disclosure must be no more than 6 months old when you apply to register.
Who needs a CQC-DBS check?
- All partners in a partnership.
- All registered managers.
- Anyone registering as an individual provider.
If you already have a DBS disclosure that you didn't obtain through CQC (and is therefore not countersigned by us) then we will reject it.
(Note: Nominated individuals need to supply an enhanced DBS disclosure number but unlike other registered persons this doesn't need to be a CQC-DBS.)
5. Frequent tasks
Get to your home page
Click the Care Quality Commission logo at the top left of the page or the house icon on the left of the purple bar.
Find a form
There are several routes to find forms.
On the right of the home page is a panel which allows you to click through to selections of forms by category (forms to do with provider registration, your manager registration or notifications). Or you can view all forms by clicking 'View all forms'.
Alternatively, in the purple task bar are links to Registration and Notifications.
Clicking on 'Registration' takes you to a page with your registration details and several drop-down menus which allow you to complete forms relevant to each section.
Clicking on 'Notifications' takes you to a page which has a brief description of each notification form. Underneath each one is a link to the relevant guidance page.
On each guidance page are tabs showing 'what you need to do or what you need to know before you start each form'; 'what happens after you submit the form'; 'FAQs'; 'legal context' and the 'Start form' button
Save a draft
At the top right of the page, click 'Save draft'. (You can also click 'Discard this draft').
Find a draft I've saved
On your home page are two tabs listing forms which are either 'In progress' or 'Recently submitted'.
To open a draft, select the 'In progress' tab and click on the blue hyperlinked text beginning 'Notification...' or 'Application...'.
I've submitted a form, what happens next?
After you've submitted a form a 'Thank you' page appears. This shows your temporary submission number. Under this are three tabs. The first 'Your application' has a hyperlink to the pdf of your form. Click on this to open your form after which you can save or print it. The third tab 'FAQs', answers some questions people may have about the form and process.
Download the pdf of a form I've submitted
After you've submitted a form a 'Thank you' page appears. This shows your temporary submission number. Under this are three tabs. The first, 'Your application', has a hyperlink to the pdf of your form. Click on this to open your form after which you can save it or print it.
6. Technical issues
Who do I contact if I have a technical problem?
Please email enquiries@cqc.org.uk, or call 03000 616161 (select option 3). Our National Customer Service Centre opening hours are Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5.30pm, excluding bank holidays.
7. Regulatory guidance for providers
More about registrations and notifications
Find out more about registration changes and notifications about certain events and the legislation which underpins them at the Working with us page of the public website.
More about regulations for service providers and managers
Find out more about regulations affecting service providers and managers on the Regulations for service providers and managers page of the public website.
8. Contact us
Contact us if you are experiencing problems with the Provider Portal
Please email enquiries@cqc.org.uk, or call 03000 616161 (select option 3). Our National Customer Service Centre opening hours are Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5.30pm, excluding bank holidays.
Contact CQC with an issue or concern
To report an issue or concern to the CQC, go to Contact CQC or report a concern.
9. Freedom of information
Find out more about Freedom of information
You have the right to ask any public sector body, like us, for the recorded information it has about any subject.
Find out how to do this on the CQC website's Freedom of information page.