What Is a CQC Regulated Activity, and Which Ones Should You Apply For?

When you apply to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), you do not simply register as a "care company", "clinic" or "healthcare provider". You apply for the specific regulated activities your business will carry on in England.

That distinction matters. Two businesses with the same service description may need different activities because they provide different care. One business may need several activities, while another may be outside CQC registration altogether. The correct answer comes from what the provider actually does, not the sector label it chooses.

This guide explains the 14 CQC regulated activities, how they relate to familiar services and how to identify the combination that belongs on an application. For the separate question of whether registration is required at all, use our CQC registration scope checker.

What does "regulated activity" mean?

A regulated activity is a category of health or social care specified in law. The activities are set out in Schedule 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. If your organisation carries one on in England, CQC registration is generally required unless a relevant exception or exemption applies.

The obligation falls on the legal person or organisation carrying on the activity. That could be an individual, a genuine partnership of individuals or an organisation such as a limited company. CQC considers who directs and controls the care, rather than simply who owns the premises or employs a particular clinician.

You must identify every regulated activity you intend to carry on. Registering for one does not automatically authorise unrelated activities. CQC also warns that carrying on a regulated activity without the required registration is an offence. See its scope of registration guidance.

The 14 CQC regulated activities

CQC currently identifies 14 regulated activities. The examples below are starting points, not complete legal definitions or a substitute for checking the exceptions.

These are the names used in CQC's regulated activities guidance. Some definitions have important boundaries: notably, CQC updated its scope guidance on Treatment of disease, disorder or injury in August 2026, and its diagnostic and screening guidance was revised in March 2026. Use the current version of each definition rather than an old application checklist.

Regulated activity, service type and location are different things

Three terms often get mixed together during registration.

Consider a home care agency. Its service type may be domiciliary care services, its principal regulated activity may be Personal care, and its registered location may be the office from which visits are managed. The office is not where carers physically deliver the care, but it can still be the relevant CQC location.

For a residential care home, the activity is usually Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care, while the care home premises are the location. A nursing home may also need Treatment of disease, disorder or injury depending on the actual service.

These are connected application decisions, but they are not interchangeable. CQC's quick guide by service type shows likely activity combinations, and its location guidance explains where activities should be registered.

Which activities apply to common care and healthcare services?

You should test the activity selection against your planned work rather than copy another provider's registration.

Domiciliary care. A home care service providing defined personal care will generally need Personal care. Shopping, cleaning or companionship alone do not automatically amount to the same regulated activity. The precise nature of assistance matters.

Supported living. Where staff deliver personal care to people living in their own accommodation, Personal care may apply. Providing housing support without regulated personal care is a different proposition. Accommodation and care arrangements must also be considered separately. The supported living guide covers that split.

Residential and nursing homes. These commonly involve Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care. A nursing home should assess whether its clinical treatment also engages Treatment of disease, disorder or injury. Personal care delivered as part of the residential accommodation activity is not normally registered again as a separate Personal care activity for those residents. See CQC registration for care homes and nursing homes.

GP practices and independent clinics. Treatment of disease, disorder or injury is frequently relevant. Depending on what the service actually delivers, Diagnostic and screening procedures, Surgical procedures, Family planning services or Maternity and midwifery services may also apply. The clinician's professional registration is not a substitute for the provider's CQC registration. The GP practice guide and the private doctors and independent clinics guide take those models further.

Dental services. CQC's quick guide commonly identifies treatment, surgical and diagnostic activities for dentistry. The correct combination depends on the treatments, radiography and other procedures being provided, not simply the fact that the business is a dental practice. See CQC registration for dental practices.

Diagnostic centres. A standalone imaging or pathology provider may need Diagnostic and screening procedures. More than one legal provider can be involved where one business takes scans and another independently interprets and reports them. The reporting arrangement deserves its own assessment. The diagnostic and screening guide covers that pathway.

For the management implications, see our registered manager requirements guide. The step-by-step registration guide covers the wider application journey. The important point here is to match each activity to something your business will genuinely do.

Do you always need more than one activity?

No. Nor is selecting extra activities necessarily safer.

CQC recognises that certain activities can be included within another registration. For example, personal care provided as part of accommodation in a registered care home does not normally require a separate Personal care registration for that same residential service. Nursing care that forms part of another regulated activity may not need separate registration as Nursing care.

The reverse is also possible. A care home provider that starts offering a separate domiciliary care service to people living elsewhere may need to add Personal care because that new service is not simply part of the home's accommodation activity.

Likewise, a clinic may be registered for treatment but later introduce a procedure with a separate regulated-activity definition. Whether an extra activity is required depends on the actual procedure and any specific exception. CQC explains these relationships in its regulated activities overview.

The aim is not the shortest possible list or the longest possible list. It is an accurate one.

How to choose the activities for your application

Start with a description of what your service will deliver on its first day, rather than the services you might add in future. Identify who receives each service, what the workers or clinicians will do and whether it is delivered directly, through another provider or by an external contractor.

Then work through four checks.

1. Identify the real activity

   "Supported living", "health screening" and "healthcare staffing" are business descriptions, not regulated activities. Identify the care, treatment or procedure underneath each description.

2. Check the full definition and exceptions

   Similar-sounding services can fall on opposite sides of the boundary. A specifically excluded test is not brought into scope merely because it has a medical purpose.

3. Establish who carries it on

   The registered provider is the legal entity directing and controlling the regulated service. Renting rooms, subcontracting parts of a pathway or introducing care workers can complicate that analysis.

4. Map activities to locations and management

   Confirm where each activity is delivered or managed, who will oversee it and whether the application and statement of purpose describe the same operation.

Keep a short written rationale for each selected activity, including the relevant CQC definition and the procedures it covers. If you decide an activity does not apply, document why. This is especially valuable for mixed businesses that combine regulated and unregulated services.

Can you add a regulated activity after registration?

Yes, but you must obtain the relevant approval before providing an additional regulated activity that is not covered by your registration. CQC has specific forms and guidance for adding a regulated activity. Changes may also involve the registered manager, nominated individual, locations and statement of purpose.

This is why it is worth describing foreseeable service developments accurately at the outset without registering prematurely for work you cannot yet deliver. You should not assume a registered provider can add a new clinical procedure immediately because it already holds a CQC certificate.

If you are still preparing a first application, our supporting-documents guide explains how to keep the activity list, statement of purpose and supporting evidence consistent.

Before you submit

A sound activity selection answers three questions clearly: What will the provider do? Which regulated-activity definitions cover that work? Who will be responsible for delivering and managing it? If you cannot answer one of these, the application is not yet ready to be finalised.

CQC makes the legal decision about registration. A specialist can help you interpret the guidance, identify missing or unnecessary activities and prepare a coherent application, but should explain the reasoning rather than simply supply a list of boxes to tick.

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This article covers CQC registration in England. The applicable activity depends on the precise service and current law; CQC's full definitions and exceptions remain the authoritative reference.