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Taken from the CQC’s own guidance, checked 2 November 2026. Corrections are welcome and are dated on this page.
In brief
The CQC sets out what it expects from policies in two places. Its registration guidance lists what every document must contain when a new provider applies, and says applications will be rejected if documents are incomplete, out of date or not relevant to the service. Regulation 17, on good governance, applies to every registered provider, and treats policies and procedures as governance records that must be kept up to date, kept secure and acted on.
This page sets out each requirement, with a link to the CQC page it comes from, and shows how OpenDoc helps a care service meet it. The CQC does not approve or endorse any policy library, including OpenDoc, and using any library does not guarantee registration. What OpenDoc does is make each requirement easier to meet, and easier to prove.
Interest declared. Health Connect Global Ltd publishes this page and makes OpenDoc. Every statement about CQC requirements links to the CQC’s own website, listed at the end of the page. This page covers England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own regulators and requirements.
For new provider registrations, the CQC lists what every supporting document must show, and how every document must be written. The single most important line is short:
Every document must be “unique and tailored to your business”.CQC, Supporting documents: how to send your documents to us
The CQC also says that a third-party template is acceptable only if it suits the service type, and gives an example: a template written for residential care will not work for a home care applicant. It will reject an application whose documents are incomplete, contain incorrect or out-of-date information, or are not relevant to the service or its regulated activities.
| What the CQC asks for | How OpenDoc helps | CQC source |
|---|---|---|
| Your business name on every document | When a service copies a policy, OpenDoc fills in the organisation’s name automatically, and downloaded PDFs carry the service’s branding | What each document must include |
| The name of the person responsible for the policy | Every policy has a named owner, set when the policy is adopted | What each document must include |
| The date it was created and the date it will be reviewed | Every policy has a next-review date, with up-to-date or overdue status and weekly reminders. The version history records when each version was made | What each document must include |
| Unique and tailored to your business | Copied policies fill in the service’s name, key contacts and preferred terms, such as “resident” or “support worker”. Every edit is recorded, and any two versions can be compared side by side, so a service can show exactly what it changed and when | How to send your documents |
| Relevant to the service types and user bands in your application | New services get a starter set of policies chosen for their region and care setting. Multi-site services choose which sites each policy applies to | How to send your documents |
| A third-party template must suit your service type | The library can be filtered by document type and tag, and each starter set is chosen for the service’s care setting | What each document must include |
| Up-to-date references to legislation and guidance | OpenDoc alerts services when CQC, NICE or Care Act guidance changes. Experts update the library, and each service sees the new version beside its own and chooses to accept it or keep its own | How to send your documents |
| Consistent with your other policies | AI standardisation rewrites policies into one consistent template and checks for required headings and terminology. If a key contact changes, OpenDoc shows which policies are out of date so they can be updated together. Duplicate warnings stop near-identical policies being added | How to send your documents |
| Accessible to your staff, people who use your service and their representatives | Staff can read policies on mobile, ask questions in plain English, or ask out loud and hear the answer in 51 languages. Policies download as clear PDFs with a cover page and contents list | How to send your documents |
The registration guidance applies to new applications. Regulation 17, good governance, applies to every registered provider, all the time. The CQC must refuse registration to a provider that cannot show it will comply with it.
The CQC’s guidance on Regulation 17 counts policies and procedures among the records of how a service is managed. Those records must be kept secure, and only accessed or changed by people authorised to do so. Providers should read and act on nationally recognised guidance, knowing that standards change over time. They should seek feedback from staff and others and use it to improve. And:
“Providers must seek professional/expert advice as needed and without delay”.CQC, Regulation 17: Good governance
| What the CQC expects | How OpenDoc helps | CQC source |
|---|---|---|
| Policies kept securely, and changed only by authorised people | Team members have set permissions. Staff can suggest changes for someone else to approve, every edit is recorded, and sign-in uses a code or link rather than a shared password | Regulation 17 |
| Expert advice, as needed and without delay | More than 100 named experts, including GPs, former CQC inspectors and clinical leaders, write and sign off the library, with at least three signing off each policy. A directory lets services find an expert by policy area | Regulation 17 |
| Keep up with national guidance as standards change | Alerts when CQC, NICE or Care Act guidance changes, expert updates to library policies, and a choice to accept each update or keep the service’s own version | Regulation 17 |
| Seek feedback from staff, and spot where quality may be slipping | OpenDoc shows which policies and sections staff view and what they ask about, so managers can see where staff may be unsure and act on it. Staff can also comment on and vote on library policies | Regulation 17 |
| A written report to the CQC within 28 days of a request, on how quality and safety are assessed and improved | Owners, review dates, recorded review outcomes, full version history and a dated audit trail give a service the evidence to draw on | Regulation 17 |
When the CQC assesses whether a service is well-led, one of the quality statements it uses is governance, management and sustainability. It expects clear roles, accountability and good governance, and says:
“We act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes”.CQC, Governance, management and sustainability quality statement
The areas the CQC lists under this statement include governance and quality assurance, statutory and regulatory requirements, and records. In OpenDoc, every policy has an owner and a review date, every review is recorded, and managers can see what staff actually read and ask about. That gives a service real information about how its policies work in practice, not just proof that they exist.
Every policy shows the expert who wrote it, and at least three experts sign it off before it is published.
Providers donate policies they already use, including the full library of PossAbilities, rated Outstanding by the CQC. Donated policies pass the same three-expert sign-off.
Instead of a one-click confirmation, OpenDoc shows which sections staff viewed and what they asked, and where they may be struggling.
Staff ask out loud and hear the answer from their own service’s policies, at the moment they need it.
Any care provider can use the library free. The Organisation plan is £70 + VAT a month per service, with unlimited users and no long-term contract.
Starter policies are chosen for each service’s region, across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
OpenDoc makes tailoring easier and shows what was tailored, but the CQC expects each policy to describe how your service actually works. Read every policy, edit it to reflect your service, and make sure staff follow it in practice. Inspectors look at what happens on the floor, not just at documents.
A new provider application also needs documents that are not policies, such as a business plan, statement of purpose and risk assessments. Check the CQC’s list of documents for your service type, and keep personal information about people using the service out of every policy.
Yes, if they suit the service type and are tailored to the business. The CQC says every document must be unique and tailored to your business, and that a template for one service type, such as residential care, will not work for another, such as home care.
Your business name, the name of the person responsible for the policy, the date it was created and the date it will be reviewed. Each document must also be complete, relevant, up to date, consistent with your other policies, accessible, and relevant to the service types and user bands in your application.
It can. The CQC says it will reject an application if documents are missing, contain incorrect or out-of-date information, do not include the information it asks for, or are not relevant to the service or its regulated activities.
No. The CQC assesses services against its framework and does not approve or endorse any policy library. OpenDoc helps services meet the CQC’s requirements and show the evidence.
The document checklist is for new registrations. Once registered, Regulation 17 applies, which requires effective governance, including keeping policies current, secure and acted on, and seeking expert advice when needed.
Yes. New services get a starter set of policies chosen for their region and care setting, each opening as a draft with its owner and review date already set. The library is free to use, and Health Connect also offers a package for providers preparing for CQC registration.
Every statement about CQC requirements comes from the CQC’s website, checked on 2 November 2026. Short quotations are exact, and other points are summarised from the linked pages. The CQC updates its guidance, so check the source pages before you apply. Figures about OpenDoc come from Health Connect. Corrections are recorded below with their date.
Change log: 2 November 2026, first published.
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