CQC Has Changed the Addition of Location Process

The Process Has Changed

If you are planning to add a new location to your CQC registration for a supported living service, this change affects you directly — and you need to act on it now.

Previously, the Addition of Location process was largely paper-based. You submitted your application form and supporting documentation, CQC assessed the evidence, and a decision was made. There was no formal interview stage built into the process.

That has now changed.

This means your application will not progress to a decision until CQC has conducted these interviews and is satisfied that both individuals can demonstrate the knowledge, competence, and governance arrangements needed to deliver safe, high-quality care at the proposed new location.

Why This Matters

This is not a minor administrative adjustment. It fundamentally changes the level of preparation required before you submit an application.

If you go into this interview unprepared, it could delay your registration by weeks — or result in a refusal. CQC will be testing your understanding of the service model, staffing, safeguarding, quality assurance, and how you intend to meet the Fundamental Standards at the new location from day one.

The interview is not a conversation. It is an assessment. And the providers who succeed will be the ones who treat it as such.

What We Recommend You Do Now

1. Do not submit an Addition of Location application until both the Registered Manager and the Nominated Individual have been fully briefed and prepared for interview.
2. Review your Statement of Purpose, service model, and governance arrangements to ensure they are robust and consistent with what you will present at interview.
3. Ensure your Registered Manager can confidently articulate how they will deliver Outstanding care at the new location — not just safe care, but exceptional care.
4. If you are unsure whether you are interview-ready, speak to us before you submit. It is far better to delay a submission by a week than to face a refusal that sets you back by months.

How Care Quality Support Can Help

At Care Quality Support, we identified this change early through our continuous monitoring of the regulatory landscape. We have already updated our registration support process to reflect the new requirements.

Our dedicated Addition of Location package now includes full interview coaching and mock interview sessions for both the Registered Manager and the Nominated Individual. We prepare you to walk into that interview with confidence and walk out with an approval.

We cover the areas CQC is most likely to probe, including your understanding of the Fundamental Standards, your quality assurance framework, safeguarding arrangements, staffing model, and your approach to person-centred care at the new location.

Contact Care Quality Support to discuss your upcoming Addition of Location application.