What happens during a CQC inspection

How CQC decides what to assess, what inspectors look at, how a rating is reached and published, and what a provider can do if it disagrees.

Published 2026-06-16 · A general guide, not legal, medical or financial advice.

A CQC assessment combines information gathered over time with visits to the service. Knowing roughly how it works helps you read the resulting report with the right context, and understand why two services in the same town can have ratings of very different ages.

How CQC decides what to assess

CQC prioritises using risk. It draws on data about a service, on the statutory notifications providers must send (for example about deaths, serious injuries or safeguarding incidents), on feedback from people who use the service and from staff, and on concerns and complaints. A service that triggers concern is assessed sooner; one that runs quietly may wait considerably longer. This is why a fresh rating can sometimes be a sign that something prompted a look, and why an old rating is not automatically a bad one.

The visit

Visits can be announced or unannounced depending on the type of service and any concerns. Homecare agencies are often given short notice so that someone is in the office and care records are available; care homes are frequently visited unannounced so inspectors see normal daily life. During a visit, inspectors will typically:

• Look at care records, medicines management, risk assessments, safety and safeguarding arrangements.
• Observe how staff interact with people, including at mealtimes and during everyday routines.
• Talk to people using the service, to relatives, and to staff at different levels.
• Check how the service recruits, trains and supports its staff, and how it learns from complaints, incidents and feedback.

From evidence to rating

Inspectors weigh the evidence against the five key questions and the underlying quality statements, score each, and reach the overall and per-question ratings through an internal quality-control process rather than on the spot. The provider is sent a draft report to check for factual accuracy before publication. The final report and rating are then published on the CQC website, where anyone can read them free of charge.

If a provider disagrees

Providers can challenge factual accuracy before publication, and can request a review of the ratings process afterwards if they believe the process was not followed correctly. They cannot simply appeal a rating they dislike. Where serious risks are found, CQC can act quickly, including imposing conditions on a provider's registration, issuing warning notices, or in the most serious cases suspending or cancelling registration so the service can no longer operate.

What it means for you

Because assessment is risk-based and evidence builds up over time, a report reflects more than a single day, but it is still anchored to the moment it was written. Read it alongside the rating date and the service's full rating history, both of which CareRadar shows, so you can judge how current and how consistent the picture really is.