You must send most CQC notifications without delay: a death, a serious injury, abuse or an allegation of abuse, police involvement in an incident, an event that stops the service running safely, and a child on an adult psychiatric unit for more than 48 hours.
The others have set timescales. Tell CQC 28 days before a registered manager’s planned absence of 28 days or more, within 5 working days if the absence starts in an emergency, and within 7 working days of their return. Send the outcome of a DoLS application once you know it. Report changes to your registered details as soon as you reasonably can, and send a revised statement of purpose within 28 days of the change.
The regulations put numbers on the tests: 28 days for prolonged pain, harm or impairment, 24 hours for a utility or fire alarm failure, and 48 hours for a child on an adult psychiatric unit. This page sets out what the law says, the deadline for each notification and a free CQC notifications log to record what you send.
The full list of CQC notifications, with deadlines
The regulator has a form for each notification, in two groups. The table gives CQC’s name for each one, when to send it and the regulation behind it in the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009.
| Notification | When to send it | Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| Events and incidents | ||
| Absence of a registered individual for 28 days or more | Planned: 28 days before it starts, unless CQC agrees a shorter period. Emergency: within 5 working days of the start | 14 |
| Allegations of abuse (safeguarding) | Without delay | 18(2)(e) |
| Children and young people in adult psychiatric units | Without delay, once the placement passes 48 hours | 18(2)(h) |
| Death of a detained mental health patient | Without delay | 17 |
| Death of a person using the service | Without delay | 16 |
| Death of a registered provider (and plans for the service) | Without delay, then plans for the service within 28 days of the death | 21 |
| Events that stop a service running safely and properly | Without delay. A utility, fire alarm or other safety device failure counts once it passes 24 hours | 18(2)(g) |
| Liquidator or trustee’s plans for a service | Within 28 days of the appointment | 22 |
| Outcome of an application to deprive a person of their liberty (DoLS) | Once you know the outcome, or at withdrawal | 18(4A), (4B) |
| Police involvement in an incident | Without delay | 18(2)(f) |
| Return of a registered individual after an absence of 28 days or more | Within 7 working days of the return | 14(5) |
| Serious injury to a person using the service | Without delay | 18(2)(a), (b) |
| Unauthorised absence | Without delay, and again when the person returns (low, medium and high secure services only) | 17 |
| Changes to your registered details | ||
| Change contact details | No deadline set: tell CQC when the main phone number or email changes | None |
| Change of an individual’s name | As soon as reasonably practicable | 15 |
| Changes to your statement of purpose | Within 28 days of the change | 12(3) |
| Insolvency | As soon as reasonably practicable | 15 |
| Nominated individuals, officers and directors | As soon as reasonably practicable | 15 |
| Provider stopping regulated activities | As soon as reasonably practicable | 15 |
| Provider’s name and address | As soon as reasonably practicable | 15 |
| Registered manager for an activity | As soon as reasonably practicable | 15 |
You can record each one, with its deadline and reference number, in our free CQC notifications log.
Where the regulations say “without delay”, the form pages that give a timescale say “as soon as possible”. Working days leave out weekends, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays in England and Wales. The return form asks for 7 days where the regulation allows 7 working days, so sending it within 7 days meets both. Regulation 15 covers planned changes too, so tell CQC once you decide on a change.
First, clear up the Regulation 15 confusion
Two sets of regulations each have a Regulation 15, and they cover different things:
| Regulation | Which regulations | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation 15 | CQC (Registration) Regulations 2009 | Notice of changes: telling the regulator when your registered details change |
| Regulation 15 | Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 | Premises and equipment: one of the fundamental standards |
The notification duties are in the 2009 Registration Regulations. The fundamental standards, which every registered service must meet, are in the 2014 Regulated Activities Regulations. When someone says “Reg 15” without saying which set, ask which one they mean.
We list the regulation numbers the two sets share, and what each fundamental standard requires, in CQC fundamental standards and regulations.
The 2009 regulations behind the notifications are:
- Regulation 12(3): a revised statement of purpose
- Regulation 14: notice of absence
- Regulation 15: notice of changes
- Regulation 16: notification of death of a service user
- Regulation 17: notification of death or unauthorised absence of a service user who is detained or liable to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
- Regulation 18: notification of other incidents
- Regulation 21: death of a service provider
- Regulation 22: the appointment of a receiver, liquidator or trustee in bankruptcy
- Regulation 22A: use CQC’s forms for notifications under regulations 14 to 18, 21 and 22
Regulation 18 in detail: the thresholds that decide what to notify
Regulation 18(1) requires the registered person to notify CQC “without delay” of the incidents in 18(2) that happen while you provide the regulated activity, or as a result of it.
Serious injury, and what “serious” means in law
Regulation 18(2)(a) covers any injury that, in the reasonable opinion of a health care professional, has resulted in:
- an impairment of sensory, motor or intellectual functions which is not likely to be temporary
- changes to the structure of the person’s body
- the person experiencing prolonged pain or prolonged psychological harm
- the shortening of the person’s life expectancy
Regulation 18(2)(b) adds any injury that, in a health care professional’s reasonable opinion, needs treatment to prevent death or one of the outcomes above.
Regulation 18(5)(g) puts a number on “prolonged” and “not temporary”:
“‘prolonged pain’ and ‘prolonged psychological harm’ means pain or harm which a service user has experienced, or is likely to experience, for a continuous period of at least 28 days”, and “a sensory, motor or intellectual impairment is not temporary if such an impairment has lasted, or is likely to last, for a continuous period of at least 28 days.”
The test is 28 days in a row. It answers the “is this notifiable?” question for pain, psychological harm and impairment. If an assault caused the injury, CQC asks you to use its abuse form for it.
Abuse, and what counts as abuse
Regulation 18(2)(e) covers any abuse or allegation of abuse in relation to a person using the service. The word “allegation” means you notify before anyone has established what happened.
Regulation 18(5)(b) defines abuse as: sexual abuse; physical or psychological ill-treatment; theft, misuse or misappropriation of money or property; and neglect and acts of omission which cause harm or place at risk of harm.
The definition includes money: misusing a resident’s money is abuse in law, and you must notify it.
Police involvement
Regulation 18(2)(f) covers “any incident which is reported to, or investigated by, the police”. Under Regulation 18(3), this one does not apply to English NHS bodies. If the incident is a death, a serious injury or abuse, CQC asks you to use the form for that instead.
Events that stop the service running safely, and the 24-hour limit
Regulation 18(2)(g) covers any event that prevents, or appears likely to threaten to prevent, your ability to carry on the regulated activity safely or in line with your registration. The regulation gives four examples, and two of them have a time limit:
- insufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff
- an interruption to electricity, gas, water or sewerage lasting longer than a continuous period of 24 hours
- physical damage to premises which has, or is likely to have, a detrimental effect on treatment or care
- failure or malfunctioning of fire alarms or other safety devices lasting longer than a continuous period of 24 hours
The 24 hours must run without a break. A fire panel fault that you fix at hour 23 does not meet this example; the same fault still open at hour 25 does. A shorter failure still counts if it stopped you running the service safely.
Children in adult psychiatric units
Regulation 18(2)(h) covers any placement of a person under 18 in a psychiatric unit for adults that lasts longer than a continuous period of 48 hours.
DoLS
Regulation 18(4A) requires notification of any request to a supervisory body for a standard authorisation under Schedule A1 to the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and any application to court to deprive someone of their liberty under section 16(2)(a).
Under 18(4B), you notify once you know the outcome, or at the point of withdrawal. The notification gives the date and nature of the application, whether an urgent authorisation came first, the outcome or the reason for withdrawal, and the date of that outcome.
CQC’s form page adds two points. Tell it about outcomes and withdrawn applications only. Report the outcome of a Court of Protection application even when someone else made it, such as the local authority.
Our guide to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards covers the Supreme Court’s June 2026 ruling, how to judge each case now, and the authorisation steps and time limits.
Why Regulation 18(2) skips (c) and (d)
On legislation.gov.uk, Regulation 18(2) runs (a), (b), then (e). Amending regulations removed sub-paragraphs (c) and (d) in June 2012 and left the other letters as they were, so nothing is missing from your copy.
If you are an NHS body, some of this is different
Under Regulation 18(4), the duty does not apply to a health service body (an English NHS body or NHS Blood and Transplant) if, and to the extent that, it has reported the incident to NHS England. The police example does not apply to English NHS bodies at all.
CQC’s guidance lets NHS trusts and NHS Blood and Transplant send four notifications through NHS England’s Learn from Patient Safety Events service (LFPSE): allegations of abuse, deaths, events that stop a service running safely, and serious injuries. The regulator receives them through an information sharing agreement, and every other notification goes to it directly. Primary medical services can report deaths through LFPSE too (Regulation 16(4)).
Independent providers delivering NHS-funded care are not health service bodies. Unless one of these routes covers you, notify CQC directly, whatever you also report into NHS systems.
What happens if you do not notify
Failing to comply with regulations 12 and 14 to 20 is a criminal offence under Regulation 25. On conviction, a magistrates’ court can fine you up to level 4 on the standard scale, £2,500.
CQC can offer a fixed penalty notice in place of prosecution: £1,250 for a provider and £625 for a registered manager. The power is in section 86 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, with regulation 24 and Schedule 5 of the 2014 Regulated Activities Regulations. If you pay within 28 days of receiving the notice, no court can convict you of that offence.
The regulator also uses notifications to see what is happening in a service, spot concerns and decide whether to take regulatory action. A missed notification that CQC learns about later, at an inspection or through a complaint, can raise questions about how well you run the service.
How to send every notification on time
A notification goes missing when the person who records an incident never talks to the person who decides whether CQC needs to know. Four habits help:
- Decide whether it is notifiable when you record the incident. Most notifications must go without delay, so a weekly review comes too late.
- Put the thresholds where staff record incidents: 28 days, 24 hours in a row and 48 hours, so the question comes up every time and nobody has to remember it.
- Keep a record of every notification: what you sent, when, and the reference number the regulator gives it. If anyone questions a notification, the record answers it.
- Record each decision not to notify, with the reason. A written decision that an event fell below the threshold shows you considered it.
Free CQC notifications log in Excel: show what you notified and when
Record every notification you send, the deadline it had to meet and the reference number you get back, with each decision not to notify and the reason. When an inspector or a commissioner asks what you reported, you open one file.
- A log for every notification: what happened, the notification type, the deadline, the date you sent it and CQC’s reference
- A sheet for decisions not to notify: the threshold you checked, the reason and who decided
- Every notification on CQC’s list, with its deadline and regulation
- An Excel file that also opens in Google Sheets
You fill it in yourself. It sends no reminders or alerts.
| What happened | CQC notification | Deadline | Date sent | CQC reference | Sent by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A fall; the hospital confirms a broken hip | Serious injury to a person using the service | Without delay | |||
| A relative says a carer took money from a resident | Allegations of abuse (safeguarding) | Without delay | |||
| The fire alarm panel stays faulty for more than 24 hours | Events that stop a service running safely and properly | Without delay |
Enter your email to get the free CQC notifications log
Our team will be in touch within one working day to send the log.
Request received
Thanks. Our team will be in touch within one working day to send the CQC notifications log.
Could not send that request
Something went wrong on our side. Please try again, or use our contact form and our team will send the log over.
Or keep an evidence trail for every notifiable incident
This is exactly what CompliantCare is built for. Staff record each incident, and CompliantCare triages it against the notification criteria and flags the ones that meet a threshold at the point of entry. The record shows what you notified, when, and who sent it.
It records the decisions not to notify too, with the reasoning.
See how incident management works →
Common questions
What notifications do you need to send to CQC? Deaths, serious injuries, abuse and allegations of abuse, police involvement in an incident, DoLS outcomes, events that stop the service running safely, under-18s on adult psychiatric units for more than 48 hours, unauthorised absences from secure services, and a registered manager’s absence of 28 days or more. Separately, changes to your registered details: your statement of purpose, registered manager, nominated individual, officers and directors, name and address, contact details, insolvency and others. The table at the top of this page gives the deadline for each.
Do you have to notify CQC of a serious injury? Yes. A serious injury to a person using the service is notifiable under Regulation 18(2)(a) and (b), without delay. The statement “the regulatory body does not need to be notified of a serious injury” is false.
What are Regulation 18 notifications? Regulation 18 of the CQC (Registration) Regulations 2009 is “notification of other incidents”. It covers serious injury, abuse and allegations of abuse, incidents involving the police, events that threaten safe running, under-18s in adult psychiatric units, and DoLS outcomes. Send the incidents without delay, and DoLS outcomes once you know them.
What is the CQC Regulation 15 notification? In the Registration Regulations 2009, Regulation 15 is “notice of changes”: telling the regulator when your registered details change, as soon as reasonably practicable. Regulation 15 of the 2014 Regulated Activities Regulations is a different rule: premises and equipment.
How quickly must I notify CQC? Most notifications must reach the regulator without delay. The exceptions have set timescales: 28 days before a planned absence of 28 days or more, 5 working days after an emergency absence starts, 7 working days after the return, 28 days after a change to your statement of purpose, and DoLS outcomes once you know them. Send changes to your registered details as soon as reasonably practicable.
Is an allegation of abuse notifiable even if it turns out to be unfounded? Yes. Regulation 18(2)(e) covers “any abuse or allegation of abuse”. You notify on the allegation.
Does reporting to the local authority or NHS England cover it? Not usually. Regulation 18(4) exempts health service bodies to the extent they have reported an incident to NHS England, and NHS trusts, NHS Blood and Transplant and, for deaths, primary medical services can report through LFPSE. If you are an independent provider, reporting to a safeguarding team or a commissioner does not replace your notification.
What happens if I do not notify CQC? It is a criminal offence under Regulation 25, with a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction. The regulator can offer a fixed penalty notice in place of prosecution: £1,250 for a provider and £625 for a registered manager.
What do I get when I ask for the free CQC notifications log? An Excel file that also opens in Google Sheets: a log for every notification (what happened, the notification type, the deadline, the date you sent it and the reference number), a sheet for decisions not to notify, and every notification on the regulator’s list with its deadline and regulation. Enter your work email in the form above and our team will be in touch within one working day to send it.
Related: what the CQC is and how it regulates · CQC KLOEs and the 2026 reform · CQC’s new assessment frameworks · the CQC inspection checklist
Sources: The Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/3112) · Regulation 18: notification of other incidents · Regulation 14: notice of absence · Regulation 25: offences · Regulated Activities Regulations 2014, Schedule 5: fixed penalty offences · CQC: notifications · CQC: notifications, guidance for providers
This page explains the regulations in force in October 2026. It is not legal advice. If you are unsure whether an incident is notifiable, notify CQC and take advice.