How to Write a Statement of Purpose That Meets CQC Standards in 2026

Write a CQC Statement of Purpose that accurately defines your service, locations, regulated activities, service user groups, and management structure. Align the document with your application, policies, staffing, and governance arrangements. Include all required registration details and maintain accuracy through regular updates.

Your Statement of Purpose is one of the most important documents in your CQC new registration application. It tells the Care Quality Commission what your service does, where you provide it, who manages it, and which regulated activities you intend to deliver.

At DKJ Support Services, we help providers prepare CQC registration documents that reflect how their service actually works. Our aim with this article is to help you understand what the CQC expects in 2026, what to include in your Statement of Purpose, and how to avoid common mistakes that can lead to rework or delay. If you are preparing a new application, it is also worth checking related requirements (such as the CQC DBS check requirements for new applications) because your Statement of Purpose should align with your wider registration evidence.

CQC’s current guidance on the Statement of Purpose was last updated on 2 February 2026. It states that this document is required for all services submitting a new provider registration application, and that it must show how you will meet Schedule 3 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, as amended in 2012.

What is a CQC Statement of Purpose?

A CQC Statement of Purpose is a legally required document that explains the purpose, scope and structure of your regulated service. It should give the CQC a clear picture of what you plan to provide and how your service is organised.

It should explain your aims and objectives, the locations where you provide services, the type of service you provide, the needs of the people using your service, the regulated activities you deliver, and the registered manager arrangements for each location.

In simple terms, your Statement of Purpose should answer three questions:

1. What do you provide?
2. Where do you provide it?
3. Who is responsible for managing it?

This document is not just an administrative formality. It is the foundation document for your application. The CQC can compare it against your application form, policies, staffing structure, registered manager details, governance arrangements and service model.

That is why a generic template can cause problems. A template may help with structure, but the final document must describe your actual service. It should be tailored to your real staffing, real locations, real regulated activities and real service user groups.

Why the CQC Places Weight on your Statement of Purpose

The CQC uses your Statement of Purpose to understand the scope of your service. If this document is vague, inconsistent or incomplete, it can create doubt about the rest of your application.

Your Statement of Purpose helps the CQC check whether your application is coherent. For example, if you say you provide diagnostic and screening procedures at one location, your policies, staffing, equipment, premises and governance arrangements should support that. If your Statement of Purpose names a registered manager for several locations, it should also explain the percentage of time they spend at each one.

This is where many providers run into difficulty. The Statement of Purpose says one thing, the application form says another, and the policies appear to describe a different service altogether.

DKJ’s existing guidance on CQC registration documents describes the Statement of Purpose as the document that outlines what services you provide, your aims and objectives, and the needs of the population you serve. That is exactly why it needs to be accurate. It sets the tone for the rest of your registration evidence.

What Must Be Included in a CQC Statement of Purpose in 2026?

The CQC’s 2026 guidance sets out clear expectations for what your Statement of Purpose must include. The exact wording should be specific to your service, but the core content should cover the following areas.

Your aims and objectives

Your aims and objectives should explain why your service exists and what you intend to achieve through your regulated activities.

This section should be factual and specific. Avoid broad marketing phrases such as “we provide the best care” or “we are the leading provider”. The CQC is not looking for sales language. It is looking for a clear explanation of the purpose of your regulated service.

For example, a private GP clinic might explain that its aim is to provide safe, accessible, appointment-based medical consultations, assessment, treatment and onward referral where needed. A diagnostic service might explain that its aim is to provide safe diagnostic and screening procedures, with clear reporting, escalation and referral pathways.

Your aims and objectives should match the regulated activities you are applying to provide at each location. The CQC’s guidance says the document should include your aims and objectives in providing regulated activities at the locations where you operate.

Details of each location

Your Statement of Purpose must include details for every location where you provide regulated activities.

For each location, include the address and contact details. You should also describe the location and explain whether the property has any other uses. For example, if the service operates from part of a wider clinic, shared healthcare building, domestic dwelling or multi-use premises, this should be clear.

You should then explain the type of service provided at or from that location. Be specific. “Healthcare services” is usually too broad. A clearer description might refer to private GP consultations, minor surgery, diagnostic imaging, community-based personal care, aesthetics services involving regulated activities, or another defined model.

For each location, you must also identify the service user bands, the regulated activities provided there, and the registered manager responsible for those activities. The CQC lists these as required details for each location.

Service user bands

Service user bands describe the different needs of the people who use your service. This section is often too vague in weak Statements of Purpose.

You should only include service user bands that genuinely apply to your service. Do not copy a long list from a template if you do not provide services to those groups. That can make your application look inaccurate and may suggest that your staffing, training and governance arrangements need to cover needs you are not actually set up to meet.

Depending on your service, relevant groups may include adults, older people, children and young people, people with physical disabilities, people with sensory impairments, people with mental health needs, autistic people, or people with a learning disability.

The key is accuracy. If you support children, your safeguarding, staffing and consent arrangements should reflect that. If you support people with complex needs, your training and governance should reflect that too.

Regulated activities

Your Statement of Purpose must clearly state which CQC-regulated activities you provide at each location.

Common regulated activities include treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures, diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services, personal care, nursing care, and transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely.

Do not guess this section. Your regulated activities must match your application form and the real work you intend to carry out. They should also align with your policies, staff competencies, premises, equipment, insurance and governance arrangements.

For example, if your Statement of Purpose says you provide surgical procedures, the CQC may expect your supporting evidence to show how you manage consent, infection prevention and control, clinical risk, emergencies, medicines, aftercare, equipment and staff competence.

Registered manager details

Your Statement of Purpose must include clear details for each registered manager.

The CQC’s 2026 guidance says each registered manager section should include the manager’s full name, contact details, service-of-notices address, the locations they manage, the percentage of time they spend at each location, the regulated activities they manage, and any job share arrangements.

This section needs particular care if you have more than one location, a part-time registered manager, shared management duties, or different regulated activities at different sites.

If one registered manager covers several locations, explain how their time is divided. If two people share the role, explain the job share arrangement. If one manager oversees treatment of disease, disorder or injury while another oversees diagnostic and screening procedures, make this clear.

Do not leave the CQC to infer how the service is managed. Spell it out.

Specialist services for autistic people and people with a learning disability

If you plan to provide a specialist service for autistic people or people with a learning disability, your Statement of Purpose must show how you have considered their needs.

The CQC’s guidance says this includes explaining what you have done to make sure people can access and use your Statement of Purpose.

This may include plain English versions, easy read formats, communication support, accessible information, staff training, reasonable adjustments and a clear explanation of how your service model meets people’s needs.

This section should not be added as an afterthought. It should connect to your staffing, training, governance, communication and care planning arrangements.

How to Write a CQC Statement of Purpose Step by Step

Step 1: Map your real service before you write.

Before opening a template, map your actual service.

Write down what you will provide, where you will provide it, who will use the service, which regulated activities apply, who will manage the service, and what staff, premises and equipment are needed.

This helps prevent one of the most common problems: writing a polished document that does not match the real operating model.

Start with practical questions:

• What care, treatment or support will you provide?
• Which locations will you use?
• Will services be clinic-based, remote, mobile, domiciliary or mixed?
• Which patients or service users will you support?
• Which regulated activities apply?
• Who will manage each regulated activity?
• What is outside your scope?

Being clear about what you do not provide can be just as important as explaining what you do provide. It helps define the boundaries of your service.

Step 2: Confirm your regulated activities.

Your regulated activities are central to your CQC registration. They should be correct before you draft the rest of the Statement of Purpose.

Check that the regulated activities in your Statement of Purpose match your CQC application form. Then check that your policies and staffing arrangements support those activities.

If your service includes treatment of disease, disorder or injury, your document should reflect the clinical governance needed for that activity. If you provide diagnostic and screening procedures, your document should reflect the way diagnostic services are delivered, reported and escalated. If you provide personal care, your document should reflect care planning, safeguarding, staffing and risk management.

This is not a box-ticking exercise. The regulated activities define what the CQC is being asked to register.

Step 3: Write specific aims and objectives.

Your aims and objectives should be clear, realistic and tied to the regulated activities you provide.

A useful approach is to write a short opening paragraph followed by a focused list of aims. For example, your aims may cover safe care, person-centred care, clear access arrangements, effective governance, appropriate staffing, safeguarding, confidentiality and continuous review.

Keep the wording factual. You can say that your service aims to provide safe, effective and person-centred care within its registered scope. You should avoid claims that are promotional, difficult to evidence or unrelated to CQC standards.

Step 4: Create a full entry for each location.

Each location should have its own clear section. This is especially important if services differ between sites.

For each location, include the full address, contact details, a description of the premises, the type of service provided, the regulated activities delivered, the service user bands, and the registered manager responsible.

If one site provides consultations and another provides procedures, say so. If one site is administrative only and no regulated activities take place there, make that clear too.

A multi-site provider should not rely on one general description for all locations unless the service model is genuinely identical across all sites.

Step 5: Set out registered manager arrangements clearly.

Your registered manager section should make it easy for the CQC to understand who is accountable for each regulated activity at each location.

Include the manager’s full name, contact details, service-of-notices address, locations managed, percentage of time spent at each location, and the activities they manage.

If the arrangement is complex, use a small table. For example, a table can show the location, regulated activity, registered manager, percentage of time and any job share notes.

Clarity matters here because the CQC will want to understand whether management oversight is realistic.

Step 6: Check the Statement of Purpose against your policies.

Once the draft is complete, compare it with your supporting documents.

Your Statement of Purpose should align with your safeguarding policy, consent policy, complaints policy, infection prevention and control policy, medicines management policy, recruitment policy, staff training plan, governance policy and business continuity arrangements.

For example, if your Statement of Purpose says you provide services to children, your safeguarding policy must cover children. If it says you provide surgical procedures, your infection control, consent, emergency and aftercare procedures should support that.

DKJ’s guidance on CQC templates notes that templates can provide structure, but they need to be adapted to the specific service. This is particularly important for the Statement of Purpose because it sits at the centre of the application.

Step 7: Review for consistency before submission.

Before submitting your Statement of Purpose, review it line by line.

• Check that every location is included.
• Check that the regulated activities match the application.
• Check that the registered manager details are complete.
• Check that service user bands are accurate.
• Check that the document has version control and a review date.

Overall, confirm that the document describes the service you will actually operate.

Common CQC Statement of Purpose Mistakes to Avoid

Using a generic template without tailoring it

Templates can be useful, but they can also create problems if they describe a different type of service.

A private GP clinic, diagnostic provider, adult social care service, cosmetic surgery clinic and remote advice service should not all have the same Statement of Purpose. The risks, staffing, premises, service user groups and regulated activities may be different.

Use a template for structure, not for generic content.

Missing service user bands

Service user bands are easy to overlook, but the CQC’s guidance specifically requires them for each location.

If this section is missing, the document is incomplete. If it is inaccurate, it can create confusion about who the service is designed to support.

Regulated activities that do not match the application

This is one of the most serious consistency issues.

Your Statement of Purpose, application form, registered manager details and policies should all describe the same regulated activities. If they do not, the CQC may question whether the provider understands the scope of registration.

Weak or promotional aims

Your aims and objectives should not read like a brochure. The CQC needs to understand the purpose of the service and the standards you intend to maintain.

Avoid unsupported claims. Focus on safe, effective, person-centred, well-governed care within the scope of your registration.

Unclear registered manager coverage

If a registered manager covers more than one location, show the percentage of time they spend at each one. If there is a job share, explain it. If different managers oversee different activities, make that clear.

Do not leave gaps in management accountability.

Out-of-date legal references

The CQC’s 2026 guidance refers to Schedule 3 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, as amended in 2012. Your Statement of Purpose should not rely on outdated or incorrect legislative references.

Policies that describe a different service

Your Statement of Purpose may be well written, but it will not hold up if the rest of your documents tell a different story.

If your Statement of Purpose says your service supports autistic people, your policies and training should reflect that. If it says you provide treatment to children, your safeguarding and consent arrangements should reflect that. If it says you provide regulated activities from a specific location, your premises evidence should support that.

What should a CQC Statement of Purpose look like?

There is no single layout that fits every provider, but a clear Statement of Purpose will usually include:

• Provider details
• Legal entity details
• Aims and objectives
• Regulated activities
• Location details
• Service description for each location
• Service user bands
• Registered manager details
• Management and governance arrangements
• Specialist service considerations, where relevant
• Accessibility arrangements, where relevant
• Version control and review date

The structure should make it easy for the CQC to find the required information. Avoid long, dense sections where key details are buried. Use headings, short paragraphs and tables where they improve clarity.

When should you update your Statement of Purpose?

Your Statement of Purpose should be kept up to date. Review it whenever your service changes.

You may need to update it if you add or remove a regulated activity, open or close a location, appoint a new registered manager, change your management structure, expand to a new service user group, change your service model, or introduce specialist provision.

Do not treat the document as something you only write for registration and then file away. It should remain an accurate description of your regulated service.

How DKJ Support Services Can Help

DKJ Support Services can help you prepare or review a Statement of Purpose that reflects your real service.

We can support you by checking whether your regulated activities, locations, registered manager details, service user bands and aims are clearly set out. We can also review whether your Statement of Purpose aligns with your application form, policies, training plan and governance arrangements.

Our approach is practical. We do not treat the Statement of Purpose as a standalone template. We look at how it connects to the rest of your registration evidence, so that your documents tell one consistent story about how your service will operate.

This can be especially useful if you are setting up a private clinic, opening more than one location, applying for several regulated activities, or preparing a specialist service where accessibility and service user needs require careful explanation.

CQC Statement of Purpose Checklist for 2026

Before submitting your Statement of Purpose, check that it includes:

1. Provider name and legal entity details
2. Aims and objectives
3. Regulated activities
4. Address and contact details for each location
5. Description of each location
6. Type of service provided at or from each location
7. Service user bands for each location
8. Registered manager for each location
9. Registered manager contact details
10. Service-of-notices address for each registered manager
11. Locations managed by each registered manager
12. Percentage of time each registered manager spends at each location
13. Regulated activities managed by each registered manager
14. Job share arrangements, if relevant
15. Specialist service accessibility considerations, if relevant
16. Version control
17. Review date
18. Consistency with the CQC application form
19. Consistency with your policies and procedures
20. Consistency with your staffing and training arrangements

FAQs about CQC Statements of Purpose

Is a Statement of Purpose required for every CQC application?

The CQC’s 2026 supporting documents guidance says all services need to send a Statement of Purpose with a new provider registration application.

Is a CQC Statement of Purpose legally required?

Yes. The CQC describes the Statement of Purpose as a legally required document. It must show how you will meet Schedule 3 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, as amended in 2012.

Can I use a CQC Statement of Purpose template?

Yes, but it must be tailored. A template can help you structure the document, but the content must match your actual service, regulated activities, locations, staffing and registered manager arrangements.

What are service user bands?

Service user bands describe the different needs of people who use your service. They should be accurate and relevant to the service you provide. Do not include service user bands that do not apply to your service model.

How often should I update my Statement of Purpose?

You should update it whenever your service changes. This may include changes to locations, regulated activities, registered managers, service user groups, specialist provision or the way your service is delivered.

Does the Statement of Purpose need to be accessible?

For specialist services for autistic people and people with a learning disability, the CQC says you must explain how you have considered people’s needs, including what you have done to make sure people can access and use your Statement of Purpose.

Conclusion

Your Statement of Purpose is one of the most important documents in your CQC registration application. It defines your service, your locations, your regulated activities, your service user groups and your management arrangements.

To meet CQC standards in 2026, it needs to be clear, accurate and tailored to your real service. A generic template is not enough if it does not reflect how your clinic, practice or care service will actually operate.

DKJ Support Services can help you write or review your Statement of Purpose so that it aligns with your wider CQC registration documents. Our aim is to help you reduce avoidable rework and prepare documentation that clearly reflects your service from the start.