The short version
As a registered manager, you have a legal duty to notify CQC about certain events affecting your service or the people who use it. These statutory notifications aren't optional, and failing to make them is itself a breach of the regulations, one that's entirely avoidable and that inspectors notice. The categories include things like deaths, serious injuries, allegations of abuse, events that stop or may stop the service running, and others.
This article explains what notifications are for, the broad categories of notifiable events, why they matter so much, and how to make sure you never miss one. For the exact current list of notifiable events and the specific timeframes, always check CQC's current guidance, the categories are stable in substance but the detail is something you should verify directly.
What statutory notifications are for
A statutory notification is how CQC stays informed about significant events at the services it regulates, between inspections. CQC can't be everywhere all the time, so the notification system is one of the main ways the regulator knows what's happening, particularly when something serious occurs.
The duty exists because the regulator needs to be able to respond to serious events, to spot patterns across services, and to hold providers and managers accountable for how they handle significant incidents. When a death, a serious injury, or an allegation of abuse occurs, CQC needs to know, both to assess whether the service responded appropriately and to identify whether there's a wider risk.
For you as the registered manager, the notification duty is a continuous obligation that runs alongside the day-to-day running of the service. It's not something that comes up only at inspection; it's a live duty that applies whenever a notifiable event occurs.
The broad categories of notifiable events
The specific list and definitions are set out in the regulations and in CQC's guidance, which you should consult in their current form. But the broad categories, the kinds of events that are notifiable, cluster as follows:
Deaths. The death of a person using the service, in defined circumstances, is notifiable. The exact circumstances and definitions matter, so check the current guidance, but the principle is that CQC needs to know when someone using a service dies in circumstances connected to the service.
Serious injuries. Injuries to people using the service that meet a defined seriousness threshold are notifiable.
Allegations of abuse. Abuse, or allegations of abuse, involving a person using the service are notifiable. This is one of the most important categories and one where prompt notification matters.
Events that stop or may stop the service running. If something happens that disrupts or threatens the running of the service, for example, an event affecting the premises, or a situation affecting the service's ability to operate, that's notifiable.
Police involvement. Where the police are involved in relation to a person using the service, in defined circumstances, this can be notifiable.
Applications and events affecting capacity and liberty. For services where the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards or the Mental Capacity Act apply, certain related events are notifiable.
Changes to the service or the people running it. Some changes, to the registered manager, to the nominated individual, to the provider's circumstances, require notification or application, depending on the change.
This is a summary of the kinds of events, not a complete legal list. The precise notifiable events, their definitions, and the routes for making each notification are set out in CQC's guidance, and you should know that guidance for your specific service.
Why getting this right matters so much
Notifications are one of the areas where a registered manager can create a regulatory problem out of nothing. The underlying event might have been handled well, the death investigated properly, the safeguarding concern referred and acted on, the incident managed appropriately, but if the notification to CQC wasn't made, or wasn't made in time, that failure becomes its own breach, independent of how well the event itself was handled.
I saw this repeatedly as an inspector. A service that had actually responded well to a serious event would nonetheless be marked down because they hadn't notified CQC, or had notified late. It was avoidable, and it was frustrating to see, because the underlying handling had often been fine. The notification failure turned a well-handled event into a compliance problem.
The other reason it matters: a pattern of missed or late notifications tells an inspector something about the governance of the service. If notifications are being missed, what else is being missed? A reliable notification process is a signal of a well-run service; an unreliable one raises the question of what else isn't reliable.
How to make sure you never miss one
Know which events are notifiable for your service. Read CQC's current guidance for your service type. Make sure you, and the people who might first become aware of a notifiable event, know what triggers a notification.
Build notification into your incident and safeguarding processes. The moment a serious incident or safeguarding concern is identified, the question "is this notifiable?" should be part of the process, not an afterthought days later. The best way to never miss a notification is to make the check automatic whenever a relevant event occurs.
Track notifications through to completion. A notification has a lifecycle: it needs to be identified, drafted, submitted, and (where relevant) followed up. Track where each one is, so none gets started and then forgotten.
Know the timeframes. Different notifications have different required timeframes. Some are more urgent than others. Know the current timeframes for your service type and treat them as deadlines, because that's what they are.
Keep the evidence. Keep a record of what you notified, when, and how. If a question ever arises about whether you met your notification duty, the evidence that you did is what protects you.
From the inspector's chair
If I could give a registered manager one piece of advice about notifications, it would be: make the "is this notifiable?" check a reflex, built into the moment a serious event occurs, rather than something you remember to think about afterwards.
The missed notifications I saw almost never came from a registered manager deciding not to notify. They came from the question simply not being asked at the right moment, the serious event happened, the team dealt with it, everyone moved on, and the notification that should have been made in the first days got overlooked in the press of handling the event itself. By the time anyone thought about CQC, the window had passed.
The services that never missed notifications were the ones where the check was structural. When a serious incident was logged, "does this need a notification?" was part of the workflow, not a separate thing someone had to remember. That's the difference between a notification process you can rely on and one that depends on someone happening to think of it.
How Verivius helps
This is one of the clearest places Verivius earns its keep for a registered manager. The platform makes the notification check part of the workflow: when an incident, safeguarding concern, or other significant event is logged, the question of whether it's notifiable is built into the process rather than left to memory. Notifications are then tracked through their own lifecycle, drafted, submitted, awaiting response, responded, so none gets started and forgotten, and the evidence of what you notified and when is preserved automatically.
For a duty where the most common failure is simply forgetting to ask the question at the right moment, building the question into the system is exactly the protection a registered manager needs.
Read more about how Verivius handles statutory notifications
Frequently asked questions
What does a registered manager have to notify CQC about?
The broad categories include deaths and serious injuries involving people using the service, allegations of abuse, events that stop or may stop the service running, certain police involvement, and certain events relating to capacity and liberty, among others. The precise list and definitions are set out in CQC's current guidance, which you should consult for your specific service type.
How quickly do I have to make a notification?
Different notifications have different required timeframes, and some are more urgent than others. Check the current timeframes in CQC's guidance for your service type, and treat them as the deadlines they are. Some notifications need to be made without delay.
What happens if I miss a notification or notify late?
Failing to make a required notification, or making it late, is itself a breach of the regulations, independent of how well the underlying event was handled. Inspectors notice missed and late notifications, and a pattern of them raises questions about the wider governance of the service. It's an avoidable problem.
Is the notification the same as a safeguarding referral?
No. A safeguarding referral to the local authority and a statutory notification to CQC are different things with different recipients, though the same event may require both. Don't assume that referring a safeguarding concern to the local authority discharges your CQC notification duty, check whether both are needed.
How do I actually make a notification to CQC?
CQC provides routes for submitting notifications, set out on its website. The route can differ by notification type. Make sure you know the current process for your service type before you need it, not in the middle of handling a serious event.
Should every member of staff know about notifications, or just the registered manager?
While the duty sits with the registered manager (and provider), the people who might first become aware of a notifiable event, frontline staff, should know enough to flag it promptly. A notifiable event that frontline staff don't recognise as significant can sit unreported until it's too late to notify in time.
This article was last reviewed on 31 May 2026. Notification categories, definitions, and timeframes are specific and can change; verify the current requirements at cqc.org.uk for your service type before relying on the details here. This article is general information, not legal advice.
Related reading: How Verivius handles statutory notifications · What a registered manager actually does · A registered manager's legal responsibilities