Standards for Accredited Registers

We set Standards for organisations that register people who work in health and social care. If an organisation meets our Standards, we accredit their register and award them our Quality Mark. Standards for Accredited Registers promote good practice. 

When an Accredited Register displays our Quality Mark, it shows that they are committed to protecting the public and are working to good practice.

Organisations must meet ALL of our Standards to be able to demonstrate that they uphold these principles and meet the Quality Mark requirements.

Standard One, the eligibility and public interest test, must be met before we assess against the remaining Standards Two to Nine. More information about how we assess Standard One can be found in our Supplementary Guidance for Standard One.

Our Standards are:

1. Eligibility and public interest The organisation holds a register of people in health and/or social care roles that do not have to be regulated by law. The activities carried out by its registrants are beneficial to the health and/or wellbeing of the public and outweigh any risks/harm. Risks are mitigated by the organisation’s standards and requirements for registrants.
2. Management of the register The organisation maintains and publishes an accurate register of those who meet its requirements including any restrictions on their practice.
3. Standards for registrants The organisation sets appropriate standards for competence, professional and ethical behaviour, and business practice.
4. Education and training The organisation sets appropriate education standards for the role(s) registered and ensures that registrants can identify when referral to another health or social care professional may be required.
5. Complaints and concerns about registrants The organisation has robust processes in place for ensuring that concerns about registrants are dealt with in a transparent, timely, and fair way.
6. Governance The governance of the organisation supports public protection and promotes transparency, integrity, and accountability.
7. Management of risks arising from the role(s) registered The organisation has a thorough understanding of the risks to service users and the public presented by the activities undertaken by its registrants and takes action to mitigate them. 
8. Communications and engagement The organisation provides clear and accessible information to the public, its registrants and other stakeholders about itself, the role(s) it registers, and about the accredited registers programme. Its uses engagement with relevant stakeholders to inform and enhance public protection.

9. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion The organisation demonstrates its commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and ensures that its processes are fair and free from unfair discrimination.

The minimum requirements for the Standards are set out in our Evidence Framework. We use this as a guide during assessment to ensure consistency.

More about assessment against the Standards can be found in our Guidance for Accredited Registers.

We expect Accredited Registers to recognise the decisions of other Accredited Registers and regulatory bodies.