Guidance

Apply to register a voluntary adoption agency

Updated 28 November 2025

Applies to England

If you want to apply to register a voluntary adoption agency, you must complete a Register a children’s social care service (SC1) form.

This guide explains how to complete the form, as someone registering a voluntary adoption agency. It also lists the documents you will need to provide.

Ensure that you have read and understood Ofsted’s Registering a voluntary adoption agency policy before you apply.

Due to the exceptionally high number of applications, it is taking us longer than usual to process new submissions. If you are applying to register, it is likely to be several months before you receive a decision.

To help avoid further delays, please ensure that you provide all required information both at the time of application and throughout the process.

Who needs to fill in the form

Who needs to fill in the SC1 form depends on the type of provider you are. 

Organisations, including limited liability partnerships

To fill out the form, you must be in one of the following roles, or be authorised by someone in one of the following roles:

• a director acting for the company
• an individual performing the same functions as, or similar functions to, those of a director
• a partner
• a trustee, director or chairperson acting for a charity or statutory body
• a chairperson or committee member acting for a committee

Partnerships not registered as limited liability partnerships

To fill out the form, you must be one of the partners acting on behalf of all the partners in the partnership.

Individual providers

If you are an individual provider, you must fill out the form yourself.

If you are a group of individuals (not operating as a partnership or company), one of those individuals must fill out the form.

Information you will need to provide 

We will ask for information about the voluntary adoption agency you want to register with Ofsted, and those who will be associated with your service.

You will need to provide:

• your company’s registration details (which must match the details recorded by Companies House)
• your unique reference number (URN) (if applicable) if you have applied to register, or been registered with Ofsted previously for any type of service
• your previous applications and registration details for children’s social care services
• your previous applications and registration details for any early years provision
• your previous applications and registration details for adult social services
• information about the voluntary adoption agency you want to register
• details of your premises and branches that you propose to operate from
• the range of fees that you will charge
• the date you plan to open your voluntary adoption agency
• the Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration number, if you hold a registration with CQC
• individuals you want to link to the registration, such as managers
• an original Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate for everyone who needs one
• details of a responsible individual who can submit their Apply to be associated with a children’s social care service (SC2) form as part of the application
• details of the manager of the principal office and the manager of each branch if applicable

The form asks for a lot of information. It can take several hours to complete. Gather everything you need before you start.

You can save your progress and come back to it later if you do not have all the information.

Previous Ofsted applications and registrations

If you have applied to register for any social care or early years provision with Ofsted before, we will need its URN.

Unique reference number

Your URN will be on correspondence regarding the relevant registration, and will follow a certain format:

• For social care registrations before 2015, the URN starts with SC and has 6 digits, for example SC123456
• For social care and early years registrations from 2015, the URN is 7 digits, for example 1234567
• For early years registration before 2015, the URN starts with EY and has 6 digits, for example EY123456

We also need the URN of:

• any holding companies you have that are registered with Ofsted
• any registered services in which you have a financial interest

Holding company and subsidiary details

If you have a holding company with subsidiaries registered with Ofsted, you will need to tell us the name, trading start date, URN, address and contact details for each subsidiary.

If your organisation is a subsidiary of a holding company, you must tell us the holding company’s name, trading start date, registered company number (or charity number, if applicable), address and contact details. You must also tell us about all the other subsidiaries of your holding company.

You must give us the accounts for the last 2 years for your holding company and all its subsidiaries.

Previous applications and registrations

Ofsted must know about all of your previous applications and registrations for children’s social care services, adult social care services and early years provision. You will be asked whether you have:

• made a previous application
• had a previous application refused
• been registered or licensed to run a service
• had a registration cancelled

If you answer yes to any of those questions, we will request further information.

The information we need about previous applications includes the URN. If you do not have a URN for that service (for example, adult social care services), then you will need to tell us about the type of service, dates of application, reason for the refusal (if relevant) and which public authority dealt with the application.

We also need to know who you registered with, how long the registration was for and the type of service. If you have had a registration cancelled, you need to provide either the URN or details about the service, including dates of registration and why it was cancelled.

Documents required for your application

We cannot accept your application unless you have provided all the documents that we need, and all the people who need to provide an Apply to be associated with a children’s social care service (SC2) form have done so.

With the SC1 form, you will need to provide:

• details of all other sites (branches) your agency will operate from
• your statement of purpose
• your guide for children
• your assessment process (if not included in the statement of purpose)
• confirmation that your premises has the necessary agreements in place, where applicable
• if the property is mortgaged or leased, proof that you can operate an adoption support agency
• your certificate of insurance (copy) or written confirmation that insurance will be provided
• your safeguarding policy
• your complaints procedure
• evidence of financial viability, including your business plan and cash-flow forecast
• if you are registering as a company, your last 2 annual reports and accounts (if available)
• reports for any holding company and any subsidiaries if applicable
• your charitable objects, if applicable
• your partnership agreement (for applications from partnerships)

When you are completing the SC1 form or SC2 form, you are required to disclose other information that the Care Standards Act 2000 identifies as relevant to your application. We will also ask to see other policies at different stages of the process, for example during a site visit.

Statement of purpose 

You must have a unique statement of purpose and children’s guide for each voluntary adoption agency that you are applying to register. Their contents will vary according to the type of agency that you intend to operate. 

The statement of purpose should meet the requirements of the voluntary adoption support agency regulations.

We will take the quality of the statement of purpose and children’s guide into account when making our decision about your fitness to practise. 

Children’s guide

All applications must include a children’s guide. When creating this, it is important that you have in mind the level of understanding of those who are going to read it. The type of words you use, the pictures you include, and the level of detail you go into should help every child who reads it to understand the important things about your voluntary adoption agency and what they can do to tell you if they think that something is not right.

Premises 

All voluntary adoption agencies must have a physical address linked to the application.

For all arrangements that relate to the premises of the adoption agency, you will need to demonstrate how the proposed operation of the service will meet the needs of adopters and the children adopted by them. This may include:

• the arrangements for working facilities for staff
• the arrangements for panel, training or support meetings
• the arrangements for confidential meeting space
• the arrangements for storing confidential records

During the registration visit, the inspector will undertake a short review of the proposed premises. This is to establish whether the proposed location is suitable for the activity that is planned to take place there and that there are secure arrangements to store records safely.

Certificate of insurance 

You must get a certificate of insurance for death, injury, public liability, damage or other loss before your agency starts to operate.

We appreciate that some insurers will not provide this until registration is granted. In this case, you must give us written confirmation that you will have a certificate of insurance before you start to operate. If the name and the address of the agency are not included on the certificate, you must prove that it is covered before you start to operate. 

Policies

It is important that the policies you have reflect your statement of purpose and match the needs of the children in your voluntary adoption agency.

Policies must follow relevant government guidance, but should also be tailored to those who will be using and working in your agency.

Safeguarding policy

This policy should reflect local authority protocols for safeguarding and child protection. It should explain how to work with the child’s placing authority if there are safeguarding concerns.

It must also explain:

• who is responsible for safeguarding in your organisation
• who manages any concerns raised about the nominated safeguarding lead
• what happens if someone makes an allegation against a member of staff
• what action you will take if a child needs protection

Complaints policy

This policy should explain:

• how staff respond to complaints from children and adults
• how complaints are investigated and how long this takes
• how people can escalate a complaint if they are not happy with the outcome
• how children are involved in the complaints process
• how children can contact someone outside the home if they want to raise a concern

Evidence of financial viability

Unless you are applying from a local authority or an NHS trust, you must include with your application: 

• your business plan
• your cashflow forecast
• if you are a body corporate, a copy of each of your last 2 annual reports and accounts
• the name and address of the registered or principal office if you are a subsidiary
• your last 2 annual reports of any holding company or subsidiary

Business plan

As a minimum, the business plan should cover:

• background information
• a financial plan
• an operational plan

Cashflow forecast 

Your cashflow forecast should estimate the projected monthly income and expenditure for the first 12 months of operation. This is simply a summary of the money that is expected to be paid into and out of the voluntary adoption agency, in cash terms, over the period. This is usually broken down into a month-by-month forecast.

Annual reports and accounts

If you are already operating, you must provide up to the last 2 annual reports and accounts. Where applicable, you should include the annual reports for the holding company and any subsidiaries of that holding company.

New companies do not need to submit annual reports or accounts. 

If relevant, you should provide a copy of any partnership agreement and any charitable purposes as set out by the Charities Commission.

Fees

You must pay a children’s social care registration fee as part of your application. Once you have submitted your application and we have all the documents to process it, we will send you an invoice for the fee. This fee is non-refundable.  

Once your voluntary adoption agency is registered, you must pay a children’s social care annual fee. Fees are set by the Department for Education (DfE) and are reviewed and updated every year. 

When you apply for a new registration, we always check whether you owe us fees from any previous registrations. We will consider any outstanding fees when assessing your fitness to practise, your integrity and your financial viability to provide a new voluntary adoption agency.

Recommended document file size and formats

You can upload documents in the following formats:

• PDF
• Microsoft Word (.docx)
• Excel (.xlsx)
• PowerPoint (.pptx)
• image file (.jpeg or .png)
• OpenDocument formats for a word processing document (.odt), a spreadsheet (.ods) or a presentation (.odp)

Documents must not be more than 2 MB in size.

If you need to reduce the size of your documents, try to:

• reduce the size of images before putting them in a document
• remove any unnecessary images
• save a Word document to the latest version of Word or as a PDF document
• save a PDF document to the smallest file option

If you are unable to upload any documents with your application due to the format or size, send them via email to sc.admin@ofsted.gov.uk. Quote your name and submission reference number. Upload a blank Word page to your application with just the date you emailed the documents to Ofsted and the comment: ‘Document emailed to sc.admin@ofsted.gov.uk’.  

Registration visit and interviews

We will carry out a registration visit for each application and visit all the buildings that are included in the application. During the visit, we assess the premises and services that you intend to offer and will interview all those associated with the application.

An inspector will contact you to discuss whether any reasonable adjustments are required.

Documents required during the inspector’s visit

Before or during the visit, the inspector will ask for specific documents that were not part of your original application. We ask for these to check whether you are ready to operate. You will only have this information, such as staff member details, after we accept your application. We are unlikely to make a decision about your registration without this information. It helps Ofsted judge how well you can care for children and keep them safe.

We will always ask for the following information during the visit. Inspectors will tell you before they visit whether they expect anything else:

• your original birth certificate for your identity when you were born
• original certified documents relating to each name change you have had since birth
• proof of your address and photographic evidence of your identity, for example a driving licence
• qualification documents
• the original DBS certificate for the manager and the responsible individual

If you have changed your name, Ofsted will want to see a clear audit trail of that change and your original birth certificate.

This is an important part of our safeguarding role. If it will be difficult for you to provide original documents, you must tell us as soon as possible so that we can help you to resolve the problem.

Staffing and adoption panel

We will need to see that you have enough staff members with the right experience and qualifications to fulfil your regulatory function in relation to the recruitment, preparation, assessment, approval and support of prospective adopters. We do not expect a full staff team to be in place, but there must be enough staff for your agency to open and be ready to assess your first adopters.

You must have available all recruitment records for the staff you have recruited before the registration visit, including those of the proposed manager and, where applicable, the responsible individual. If you normally hold these records elsewhere, you must arrange for them to be available at the registration visit.

Training and development

You should have ready a training and development plan that outlines:

• staff induction – how new staff are introduced to your agency, its policies and their roles
• supervision arrangements – how staff will be supported, monitored and guided in their work

Assessment process

You will need to have your assessment process available if you have not included it in the statement of purpose or application information.

Support arrangements for adopters

We will need to see both pre-placement and post-placement and other support arrangements you intend to offer to adopters.

Agency plan for securing sufficient potential adopters

We will look at your plan for securing sufficient potential adopters who can meet the needs of the children waiting for adoption and any children who are likely to need adoption in the future.

Record-keeping systems

You will need to provide examples of any paper-based or electronic systems that you intend to use to record children’s and adopters’ information.

Registration visit and interviews

The inspector will:

• ask whether any reasonable adjustments are required before each interview and visit
• read and discuss as necessary documentation you have provided
• interview people in certain roles of responsibility
• assess and evaluate all the information we have gathered

After the interview, the inspector will go over with you: 

• a summary of the evidence that they have collected
• the proposed condition of registration
• what happens next
• whether you need to submit any more information or further interviews are required

Interviews may take place on different days, and we will arrange them with each individual concerned, usually at the proposed registered address of the service. Inspectors will usually interview the appointed responsible individual, even if they have been interviewed by us before.

Interviews are an opportunity for you to demonstrate your skills, expertise and knowledge for your role. The interview will draw out your experience and values to see how you will use these to provide your service.

Responsible individual’s interview

Your interview will cover your knowledge and understanding of:

• the role of the responsible individual
• safeguarding and child protection
• the law and guidance in relation to voluntary adoption agencies
• the skills, knowledge and ability necessary to carry on the voluntary adoption agency
• the business and management skills required to supervise the agency
• the capacity you have to carry out regular evaluation of the quality of care provided

We will explore and assess how they will exercise their responsibilities, for example how the responsible individual will:

• maintain regular and effective oversight of the agency
• respond to any emerging leadership matters that affect adopters and children’s security and well-being
• support and challenge the manager and provider to promote best outcomes for children
• represent the views of adopters and children to the manager and provider
• be available for Ofsted to discuss safeguarding notifications
• be available for Ofsted to discuss adoption national minimum standard 25 reports
• inform and discuss with Ofsted any referrals made under the ‘Prevent’ duty
• be available for feedback on an inspection
• inform Ofsted when the manager will be absent for more than 28 days or leaves

Manager’s qualifications and experience

The manager and branch manager will have, on taking up the post:

• a recognised level 5 social work qualification or a professional qualification (if qualified before 2011, level 4 will be accepted)
• at least 2 years’ experience relevant to adoption within the past 5 years
• at least one year’s experience supervising and managing professional staff
• in-depth knowledge and experience of childcare law and practice

Where the agency provides an inter-country adoption service, managers must show knowledge of:

• inter-country legislation and practice
• the principles of the law and eligibility criteria for the overseas country
• the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption
• the immigration rules and immigration legislation that apply to the country
• the implications for children who are adopted outside the British Isles
• the implications for children who are taken out of the British Isles for adoption

Managers’ interviews

Ofsted does not register the manager or branch managers, but we will consider their suitability for the role as part of our overall registration decision. You should only appoint a manager who you have assessed as suitable to manage the service. We may refuse your application if we do not consider the manager to be suitable. We will interview them to determine whether they meet the registration requirements.

Managers must show that they have the skills to lead, manage and improve a voluntary adoption agency and that the agency has the capacity and capability to meet the required quality standards.

When enquiring about management skills, we explore and assess the manager’s experience and skills in:

• supervising others in a role relevant to the operation of the service you intend to provide
• managing staff’s performance
• safeguarding children and taking appropriate action to protect them
• building relationships with children and adopters and taking their views into account
• setting out and using quality assurance systems to drive improvement
• co-ordinating multi-agency resources to help children thrive
• understanding the statement of purpose for the agency
• understanding how to meet the voluntary adoption agency regulations, national minimum standards and statutory guidance
• having oversight of the panel, including its quality assurance function
• ensuring the delivery of a high-quality adoption service through the support of staff and adopters

We will also explore and assess their experience and skills in: 

• understanding the needs of the children who will be adopted through the agency
• understanding the range of services that the agency will provide
• assessing and supporting adopters to meet children’s needs
• understanding the specialist aspects of identifying appropriate adopters, such as recruiting, assessing, approving, supporting and training
• ensuring that staff are suitably trained and experienced to undertake their roles
• understanding the role of the panel in assuring the quality and safety of the service
• identifying and minimising risk

Changes to your application

During the registration process, you must tell us straight away if there are changes to any of the details in your application.

If you want to make changes to your application before we have granted registration, you must write to tell us about changes to:

• the name or address of the proposed provider or responsible individual
• the person who is applying to be the provider or responsible individual
• the members of a partnership
• a director or any other person who has submitted an SC2 form
• the conditions that you are applying to register

If these changes involve a new person in one of the above roles, they will need to fill in an SC2 form. If they do not do this within 12 weeks of you paying your registration fee, we may write to you to tell you that your application has been closed because we have been unable to process it without the relevant information.

What happens next

When you apply online to register a voluntary adoption agency, you will get a submission reference number. This is 14 characters long and includes numbers, hyphens and uppercase letters, for example ABCD-1234-1234.

This reference number will be on the email sent to you, confirming that your application has been accepted.  

All responsible individuals or partners linked to the voluntary adoption agency must tell Ofsted about themselves separately by completing an SC2 form. You will need to provide them with your submission reference number so they can complete their application forms. Your application to register a voluntary adoption agency is not complete until all application forms are completed. We will get in touch if we have any questions.

Questions about your application

We know that your application is very important to you, and sometimes you want to speak to us to ask us for an update.  

If you are unable to find the information you need in our voluntary adoption agency guidance for applicants, you can contact our social care applications team by email at sc.admin@ofsted.gov.uk the subject line must say ‘Social care application’. Provide your full name and reference number for someone to contact you.

Once we have sent your application to our regional team, an inspector will be allocated to your application. They will speak to you and let you know how to contact them.

You are responsible for supplying us with full, correct and suitable information to support your application. 

It is an offence under the Care Standards Act 2000 to provide a false or misleading statement in an application.