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The National Standard for Independent Care

NRIC provides the professional infrastructure that bridges the gap between independent carers and local authorities. Whether you are looking to register for professional benefits or seeking a vetted workforce for your region, find everything you need to know about our standards and support below.

NRIC is for independent carers who want a clear registration route that can be used wherever you get your work from. It is aimed at self-employed care and support workers, working directly for families.

Registration costs £60 per year, which is renewed annually.

You will be asked to provide core registration information. This includes:

  • Identity verification
  • Right to work evidence
  • An enhanced DBS check (within 3 years of date)
  • Public liability insurance
  • References

If you are unsure about the criteria required for your references, please use our guide to help you. 

Registration provides:

  • A current, checkable registration status
  • Proof of registration
  • A registration ID number ID Card.
  • Access to member benefits such as content, practical resources, wellbeing support and Blue Light Card access.

Registration is completed online. If you already have the required documents ready, it can usually be completed quickly. If not, you can save your progress and return later.

Yes. You can start your registration, save your progress and return when you are ready.

You appear on the register once your registration has been completed, checked and approved. This is within 5 working days.

Yes it is intended

No. NRIC is not intended for employed PA arrangements. It is aimed at independent self-employed care workers, who are responsible for their service. Employed PA’s can access support and membership through The Independent Living Group.

Public liability insurance forms part of the registration requirements. If you do not yet have cover, you can start your registration, save your progress and return once your insurance is in place. Specialist insurers that cover Independent Care include Mark Bates Insurance, Fish Inusrance and Surewise.

If your DBS does not meet the current registration requirements, you may need to obtain an updated check before registration can be approved. You can access an Enhanced DBS from U-Check.

Registration is the core service. Depending on the current member offer, additional support may include:

  • Access to training content (including the Care Certificate)*
  • Practical resources (Policies and Templates)
  • Wellbeing support
  • Legal and financial guidance
  • Business support

*NRIC does not provide any training certification or employer sign off.

NRIC is designed to sit alongside platforms, directories and private arrangements. It provides a registration status that can be used across different routes to work. It does not replace the platform or directory you already use.

Not directly. NRIC is not a matching service, agency or introduction platform. It provides a registration status that can be used across different routes to work. NRIC has partnered with councils, directories, platforms and communities so care can be totally independent, and carers do not give up a share of their earnings.

NRIC is designed as a registration route for genuinely independent carers, not as part of an introductory or brokerage model. The employment status guide highlights that intermediary arrangements can create employment status, Employment Agency Standards and CQC boundary risks. Keeping NRIC separate helps maintain clear legal and operational boundaries.

If you are on the register, your name, registration number, location and registration status will be visible. Personal contact details, identity documents and supporting documents will not be shown on the public register.

To keep a current registration status, required documents will need to remain current and may need to be updated at renewal or when circumstances change. Registration is renewed annually, and current documents form part of that process.

Once your registration is complete, you’ll receive a unique access code to access your Blue Light Card. NRIC is the only route to access a blue light card for independent carers.

The Boundary Checker is a simple tool that helps you understand how your work setup actually operates in practice, including employment status and key legal boundaries. It helps you avoid common risks and make confident decisions about how you work independently. It will not determine whether a particular arrangement is lawful or compliant.

NRIC is a voluntary registration route for independent carers. It records completion of core verification requirements and provides a way to confirm current registration status.

NRIC is not:

  • A regulator
  • A statutory scheme
  • A matching service
  • A care directory
  • An employment agency
  • An introductory agency
  • A substitute for local judgement, safeguarding or decision-making responsibilities

No. NRIC is a voluntary registration route. It does not replace statutory regulation, local safeguarding arrangements or council decision-making.

NRIC is designed to sit alongside existing local arrangements. It can provide a common registration layer, while allowing councils and direct payment support services to apply any additional local checks or requirements they want to use. Over time, it may also support more joined-up working, for example by linking registered carers through to local directories once registration is confirmed. It does not replace local judgement, local support or decision-making.

Over time, phase two may also help councils identify where arrangements may be clearer or less clear, and where further advice may be needed

Recognition means a council acknowledges NRIC as an optional registration route for independent carers and may choose to reference it alongside existing arrangements. It may also provide a simple way for a council to stay connected to developments and receive updates. It does not mean endorsement of individual carers or a transfer of local responsibilities.

No. Recognition is intended to be light-touch. It does not require a council to purchase anything, adopt NRIC as a formal scheme, route people through it or change local practice.

There is not cost to councils or partners. NRIC operates through a £60 annual registration cost for independent carers.

NRIC’s core registration checks are intended to include:

  • Identity verification
  • Right to work
  • An enhanced DBS check
  • Public liability insurance
  • References

The published registration requirements should set out the current check-set in full.

Phase one provides registration and current status-checking. Phase two is intended to add clearer guidance on employment status, care arrangements and regulatory boundaries, informed by the PA employment status guide and related work. It is intended to support clearer information and better decision-making, not replace local judgement.

Subject to the agreed data approach, local authorities may be able to access information on registered carers in their area. Over time, wider anonymised insight may also support market shaping or workforce planning.

Any concern should be raised through the published NRIC concerns and quality assurance  process once available. This sits alongside, not instead of, local safeguarding and statutory routes where those apply.

Yes. NRIC is expected to have a published concerns and review process, which may include remedial action, suspension or removal from the register where appropriate.

Councils and local systems remain responsible for:

  • Local safeguarding duties
  • Local decision-making
  • Local directories and support arrangements
  • Any decisions about signposting, engagement or use

NRIC does not remove or replace those responsibilities.

NRIC is designed as a registration route for genuinely independent carers, not as part of an introductory or brokerage model. The employment status guide highlights that intermediary arrangements can create employment status, Employment Agency Standards and CQC boundary risks. Keeping NRIC separate helps maintain clear legal and operational boundaries.

No. NRIC is designed to sit alongside existing platforms, directories and other routes to work. It does not replace your model.

Yes. NRIC is a voluntary registration route. It is not intended to create exclusivity, mandatory adoption or gatekeeping.

No. NRIC is intended to be light-touch. Partners may choose to reference NRIC registration status without changing their underlying model.

Yes. A platform may choose to allow carers to display their NRIC registration status or NRIC ID number alongside existing profile information.

Yes, where that fits your model. A link to the public register search or display of an NRIC ID number can help users confirm current registration status.

NRIC is designed to sit alongside existing checks and processes. It can provide a common registration layer, while allowing councils, platforms and partners to add any additional checks or local requirements they want to apply. Over time, it may also support more joined-up working, for example by linking registered carers through to local directories or partner platforms once registration is confirmed.

NRIC is designed to record core registration information once and make current registration status easier to confirm across different settings. This may help reduce some repeated requests for the same information, but it does not remove the need for platforms or partners to decide what they require within their own model.

Engagement is intended to be light-touch. This may include:

  • Allowing carers to show NRIC status
  • Displaying an NRIC ID number
  • Linking to NRIC registration
  • Linking to the public register search
  • Using NRIC as one information signal within your existing processes

More formal arrangements would need to be agreed separately.

Basic referencing may be possible without deep integration. More formal data-sharing or technical options, including shared identifiers or API-based connections, would require separate agreement and development.

No. NRIC is not intended to create exclusivity, preferred routes or gatekeeping. It is designed to sit alongside existing arrangements, not replace them.

For platforms and partners, phase one provides basic verification and vetting. Phase two is intended to strengthen the wider framework around employment status, care arrangements and regulatory boundaries. That matters because credibility depends not only on registration itself, but also on clearer sector understanding of the conditions in which independent arrangements can operate safely and legitimately.

NRIC is designed to sit alongside existing platforms, directories and partner arrangements, but not as part of an introductory agency model. NRIC is intended to remain separate from the functions of introducing, matching or brokering care. The PA employment status guide highlights that once a third party becomes involved in arranging or managing care, wider questions can arise about employment status, Employment Agency Standards and CQC boundaries. Keeping NRIC outside that role helps maintain clear legal and operational boundaries and protects the independence of the register.