How to pay your provider fees

You can pay your fee either by:

• direct debit, in 10 monthly instalments, or

• in one payment, within 30 days of the invoice date.

Your invoice gives full details about how to pay.

We only accept electronic methods of payment. We are no longer able to accept cheque, postal order or cash payments.

Where we send invoices

We send your invoice to the invoice address you gave us. This is not automatically updated if your registered address changes, so check if your invoice address needs to match your registered address.

To change your invoice address, contact NCSC.Finance@cqc.org.uk quoting your registration number.

We can email your annual fee invoice if you give us the appropriate address. You must keep this email address up to date. Contact NCSC.Finance@cqc.org.uk to provide or update your email address.

When we send invoices

We issue invoices once a month, on or around the 15th of each month.

Your invoice date will be:

• If you are a new provider: the month your provider registration first takes effect, or as soon as possible afterwards
• If you are an existing provider: the month of the anniversary of your last annual fee invoice.

We may require additional data from you in order to calculate your fee so your invoice may be delayed until we receive this information.

Paying by direct debit

This is one of the most secure ways to pay and is protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.

Payments will be collected by equal instalments over a maximum of 10 months. The payments will be taken on the 5th of each month.

You will get an invoice at least five working days before your first payment date. This will show your total fee for the next year and the amounts and dates of your 10 payments. If you request to pay by direct debit after your invoice has been issued, the number of instalments will be reduced so the fee is fully paid by the time your next invoice is due to be issued.

Once you set up a direct debit to pay your fees, the instruction will remain in place. Your next annual invoice will automatically be paid by direct debit.

Changing your direct debit

Contact NCSC.Finance@cqc.org.uk if you wish to cancel your direct debit instruction or amend your details.

You can also cancel your direct debit instruction with your bank or building society by: 

• writing to them
• calling them
• accessing your account online. 

If you do this, we also ask that you tell us. This avoids us contacting you to check that the cancellation is correct, it also helps us to know why you have chosen to cancel your direct debit. 

Your bank or building society will generally require at least a day’s notice before the direct debit is due to be paid. If you leave it until the last minute you run the risk of a payment being debited from your account. 

If you cancel your direct debit and there is a balance still outstanding against the value of your invoice, that balance will become payable immediately. We cannot take funds from an account once a direct debit has been cancelled. The account holder would have to establish a new direct debit instruction.