Every document must show the date it was created, the date it will be reviewed, and references to legislation or guidance that are current and link to a page that still exists.
That is from CQC's "what each document must include" page (updated 15 June 2026). A review date in the past, or a link to a CQC page that has moved, is visible to an assessor in seconds.
CQC's six requirements, in its own order
- Your business name
- The name of the person responsible for the policy
- The date it was created
- The date it will be reviewed
- Complete, relevant, no personal information about people who use the service, up-to-date references to legislation or guidance with working links, consistent with your other policies
- Accessible to your staff, people who use your service and their representatives
Why links break
CQC reorganises its site. In the pages we fetched for this site, the same registration guidance appears under both /guidance-providers/ and /guidance-regulation/ paths, and four of the eighteen pages we asked for in October 2026 returned "not found" at their older addresses. A policy written in 2024 with a CQC link is likely to carry at least one dead link today.
A page date is not a content change
On 16 October 2026 CQC's guidance pages for the staff training plan and evidence of legal occupancy showed a new "page last updated" date. We compared the text with the copy we saved the day before: no words changed. So a moved date is a prompt to look, not proof that your policy is out of date. The what changed this month page reports text differences only.
A sensible review cycle
CQC does not prescribe a review interval for supporting documents. A review date within 12 months of the created date is common practice and keeps the document inside the window most assessors expect. Our upkeep plan refreshes every policy every 4 months, or straight away for a critical change, and logs the reason.
Check your own policies
The policy age tool takes the review date on each of your documents and tells you where CQC has updated its guidance page since. It flags reviews older than a year.
Who this is not for. Anyone looking for a legal opinion on document retention or data protection; this guide covers CQC's registration guidance only.
Questions
Does CQC require a review date on policies?
Yes. CQC's "what each document must include" page lists the date it will be reviewed among the things every supporting document must include.
Does a new "page last updated" date on CQC's website mean my policy is out of date?
Not by itself. On 16 October 2026 two CQC document pages showed a new date with no change to the text. Compare the content, or use a service that does.
- CQC: what each document must include (page updated 15 June 2026)
- CQC: supporting documents index (page updated 15 June 2026)