The documents we need and how to send them

If you’re applying as:

• a social worker who qualified before 2007
• a social worker who qualified with a degree in the UK, but outside Wales
• a residential child care manager (not a responsible individual) or worker
• a domiciliary care manager (not a responsible individual) or worker
• an adult care home manager (not a responsible individual) or worker
• a residential family centre manager
• a fostering service manager
• an adult placement manager
• an adoption service manager
• an advocacy manager.

And you’ve had a DBS check within the last three years or you’re on the DBS update service and you’re applying with a qualification, we need a scanned copy of your qualification certificate.

If you haven’t had a DBS check within the last three years, we’ll need a verified copy of your:

• birth certificate

• photographic identification

• qualification certificate, if you’re applying with a qualification.

If you’re applying as a social care worker

We may need copies of your qualification certificate. This will depend on which route you use to register. Learn more about our routes to register.

If you’re applying as a social worker who qualified outside the UK

We need verified copies of your:

• qualification certificate
• birth certificate
• photographic identification
• qualification course transcripts.

We may need other verified documents. If we do, we'll explain what we need while we process your application.

Acceptable forms of photographic identification are:

• your passport’s photographic identity page

• photographic driving licence

• photographic work identity card

• photographic identity card from one of the British Armed Forces

• national photographic identity card (EU countries only).

We can’t accept your documents if they haven’t been verified.

If you’re applying as a manager who’s also the responsible individual registered with Care Inspectorate Wales, we need copies of:

• your qualification certificate.

If you’re applying as:

• a social work student
• a qualified social worker with a degree from a Welsh university.

We don’t need any verified documents from you. Your university confirms your identity during the enrolment process.

When you renew your registration, you may need to send us a verified copy of your qualification certificate.

If you initially registered using the:

• Social Care Induction Framework (SCIF)
• Principles and Values Award
• All Wales Induction Framework (AWIF)
• employer assessment or
• City & Guilds Level 2 Health and Social Care: Core qualification

then you needed to complete the required qualification for your role before the end of your first three years of registration.

When you apply to renew your registration, you need to send us a verified photocopy of your qualification certificate to show us you have met your training requirement.

If you need to send us verified documents, you’ll need to get an approved person to verify the photocopies of your documents before you upload them to your SCWonline account.

A verifier can be a Social Care Wales approved signatory. Approved signatories are people who have been nominated by employers and universities to work with us to support the registration process.

If the person verifying your documents isn’t an approved signatory, the person endorsing your application will need to confirm they’re a suitable person to verify your documents.

If you’re a responsible individual who’s not yet registered with Care Inspectorate Wales or you don’t currently work in social care, you can ask someone else to verify your documents.

This person needs to be:

• a professional person (for example, a registered person)
• someone who has known you for at least two years
• someone who is not a relative
• someone who isn’t in a personal relationship with you.

If you’re self-employed, the person verifying your documents shouldn’t work for the same organisation unless they’re in a more senior role than you.

You need to show the person verifying your documents the original documents, so they can confirm any photocopies are true copies.

On each photocopy, they’ll need to:

• write their full name, job title, email address and the date
• sign their name
• write “I have seen the original and this is a true copy”.

When applying or renewing you can upload scans or photographs of the verified documents to your SCWonline account, either as part of your application or at a later date.

To do this:

• log into your SCWonline account
• click on your name in the top corner menu
• this opens a list, click ‘Upload a Document’.

Watch our video to learn how to upload documents:

If you’re not sure which documents you need to send or how to get them verified, email the registration team: enquiries@socialcare.wales.