They Enter Alone. The Service User Can’t Check.
domiciliary care providers in England
people receiving home care
to verify with Certifyd
The reality of domiciliary care in the UK.
Identity verification for domiciliary care providers is a safeguarding imperative. Certifyd uses bi-directional authentication — both the service user (or their family) and the care worker cryptographically prove their identity to each other in real time. When a carer arrives at someone’s home, the system verifies not just who they are, but that they hold an active membership with the care provider, are authorised for that specific service user, and are currently employed. The result is a tamper-proof visit record that satisfies CQC requirements and gives families verifiable peace of mind.
Over 540,000 people in England receive domiciliary care — personal care delivered in their own homes. Unlike residential care homes where managers can observe staff, domiciliary care workers operate independently, visiting service users alone. The service user may have dementia, limited mobility, or cognitive impairment that prevents them from verifying or challenging the identity of the person at their door.
Domiciliary care providers employ over 700,000 workers, with annual turnover exceeding 30%. The sector relies heavily on agency and bank workers to cover absences and meet demand. A service user who expects their regular carer may instead receive a stranger from an agency — someone the care provider may not have met and the service user certainly has not. Without real-time verification, neither party has independent confirmation of the other’s identity.
CQC rates domiciliary care providers against the same five key questions as care homes. The ‘Safe’ key line of enquiry requires providers to demonstrate that only authorised, verified staff deliver care. Certifyd’s device-bound, bi-directional authentication creates a tamper-proof record for every home visit, linking the specific carer to the specific service user, the time of arrival, and the organisational authority under which they are working.
This is broken.
Here's why.
Care workers visit service users alone, with no one to witness or verify their identity.
Service users with dementia or cognitive impairment cannot challenge unfamiliar carers.
Agency and bank workers cover shifts with no independent identity verification at the point of care.
Paper-based visit records can be falsified — times fabricated, visits logged that didn’t happen.
Simple verification.
Every time.
Domiciliary care provider registers as an Organisation on Certifyd and adds each carer as a member
Each carer registers their device, creating a cryptographic identity bound to their phone
At each home visit, the carer verifies through Certifyd — confirming identity, employment, and service user authorisation
A tamper-proof visit record is created: who, when, where, and under whose organisational authority
Ready to see it in action?
Book a demo or tell us about your needs.
“Rotating agency staff cover nights and weekends. Families ask who’s looking after their parent. Honestly? We can’t always tell them fast enough.”— Manager, residential care home
Common questions.
Family members, advocates, or care managers can be registered as authorised verifiers for a service user. When a carer arrives, they verify through Certifyd — the verification record is created regardless of whether the service user participates directly. Family members can receive notifications confirming who arrived and when. The system is designed for the reality of care delivery, not an idealised scenario where everyone has a smartphone.
Certifyd complements ECM, it doesn’t replace it. ECM systems confirm that a phone call was made from a location at a time. Certifyd confirms that a specific, verified individual was at that location. The combination of ECM (location and timing) plus Certifyd (verified identity) provides a significantly stronger audit trail than either system alone.
When a safeguarding concern arises, one of the first questions is ‘who was with the service user?’ Certifyd provides a tamper-proof record of exactly who visited, when, and under whose organisational authority. This evidence is invaluable for safeguarding investigations, removing ambiguity about which specific individual was present at the relevant time.
Direct payment recipients who employ their own personal assistants can register as an Organisation on Certifyd and add their PAs as members. The PA verifies at each visit, creating the same tamper-proof record. This gives self-directed care arrangements the same verification infrastructure that larger care providers use — protecting both the service user and the PA.
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Verify every carer at every home visit
Book a demo to see how Certifyd works for your team, or tell us about your verification needs and we'll get back to you within 24 hours.
Read: The Safeguarding Gap