Central Digital Platform Registration for Care Providers

Central Digital Platform registration is the step that now sits in front of every care tender run under the Procurement Act 2023. Before the tender period ends, you must be registered on the platform, have submitted up-to-date core supplier information and have shared it with the buying authority. Miss it and your quality answers are never reached. This guide sets out what care providers must file, what changes trigger an update, and where the rules stop applying.

At a glance

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- The rule: Procurement Regulations 2024, regulation 6(5). Before the tender period ends, the supplier must confirm it has registered on the Central Digital Platform, submitted up-to-date core supplier information and shared it through the platform.

- What "core supplier information" means: basic information (reg 9), economic and financial standing (reg 10), connected person information (reg 11) and exclusion grounds information (reg 12).

- When to register: the government factsheet says suppliers "only need to register at the point that they want to bid".

- Cost: Find a Tender is free to use.

- Where it does not apply: regulated health procurement under the NHS Provider Selection Regime (Procurement Regulations 2024, regulation 43).

- Sources: Procurement Regulations 2024, reg 6 and the Central Digital Platform factsheet.

Central Digital Platform registration is a pass/fail step, not paperwork

The Central Digital Platform is the government's supplier registration system, accessed through Find a Tender. Under the Procurement Act 2023 regime, a council can only assess your bid once you have registered, submitted your core supplier information and shared it with that council through the platform. It replaces much of what used to sit in the standard Selection Questionnaire.

For care providers, the practical consequence is simple. A domiciliary care agency bidding for a council home care framework, or a supported living provider applying to an open framework, cannot treat registration as something to finish the night before submission. If the platform information is incomplete or not shared by the time the tender period ends, the bid falls at the first gate.

We see the same pattern across the 200+ submissions we have supported: compliance steps fail bids more often than weak writing does. Registration is now one of those steps.

What you file: the four parts of core supplier information

Regulation 6(9) of the Procurement Regulations 2024 defines core supplier information as four sets of data. Each needs preparing before you open the form.

1. Basic information (regulation 9). Your legal name, registered address, company number and similar identifying details. Use the details exactly as they appear at Companies House, because councils check them against your insurance certificates and CQC registration.
2. Economic and financial standing information (regulation 10). Suppliers whose accounts are not audited provide "accounts or other information" for their two most recent financial years, or one year if the business is newer. A newly incorporated care agency needs a clear position on what it can provide.
3. Connected person information (regulation 11). Each person with significant control is listed with name, date of birth, nationality and a service address. Directors and parent companies also fall into this category.
4. Exclusion grounds information (regulation 12). Declarations against the mandatory and discretionary exclusion grounds in Schedules 6 and 7 of the Act, for your organisation and its connected persons.

When the information must be updated and shared again

Regulations 6(6) to 6(8) require you to submit any change to the platform and share the updated information again if it changes before contract award. For care providers the usual triggers are:

• a change of director or person with significant control
• a change of registered address or company name
• new annual accounts being filed
• any event that touches an exclusion ground, such as an enforcement order or a terminated contract

The regulations require the information to be "up-to-date" at the relevant points. We found no fixed annual re-confirmation cycle in the sources, so treat every new tender as a prompt to check the record before you share it.

Where Central Digital Platform registration does not apply

Regulation 43 of the Procurement Regulations 2024 states that the Procurement Act 2023 does not apply to regulated health procurement. NHS healthcare services bought under the Provider Selection Regime follow their own process. If an ICB is commissioning community health services under the Provider Selection Regime, your route is the PSR process, not the Central Digital Platform.

Mixed procurements need care. A council-led home care framework is under the Procurement Act. A jointly commissioned service may sit under either regime, and the notice will say which one applies. Our guide to the Provider Selection Regime and the Procurement Act 2023 sets out how to tell them apart.

How registration fits with frameworks, dynamic markets and DPS rounds

Open frameworks and dynamic markets re-open at intervals. Each time you apply, the council checks your shared core supplier information, so a record that was accurate when you joined one round may be out of date by the next. Providers holding places on several councils' arrangements should keep a single register of what was shared, when and with whom.

Our explainer on frameworks, dynamic markets and DPS under the Procurement Act 2023 covers how each arrangement re-opens.

A pre-tender registration checklist for care providers

1. Create the organisation account on Find a Tender as soon as you decide to bid, using one named administrator and a shared mailbox, not a personal email.
2. Match basic information to Companies House line by line, including registered office and company number.
3. Prepare the last 2 years of accounts or the latest set if you are newer, plus a short note explaining any unaudited figures.
4. List every person with significant control and every director with the details regulation 11 requires.
5. Answer the exclusion declarations after checking 5 years of history, or 3 years for breach of contract, against Schedules 6 and 7.
6. Share the information with the buying authority through the platform facility, then record the date and the tender reference.
7. Re-check before award and re-share if anything has changed.

Frequently asked questions

Do care providers need to register on the Central Digital Platform to bid for council tenders?

Yes, for procurements run under the Procurement Act 2023. Regulation 6(5) of the Procurement Regulations 2024 requires you to register, submit up-to-date core supplier information and share it with the authority before the tender period ends. Without it, the council cannot assess your bid.

When should a care agency register on the Central Digital Platform?

Government guidance says suppliers only need to register at the point they want to bid. In practice, register as soon as you decide to pursue a tender, because gathering accounts, connected person details and exclusion declarations takes longer than completing the form itself.

Does Central Digital Platform registration cost anything?

No. The government factsheet states that Find a Tender is free to use for everyone. Paid tender alert services are optional and separate from the statutory registration.

Do I need to register for NHS Provider Selection Regime contracts?

No. Regulation 43 of the Procurement Regulations 2024 states that the Procurement Act 2023 does not apply to regulated health procurement. NHS healthcare services awarded under the Provider Selection Regime follow that regime's own process.

Can TenderLab help us prepare our Central Digital Platform information?

Yes. As part of our suitability check we review your Companies House record, accounts position and exclusion declarations against the tender's requirements, and flag gaps before you share anything with the council. If a pass/fail requirement cannot be met, we tell you before you spend time on the quality answers.

What is the realistic lead time to engage TenderLab before a deadline?

The earlier the better, because registration, policies and evidence gathering run in parallel with drafting. Most of our writers began their careers on the frontline, and our process runs from suitability check through requirements mapping, drafting, independent quality assurance and portal submission.

Bidding for a council care contract under the Procurement Act 2023? TenderLab supports health and social care providers only, with a 92% win rate across 200+ submissions. TenderLab Ltd, Companies House 17184263. Book a free consultation.

Related reading

• Provider Selection Regime or Procurement Act 2023: which rules govern your care tender
• Frameworks, dynamic markets and DPS under the Procurement Act 2023
• The social value you can actually deliver in care tenders
• Case study: Dorset Council Care, Support, Housing and Community Safety Open Framework

Further reading

• Procurement Regulations 2024, regulation 6
• Central Digital Platform factsheet, GOV.UK
• Procurement Regulations 2024, Part 3