The short answer
- PrimeCarers gives you a contractYou do not need to draft your own. Registering brings a ready-made contract with the client, so all you set is your rate.
- Public liability insurance is your responsibility, not oursYour contract with each client is a guarantee that you hold adequate cover yourself. PrimeCarers has arranged terms with a specialist carer insurer you can also use.
- DBS, right to work and training certificates are worth having to handPrimeCarers checks your ID, right to work and an enhanced DBS on the Update Service before you appear to families; training certificates are not checked by us, but many families look for one.
- A handful of simple records protect you and your clientA risk assessment note, a MAR sheet if medication is involved, a body map, a contact sheet and a likes and dislikes sheet. None need to be fancy; a notebook page for each client is enough.
Contract terms checked against PrimeCarers' current client-carer contract, and insurance requirements against gov.uk, 6 September 2026.
The full list
What to have ready, and when
Some of this paperwork only needs sorting once, before you take on a client. The rest builds up as you work, one page at a time, for as long as the placement runs.
- 1
Before your first booking
- A written contract with the client
- Proof of public liability insurance
- Your enhanced DBS certificate, kept current on the Update Service
- Right to work evidence
- Training certificates, if you have them
- 2
In every client's home
- A risk assessment note from your first visit
- A MAR sheet, if medication is involved
- A body map
- A contact sheet for next of kin and the GP
- A likes and dislikes sheet
- 3
To keep working
- Insurance renewed before it lapses
- DBS status kept current on the Update Service
- Care records updated whenever something changes
If a client is paying you through a council direct payment rather than privately, the family managing that money will often want to see this same paperwork, your DBS certificate and proof of insurance especially, before they agree your hours. Local authority funding for care sets out how a family gets that money in the first place, which is worth knowing if a client mentions it.
The contract
Why a written contract matters, and what PrimeCarers gives you
A contract sets out what you have agreed to do for a client, what you have not, and on what terms. Without one, a disagreement about hours, notice or pay has nothing written down to settle it.
Registering as a carer on PrimeCarers means you are not starting from a blank page. Every carer works from the same client-carer contract, so you are not drafting your own terms of self-employment, deciding what counts as reasonable notice, or working out what happens if a visit is cancelled. All you set is your own hourly rate.
What's already settled once a client accepts the contract
0 of 4 ticked
Notice and cancellation
Pay for unsocial days
What isn't automatic
PrimeCarers is an introductory service rather than your employer, so the contract is between you and the client directly; we do not set your rate, supervise the work or determine who owes what if something is disputed. Read the current contract in full, and the carer terms of service cover how rates, payment and cancellations work day to day.
Insurance
The insurance certificate to keep on hand
Insurance for a self-employed carer is not optional in the way it might feel. It is written into the contract you agree with every client, so it is worth understanding exactly what you are responsible for.
| Legally required? | What it is for | |
|---|---|---|
| Public liability insurance | Not by law, but required by your contract | Covers a claim if a client, or anyone else, is injured or has property damaged because of your work. Your contract with every client is a personal guarantee that you hold adequate cover of this kind. |
| Employers' liability insurance | Yes, if you take on staff | A legal requirement under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 as soon as you employ anyone, with a minimum of £5 million cover and fines of up to £2,500 a day for going without it. Most self-employed carers working alone will never need this. |
| Equipment cover | Optional | Covers your own equipment, such as a phone or a hoist sling you have bought yourself, if it is lost or damaged. Not a legal or contractual requirement. |
Public liability insurance
- Legally required?
- Not by law, but required by your contract
- What it is for
- Covers a claim if a client, or anyone else, is injured or has property damaged because of your work. Your contract with every client is a personal guarantee that you hold adequate cover of this kind.
Employers' liability insurance
- Legally required?
- Yes, if you take on staff
- What it is for
- A legal requirement under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 as soon as you employ anyone, with a minimum of £5 million cover and fines of up to £2,500 a day for going without it. Most self-employed carers working alone will never need this.
Equipment cover
- Legally required?
- Optional
- What it is for
- Covers your own equipment, such as a phone or a hoist sling you have bought yourself, if it is lost or damaged. Not a legal or contractual requirement.
PrimeCarers has arranged terms with a specialist carer insurer, Mark Bates; the terms of that policy are on our insurance page. Checked against gov.uk and PrimeCarers' own terms of service, 6 September 2026.
Whichever insurer you use, the certificate itself, showing your name, the level of cover and the dates it runs from and to, is the document worth keeping somewhere you can find it quickly. A family arranging care through a council direct payment will often ask to see it before your first paid visit. The terms of insurance PrimeCarers has arranged are worth reading alongside your own policy, whichever you choose.
Proof of vetting
DBS, right to work and training certificates
Some of this paperwork PrimeCarers checks itself before your profile goes live. The rest is not checked by us, but families still look for it, so it is worth having ready.
Right to work evidence
Photo ID and proof of address
References work differently to the rest of this list: PrimeCarers does not contact or verify a carer's references, they sit on your profile for a family to read for themselves, so there is no certificate or document to produce for these, only what you choose to write.
Care records
The records you keep once you're working with a client
These are not documents PrimeCarers supplies or checks. We are an introductory service, not a care provider, so we do not issue clinical templates or manage how you record care. They are yours to keep, built up over your first few visits.
A MAR sheet
A body map
A contact sheet
A likes and dislikes sheet
None of this needs to be formal. A page in a notebook for each client, started on your first visit and added to as you go, does the job as well as a printed form. Products and services for carers has options if you would rather keep records digitally.
Getting started
How to get everything ready before your first visit
Most of this takes longer to read about than to do. Four steps, and the first is the only one with a form to fill in.
- 1
Register as a carer
This weekBring photo ID and your right to work evidence. The enhanced DBS check, kept current on the Update Service, and the online interview are arranged as part of joining, alongside the contract you will use with every client. - 2
Sort your insurance
Before your first bookingAt minimum, public liability cover, since your contract with each client guarantees you hold it. Review the terms PrimeCarers has arranged with our specialist insurer, or arrange your own. - 3
Set up a page for your care records
Before your first visitA notebook, a folder or a simple app, one page or file per client, ready for a risk assessment note, a contact sheet and the rest, even before you know whether a MAR sheet or body map will be needed. - 4
Take your first booking
When you are readySearch hourly or live-in carers' profiles to see how experienced carers present theirs, or wait to be matched through PrimeCarers. Walk the home on your first visit and start the records from there.
I want to be a carer, but how? covers the three routes into paid care work if you have not registered yet, and how to pay tax as a self-employed carer is the next thing worth reading once your first booking is confirmed.
Questions
Questions carers ask about paperwork
Yes. Registering as a carer brings a ready-made client-carer contract, so you are not drafting your own terms of self-employment. All you set is your hourly rate. Read the current contract in full.
Yes, at minimum public liability insurance. It is not a legal requirement in the way employing staff would be, but the contract you agree with every client is a personal guarantee that you hold adequate cover, arranged with an insurer of repute, for as long as you work together. The terms PrimeCarers has arranged with a specialist carer insurer are one option.
Only if you take on staff of your own, which most self-employed carers working alone never do. If you do employ someone, it becomes a legal requirement under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, with a minimum of £5 million cover and fines of up to £2,500 a day for going without it. Employers' liability insurance, on gov.uk.
There is no fixed expiry date on a DBS certificate itself. What matters is keeping it current, which is what the DBS Update Service is for rather than reapplying from scratch. Enhanced DBS and the Update Service covers what that costs and how it works.
No. A MAR sheet only earns its place once medication is involved, and it matters most where more than one carer is giving it, so you can both see what has already been administered. If your client's care never involves medication, a body map, a contact sheet and a likes and dislikes sheet cover the rest.
A dated mark for any bruise, cut, rash or other skin change you notice, on a simple front-and-back outline of the body. It is faster than writing a description each time and gives you a visual record to compare against on your next visit, which matters if a mark is later questioned or if it changes over time.
PrimeCarers does not supply these, since we are an introductory service rather than a care provider and do not issue clinical templates. A page in a notebook for each client, covering the same information, works just as well as a printed form, and products and services for carers has options if you would rather keep records digitally.