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National minimum standards

Read the national minimum standards (NMS) that relate to your type of service.

For children's services go to the Ofsted website.

The links below go to the Department of Health website.

National minimum standards for:

• Care homes for older people (65 +) (PDF, opens in a new window)
• Care homes for adults (18 to 65) (PDF, opens in a new window)
• Domiciliary care (home care) (PDF, opens in a new window)
• Nurses agencies (PDF, opens in a new window)
• Adult placement schemes (PDF, opens in a new window)

New to social care? Get help understanding the different rules.

How to order copies

You can get printed copies from a company called TSO:

• Call TSO on 0870 600 5522
• Go to the TSO online bookshop

How we interpret the standards

• Get help understanding the standards with our guidance logs for all care services
• New outcome descriptions: a new approach to reporting national minimum standard outcomes is on its way.

 Get help using PDFs