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Authorization

Follow this guide to create a new Care Quality Commission API credential that will allow Nexla to authenticate to and exchange data with your Care Quality Commission API account.
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Care Quality Commission API

Prerequisites​

Before creating a Care Quality Commission API credential in Nexla, you must obtain a subscription key from the CQC Developer Portal. The CQC API uses subscription-key authentication—each request must include your subscription key, which the CQC uses to identify your integration and apply appropriate rate limits.

Register on the CQC Developer Portal​

To obtain a subscription key for the Care Quality Commission API:

  1. Navigate to the CQC Developer Portal at https://api-portal.service.cqc.org.uk/.

  2. Click Sign up in the top navigation to create a new account. You will need to provide your name, email address, and a password. Check your email for a confirmation message and follow the link to verify your account.

  3. After verifying your account, sign in to the CQC Developer Portal using your credentials.

  4. Once signed in, navigate to the Products section and select the API product you want to subscribe to (for example, CQC Syndication). Click Subscribe to request access to the API.

  5. After your subscription is approved, navigate to your Profile page by clicking on your name or account icon in the top navigation. Your subscription key will be listed under your active subscriptions.

  6. Copy the Primary Key from the subscriptions section. This is the subscription key you will use to authenticate API requests from Nexla.

The CQC Developer Portal uses Azure API Management (APIM) infrastructure. Subscription keys are listed on your profile page and consist of a primary key and a secondary key. Either key may be used for authentication. The secondary key is useful as a backup if the primary key is regenerated or compromised.

Important

Keep your subscription key secure. Treat it like a password—do not commit it to version control, share it publicly, or embed it in client-side code. If you believe your key has been compromised, you can regenerate it from the Profile page of the CQC Developer Portal.

CQC API Base URL​

The CQC API is accessible at the following base URL:

  • https://api.service.cqc.org.uk

All requests should be made over HTTPS. The API follows RESTful principles and returns data in JSON format.

The CQC previously operated a public API at https://api.cqc.org.uk/public/v1 that did not require authentication. This older endpoint has been migrated, and current access now requires authentication via the CQC Developer Portal. Ensure you are using the authenticated API base URL when configuring your Nexla credential.

For complete information about the CQC API, see the CQC Developer Portal API documentation.

Create a Care Quality Commission API Credential​

  • To create a new Care Quality Commission API credential, after selecting the data source type, click the Add Credential tile to open the Add New Credential overlay.

Credential Name & Description​

  1. Enter a name for the credential in the Credential Name field and a short, meaningful description in the Credential Description field.

    Resource descriptions are recommended but are not required. They should be used to provide information about the resource purpose, data freshness, etc. that can help the owner and other users efficiently understand and utilize the resource.

Subscription Key Configuration​

  1. Enter the base URL for the CQC API in the Base URL field. The default value is https://api.service.cqc.org.uk. This is the root URL that Nexla will use for all API calls to the CQC.

  2. Enter the subscription key obtained from the CQC Developer Portal in the Subscription Key field. This key authenticates all requests Nexla makes to the CQC API and identifies your integration to the CQC.

Your subscription key is available on your Profile page at the CQC Developer Portal (https://api-portal.service.cqc.org.uk/profile). Both the primary and secondary keys are valid for authentication. It is recommended to use the primary key and reserve the secondary key as a backup.

Save the Credential​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Save button at the bottom of the overlay to save the configured credential.

  2. The newly added credential will now appear in a tile on the Authenticate screen during data source creation and can be selected for use with a new data source.