Getting your application endorsed

• social workers (including if you’re newly-qualified or live outside the UK)
• adoption service managers
• adult care home managers
• adult care home workers
• adult placement managers
• children’s and young people advocacy managers
• domiciliary care managers
• domiciliary care workers
• fostering service managers
• residential child care managers
• residential child care workers
• residential family centre managers
• residential family centre workers
• special school residential workers.

If you’re applying to register as a social work student, your application details will automatically be confirmed by your university.

Employed in social care

Your endorser should be the Social Care Wales signatory for your organisation.

If you have more than one social care job, you’ll need someone from both organisations to endorse your application.

If you’re applying for a registered role where there isn't anyone more senior to endorse your application, for example, you're the Responsible Individual for your organisation, we’ll check your registration with Care Inspectorate Wales. This will be taken as endorsement.

Self-employed in social care or employed by a family member

You should be endorsed by two senior people from different social care employers.

One employer needs to complete the endorsement section and the other needs to countersign as a second endorser.

Both endorsers need to have known you for at least two years and must not be related to you or in a personal relationship with you.

Employed in social care by an employment agency

Your endorser should be the approved signatory for the employment agency.

When you apply or renew on SCWonline, you’ll see a list of people who are signatories for your employment agency.

You’ll need to pick a person from this list to endorse your application.

Working on secondment

Your application should be endorsed by the Social Care Wales signatory for the organisation you were seconded from, and the signatory for the organisation you’re seconded to.

You need to list both employers as ‘current employment’ when you fill in your application on SCWonline, so you can see a list of people who are signatories for both organisations.

You should pick endorsers from this list to link them to your application.

Newly-qualified social worker

Your endorser should be the Social Care Wales signatory for your organisation.

If you don’t have a job in social care yet, you’ll need to be endorsed by the Social Care Wales signatory for your social work course.

Social worker who trained or qualified outside the UK

Your endorser should be a senior representative of your current or most recent social care employer or a senior representative from your social work or social care course.

This will also likely be the person who verifies the information you provided us as part of your application to register or as part of completion of your qualification equivalency assessment form.

If you’re unemployed

You need two people to endorse you. The first person must be one of the following:

• your most recent social care employer, if you were employed in the last three years
• the signatory for your social work or social care course, if you completed the course in the last three years
• an owner or manager of a social care business who is registered with us and knows your work
• someone senior from a social care employer.

The second person must be a professional person who has known you for at least two years and can vouch for your good character and suitability to register. This could be:

• a registered social care professional
• a magistrate
• a doctor
• a solicitor
• a headteacher.

If this professional person is not a signatory, they can’t endorse you on our SCWonline system.

But they can provide a character reference to go alongside the endorsement provided by the first person you chose to endorse you.

In the reference, they’ll need to include:

• their home address
• email address
• telephone number
• an explanation of how they know you.

If you get a job in social care while applying to register

You’ll need to be endorsed by a signatory for that organisation.

You’ll need to print out your completed application from SCWonline so the endorsement can be completed by hand.

Employed outside social care

If you need to be registered and have met our requirements (for example, provided evidence you’re intending to practise in Wales), you need two endorsers. The first person needs to be one of the following:

• your most recent social care employer, if you were employed in the last three years
• the signatory for your social work or social care course, if you completed the course in the last three years
• someone senior from a social care employer
• the chair of the board or governing body for the organisation you manage
• an owner or manager of a social care business who is registered with us and knows your work.

The second person must be from your current employer outside social care, your employment agency or a professional person who has known you for at least two years. This person needs to be able to vouch for your good character and suitability to register. This could be:

• a registered social care professional
• a magistrate
• a doctor
• a solicitor
• a headteacher.

If this professional person isn't a signatory, they can’t endorse you on our SCWonline system.

But they can provide a character reference to go alongside the endorsement provided by the first person you chose to endorse you.

In the reference, they’ll need to include:

• their home address
• email address
• telephone number
• an explanation of how they know you.

Responsible Individual regulated by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW)

You don’t need endorsement if you’re applying to register with us.

We’ll check your registration with CIW, which will be taken as endorsement.

If your service isn't yet registered with CIW:

• you should be endorsed by two senior people from different social care employers
• one employer needs to complete the endorsement section and the other needs to countersign as a second endorser
• both endorsers need to have known you for at least two years and must not be related to you or in a personal relationship with you.