Guide to the register
Social work is a regulated profession. This means that to be able to practise as a social worker in England, individuals must be registered with Social Work England. Once registered, all social workers are listed on our public register.
Guide to the register
What is the register?
Social work is a regulated profession. This means that to be able to practise as a social worker in England, individuals must be registered with Social Work England.
Once registered, all social workers are listed on our public register. The register is a statutory list of individual social workers who practise in England. It provides assurance that the people who practise as social workers in England have the right skills and qualifications and are capable of safe and effective practice.
How to search the register
You can search for a registered social worker using their:
- first name
- last name
- Social Work England registration number, or
- any combination of the above
If you do not get a result following a search, or the social worker you were expecting to find does not appear, this does not necessarily mean that they are not registered. It could be because the social worker is registered under a slightly different name. For example, someone may be 'William Smith' on the register but use 'Bill Smith' in their practice.
The quickest way to find a social worker on the register is to search using their registration number. If you do not know the social worker's registration number, both the social worker and their employer should be able to give you this.
If you are still unable to find the social worker on our register, please contact us on 0808 196 2274 or email [email protected], so we can help you find the person you are looking for.
What information we publish
Changes to the register are updated in real time, so information is always up-to-date. We publish the following information about social workers:
- name
- registration number
- registration status
- postal town (of their current employer)
- conditions on their registration, if any
We also publish outcomes of any fitness to practise investigations on the register. The power to publish information on our register is explained in our rules.
If you have any questions about the information we publish or how to use the register, please call us on 0808 196 2274 or email [email protected]. Please note, we cannot provide any personal details of social workers which are not already publicly available through the register.
If details on the register are incorrect
If you notice anything on the public register that you believe to be incorrect, let us know as soon as possible. You can call us on 08081962274 or email [email protected] so we can look into it.
If you're a social worker and you have found an error in your entry on the register, please update your details using your online account.
Let us know that a social worker has died
Read more about what you need to do if you're aware that a social worker has died.
Concerns about social workers
If you have concerns about a social worker on our register, please let us know. Read more about how to raise a concern.