FAQs on Social Care Work

Social care workers are professional practitioners engaged in the practice of social care work. Social care work is a relationship based approach to the purposeful planning and provision of care, protection, psychosocial support and advocacy in partnership with vulnerable individuals and groups who experience marginalisation, disadvantage or special needs. Principles of social justice and human rights are central to the practice of social care workers. Social care workers directly work with clients to provide care and meet their physical, psychosocial, and emotional needs. Social care workers help clients to interpret and access the different options available to them. 

CORU is a multi-profession health and social care regulator, and Protection of Title is an essential part of CORU’s function to protect the public. If you wish to be recognised as a 'social care worker' and use this title while practising in Ireland, you must register with CORU. The move to statutory regulation for ‘social care workers’ is a positive development that will undoubtedly enhance the profession’s standing. Regulation will give reassurance to members of the public that registered social care workers meet the specified approved standards as set by CORU.

• A Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics to follow.
• Your name available on the Register, which is accessible to search online.
• Use of the CORU logo on your work-related materials.
• Undertaking Continuing Professional Development to ensure your knowledge and skills are up to date.

The Social Care Workers Register opened on 30 November 2023. This will begin a 2-year transitional period for existing practitioners to apply to register with CORU. On 1 December 2025, the title 'social care worker' will become a legally protected title in Ireland.

This should be changed to “The Social Care Workers Register opened on 30 November 2023 for a 2-year transitional period for existing practitioners to apply to register with CORU. The transitional period closed on 30 November 2025. On 1 December 2025, the title of ‘Social Care Worker’ became a legally protected title in Ireland.

You will need:

• Evidence of Qualification(s)
• Evidence of Identity
• Fit and Proper Questionnaire (Health & Character)
• International Police Clearance (where relevant)
• Statutory Declaration
• Confirmation of good standing with other international regulator (if applicable)
• Employment History/Evidence of Practice (S38)

Visit CORU's registration section for further information on what type of applicant you are and what you will need to begin the process.

The current registration fee is set at €100. The annual renewal fee is also set at €100 per annum which is the same for all of CORU's regulated professions as set under the National Pay Agreement. 

At present the only route to registration is through the Section 38 – Standard Route. To make an application under Section 38 an applicant must:  

o   ​Hold an approved qualification.  

o   ​Hold a sufficiently relevant qualification and provide evidence of 5 years of professional practise in Social Care Work.  

o   ​Hold an international qualification that has been recognised by CORU. 

One of the functions of the Registration Boards at CORU is to approve and monitor education and training programmes. It must be satisfied that the programmes are suitable for the education and training of candidates for registration. The Social Care Workers Registration Board approved a number of qualifications which can be found on the CORU website.

Applicants who have qualified outside the State must be recognised by CORU. Recognition is a prerequisite for registration. The recognition process requires an assessment of qualifications and experience held by an applicant in the context of the standard of proficiency for the profession in Ireland. Applications for recognition of qualifications can be made from the day the register opens. General information on how the recognition process works can be found on the CORU website.