The Register of Social Service Workers in Scotland opened on 1 April 2003.

Registration is a major part of the drive for higher standards in social services and will bring this workforce in line with other professional colleagues. Nursing, medicine and teaching are all regulated professions and workers have to register with their own regulatory bodies to be able to work in their field.

Now social service workers will have to do the same.

To register, a worker must satisfy the criteria for registration. This includes holding the appropriate qualifications for the job they do. Applicants to the Register who do not hold the required qualifications may, if they meet all the other eligibility criteria such as evidence of good character, be granted registration subject to the condition that they achieve the required qualification within a specific period of time - normally within the first three years of their registration.

Please click on a question:

• What are the timescales for registration?
• What qualifications do I need to register with the SSSC?
• How do I apply for registration?
• How can I manage my registration online?

For more information on registration please click on a link below.

Are you a:

• Social worker
• Social work student
• Care Commission Officer
• Residential child care worker
• Worker in a care home service for adults
• Worker in an adult day care service
• Worker in a day care of children service, for example in a nursery
• Worker in a school care accommodation service
• Worker in a housing support service
• Worker in a care at home service
• Employer

The SSSC’s online registration system

Social service workers registered with the SSSC can view and update their registration details and pay their annual fee online.

Click here to find out more or log in

Other useful information

• The purpose of registration
• Registration Rules and Conduct Rules
• Other UK health and social care regulators?
• Codes of Practice in other languages and formats