Volunteering at a care home: how to start, checks and roles

To volunteer at a care home, contact the home directly, agree a role and a regular time slot, and complete the checks it asks for. Volunteers are not paid, and a DBS check is free for eligible volunteers where the home needs one. Roles range from running activities and befriending residents to helping in the garden, and each home sets its own expectations.

At a glance

• There is no upper age limit on volunteering in general, but a home’s insurance may set age limits, so ask.
• The home or its registered body starts a DBS application. Standard and enhanced checks are free for eligible volunteers.
• Helping with eating, washing, dressing, toileting, shopping or money counts as regulated activity with adults and needs an enhanced check with the adults’ barred list.
• You are not paid, but a home may repay expenses such as travel. Do not accept rewards or promises of future paid work.
• You can volunteer while claiming benefits if you only receive expenses and still meet your benefit conditions.

What do care home volunteers do?

Roles depend on the home, its residents and its staff. Common examples include:

• Social and companionship roles: chatting, befriending, reading aloud, playing cards or board games, and joining residents for mealtimes as company.
• Activities: running a craft, music or exercise session, gardening, baking, pet visits or reminiscence groups. Our guide to meaningful activities in care homes explains what residents get out of these, and care home activity ideas has suggestions.
• Practical help: helping residents write cards, use a tablet or video call family, or escorting someone on an outing.
• Specialist skills: hairdressing, music, art, chaplaincy or faith support. See faith and LGBT-friendly care homes.
• Behind the scenes: helping with fundraising events, running a tea trolley or keeping the library or newsletter going.

Volunteers work alongside paid staff and do not replace them. An activity coordinator often manages volunteers. See what an activity coordinator does and who works in a care home.

How do you apply?

1. Decide what you can offer. Think about your skills, interests and how much time you can give consistently. Residents benefit most from regular, reliable visits.
2. Find a home. Choose one near you, or ask the home where a relative lives. Our care home search lists homes by area, and you can then phone or email the manager or activity coordinator.
3. Ask about volunteering. Many homes have a volunteer lead or coordinator and a short application form.
4. Meet the home. Expect an informal interview or chat, and ask about training, supervision and who you report to.
5. Complete the checks. These may include references and a DBS check, covered below.
6. Complete induction. This normally covers safeguarding, confidentiality, fire safety, infection control and how to support residents with dementia.
7. Agree a start date and a trial period. A short trial helps both you and the home see whether the role suits.

GOV.UK points to volunteer finders including NCVO, NHS Volunteering and Volunteering Matters if you want to look more widely. Some homes also advertise on their own website or notice board.

Do you need a DBS check?

It depends on what you will do. For standard and enhanced checks, the home or a registered body acting for it starts the application and you complete it. The level of check depends on the role.

The key point is whether the role is regulated activity with adults. GOV.UK lists six categories, which apply whether the person is paid or unpaid:

• Healthcare provided by, or under the supervision of, a regulated healthcare professional.
• Personal care: helping, prompting or supervising someone with eating, washing, dressing, toileting or similar tasks when they cannot do them for themselves.
• Social work.
• Day-to-day household finances: managing cash, paying bills or doing shopping for someone who cannot.
• Assisting with an adult’s affairs through a power of attorney, Court of Protection order or independent advocate.
• Conveying adults to or from healthcare, personal care or social work services when they cannot travel themselves.

Regulated activity with adults is eligible for an enhanced DBS check with an adults’ barred list check. Doing even one of the activities is enough. A purely social role, such as chatting, may need a different level of check, and a home will decide this. Note that this includes helping with a resident’s shopping or money, which many volunteers do not expect.

Only standard or enhanced volunteer applications are free of charge, and you must meet the eligibility criteria. For example, you must not receive payment beyond travel and approved out-of-pocket expenses, and you must not be on a work placement. Basic checks are not free for volunteers. If you have a conviction or caution, say so early. It does not necessarily rule you out, and the home will consider what it is and how relevant it is to the role.

What does safeguarding mean for volunteers?

Residents are adults who may be frail, have dementia or rely on others, so volunteers are expected to follow the home’s safeguarding rules. In practice that means:

• Learn who the safeguarding lead is and how to raise a concern.
• Report anything that worries you, such as marks, a resident saying they have been hurt, missing items, or rough handling, to the manager straight away. If the concern is about the manager or is not acted on, contact the council’s adult safeguarding team. In an emergency, call 999.
• Keep what you learn about residents confidential.
• Do not give or accept gifts, loans or money, and do not take on a resident’s finances.
• Do not give personal care, medicines or move residents unless you have been trained and the home has agreed it in writing.
• Agree boundaries, such as taking a resident out only with the home’s permission.

Our guides to duty of care and dignity in personal care explain the values behind these rules. If you meet residents with dementia, communication tips for dementia help.

How much time does it take, and what about pay and benefits?

There is no standard commitment. NHS volunteering roles range from one-off tasks to ongoing commitments lasting months or years, and care homes are similarly varied. Many homes prefer a regular weekly or fortnightly slot, so residents get to know you. Be honest about what you can sustain, and tell the home if your availability changes.

• Pay: you are not paid for your time. You may get money back for costs, usually limited to food, drink, travel and any equipment you must buy.
• Employment status: if you receive other payments, rewards or benefits in kind, including a promise of a contract or paid work, you may be classed as an employee or worker with rights such as minimum wage.
• Benefits: you can volunteer while claiming benefits if the only money you get covers expenses and you still meet your benefit conditions. Tell your work coach or benefit provider.
• Age: there is no upper age limit on volunteering. Some organisations’ insurance may not cover under 16s or over a certain age, and the home may have its own minimum age.
• Agreement: ask for a short volunteer agreement setting out your role, supervision and expenses.

What if a care home is not the right fit?

There are other ways to help older people. NHS organisations often accept volunteers from age 16, and roles range from ward support to flexible responder roles arranged through an app. Volunteering Matters is a UK charity that works on loneliness and wellbeing across England, Scotland and Wales and has a section for older volunteers. NCVO publishes guidance on volunteering.

For other options, see how to volunteer to help elderly people, day centres for the elderly and social groups for over-50s. If you want to be paid for similar work, see companionship care versus befriending.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need experience to volunteer at a care home?

Usually not. Homes look for reliability, kindness and respect for residents. Training covers safeguarding, confidentiality and how to talk with people who have dementia. Specialist skills such as music, hairdressing or art can be valued, but they are not needed.

Is a DBS check free for volunteers?

Standard and enhanced DBS checks are free for eligible volunteers, who must not be paid beyond expenses or be on a work placement. The home or its registered body starts the application. Basic checks are not free for volunteers.

Can I help residents eat or wash?

Only if the home has trained you and agrees. Helping with eating, washing, dressing or toileting counts as regulated activity with adults, which needs an enhanced check with the adults’ barred list and proper supervision.

Can I claim benefits while volunteering?

Yes, if the only money you receive from volunteering covers expenses such as travel and you still meet the conditions of your benefit. Tell your benefit provider about your volunteering so there is no confusion.

How old do you have to be to volunteer?

There is no upper age limit on volunteering. Some insurers limit cover for under 16s or older volunteers, so ask the home. Many NHS organisations accept volunteers from 16, and care homes set their own minimum age.

Where to get help next

Use our care home search to find homes near you, and read what a care home is to know what to expect. If you have a relative in a home, care home visiting rights explains how visits work.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Volunteering
• GOV.UK: Volunteering, pay and expenses
• GOV.UK: When you can volunteer
• GOV.UK: Regulated activity with adults in England and Wales
• GOV.UK: DBS check requests, guidance for employers
• NHS England: Volunteering

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 9 November 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.