Customer support
How can we help?
Ask in your own words. Answers come from our published support answers only — nothing is improvised. If we do not have an answer, you will be handed a support form instead of a guess.
This assistant answers from a fixed set of written answers rather than a live AI model, so it will tell you when it does not know something instead of guessing. Automated answers can still be out of date or incomplete and are not professional advice — see our terms. A person is always available through the support form.
Search every answer
Everything families, caregivers and agency owners ask us. If something is missing, email us and we will add it.
Getting started and cost
What is The Care Royal?
Two things. For families it is a self-service marketplace: you tell us the care you need and the area you are in, and you find caregivers near you and hire the one you want, directly. There is no agency in the middle and no one choosing for you — we just connect the two of you.
For home-care agencies it is the software they license to run their own business — scheduling, caregivers, care documents, invoicing and payroll — under their own brand. The Care Royal does not operate a care agency itself and does not employ caregivers.
What does it cost to search for care?
Searching is free, creating an account is free, and requesting a quote is free. You pay only for care you actually book, at the rate you agree with the caregiver or the agency. There is no fee to look.
Do I need an account to look around?
No. You can browse categories and search your area without an account. You create one when you want to send a care request, message a caregiver, or keep your schedule and documents in one place.
How quickly can care start?
It depends on your area, the type of care and the schedule you need. You are hiring the person yourself, so it moves as fast as the two of you agree it. We do not promise a start date before we know your area, because short-notice cover depends on who is actually free locally.
Is there a contract or a minimum commitment?
If you arrange care yourself through the marketplace, there is no contract with us at all — the arrangement is between you and the caregiver you hire. Agree the hours and the rate between you, and change them the same way.
How do payments work, and does The Care Royal hold my money?
No. The Care Royal never holds client funds. You pay the caregiver or the agency directly at the rate you agreed. Agencies connect their own payment provider, so money moves between you and them, not through us.
Are there hidden fees?
No. Searching, creating an account, requesting a quote and applying as a caregiver are all free. The only thing we charge for is the software subscription an agency pays to run its business on the platform.
Choosing care, and safety
Do you screen or vet caregivers?
We are direct about this. The Care Royal connects families, caregivers and agencies; it does not vouch for anyone. What the platform does is record credentials and their expiry dates and flag them before they lapse, so an agency can see at a glance what is current.
Background checks and hiring decisions are made by the agency you work with, or by you if you hire directly, and the legal requirements differ by state. Ask any caregiver or agency what checks they run, and ask to see the results.
Can I choose my own caregiver?
Yes. On the marketplace you search, compare and decide who to contact. If That is the whole point of the marketplace: you pick the person, not us. If you would rather someone else handled the arranging, hire through a home-care agency instead — many of them run on our software.
What if the caregiver is not the right fit?
If you arranged the care yourself, you are free to choose someone else. Nothing ties you to one person: search again and contact someone else. If you would rather not do that yourself every time, that is the case for using an agency.
What happens if our caregiver calls out sick?
With an agency, arranging cover is part of what you are paying them for, subject to who is available in your area. If you arranged care yourself, you cover the gap yourself, which is worth knowing before you choose that route.
Can other family members see the schedule and the care notes?
Yes. The family portal shows the schedule, care notes, documents and messages for the whole household, so relatives are not relying on one person to relay everything.
What happens to my details when I submit a care request?
Your request goes to caregivers and home-care agencies in your area so they can contact you about care. That is what the request is for, and the form says so before you submit it.
Your details are not sold. Agencies pay us for the software they run their business on, not for your information, and we do not pass anything to advertisers or data brokers. You can ask us to delete your request at any time.
Is my information private?
Inside the platform, care information is limited to your household and your care team, and that limit is enforced on our servers rather than only hidden in the interface. Each agency's data is isolated from every other agency, so one agency cannot see another's clients. For what happens to a care request you send, see the question above.
Do you provide medical advice or emergency care?
No. The Care Royal is not a medical provider and nothing on this site is medical advice. In an emergency call 911. Skilled home health, such as nursing or therapy, is delivered by licensed clinicians through an agency where that is available in your area.
Hiring directly, or using an agency
What is the difference between arranging care myself and using an agency?
On your own you choose the caregiver, agree the rate and manage the schedule, which costs less and gives you full control. With an agency, they build the schedule, arrange cover when someone is off, keep the care plan up to date and handle the paperwork, which costs more and takes the coordination off you.
Which one should I choose?
If your needs are simple and predictable, such as a few set hours a week, arranging it yourself usually works well. If the care is daily, medically involved, or cannot be missed on a day when someone is sick, an agency is the safer choice.
Can I start self-service and switch to an agency later?
Yes. It is the same account, so you keep your household details, your documents and your history when you switch.
If I hire a caregiver directly, am I their employer?
When you arrange care directly you are the one making the arrangement, and household employment and tax rules vary by state. We are not able to give you legal or tax advice, so confirm your situation with a tax professional. If you would rather not deal with that at all, hiring through an agency means the agency handles the employment side.
For caregivers
I am a caregiver. How do I find work?
Register once. Families near you can then find you and contact you directly, and agencies hiring in your area can too. You choose which services you offer, which hours you are available, and what you charge.
Does it cost anything for a caregiver to apply?
No. Applying is free and keeping your profile is free. We do not charge caregivers to be seen or to be contacted.
What do I need in order to apply as a caregiver?
Your contact details, the services you offer, the hours you are available and any credentials you hold. An agency may ask for more depending on the role and on the rules in your state, and it will tell you what it needs.
Do caregivers choose their own hours and services?
Yes. You set which services you offer and when you are available, and you can change both. You are not obliged to accept work that does not suit you.
How does a caregiver get paid?
You are paid by the family or the agency you work with. The Care Royal does not pay caregivers and does not hold funds. What the platform gives you is a clock-in and clock-out record, your shift history and your pay documents in one place, so there is a record if a payment is ever disputed.
For agencies and the software
I run a home-care agency. Can I use this for my own clients?
Yes, that is what the software is for. You get client and caregiver portals under your own branding, your own public microsite with an agency code, and your data stays separate from every other agency on the platform. Your clients stay your clients.
What is included in the agency software?
Scheduling with conflict warnings and auto-match, recurring bookings, caregiver availability, clock-in and clock-out, credential and expiry tracking, e-signed care documents, a document studio for paystubs, invoices, receipts, letters and care plans, quote and application intake, a public microsite, reviews, reporting, notifications and an audit log.
How do payments and payroll work?
You connect your own Stripe account, so families can pay in-app and the money lands in your bank — you are the merchant of record and it never passes through us. Payroll is calculated inside The Care Royal from the clock-in and clock-out hours, with real 2025 federal and CA tax tables, and you pay your team directly by check or Zelle. There is no third-party payroll service to sign up for and get approved — nothing to connect, and you are never locked in.
Does The Care Royal take a percentage of my agency's revenue?
No. It is a software subscription only. We do not take a cut of your billing, we do not hold your funds, and we do not sit between you and your clients.
Is my agency's data separate from other agencies on the platform?
Yes. Every agency is a separate tenant and the separation is enforced by server-side rules, not by hiding things in the interface. One agency cannot read another agency's clients, caregivers, schedules or documents.
Can our clients and caregivers see our branding rather than yours?
Yes. The client and caregiver portals and your public microsite carry your agency's branding, and families reach it through your own agency code.
How do we get started as an agency?
You apply, we review the application, and then you set up your agency: your services, your team and your permissions. Owners, managers, staff and clients each get their own level of access, and manager permissions are set toggle by toggle.
Coverage, contact and your account
Which areas are live?
We open area by area rather than claiming national coverage we cannot staff. Enter your zip code in the search and we will tell you where things stand where you are.
What if you are not in my area yet?
Tell us your zip code anyway. We will say so honestly rather than take a request we cannot fill, and we will note your area so we can contact you when we open there.
How do I reach a real person?
Email info@thecareroyal.com and a person replies. There is no phone tree, and we do not cold-call you for signing up.
How do I delete my account and my data?
Use the delete account page, linked in the footer of every page. It removes your account and the personal data attached to it, apart from records we are required to keep.
Nothing here matches that.
That does not mean there is no answer — it means it is not written down yet. Send it to us and a person will reply.
Still stuck? Talk to a person
If the chat and the answers above did not cover it, send it to us. Tell us whether you would rather be answered by email or by phone and we will use that one.
Talk to a person
Questions about finding care, or about putting your agency on the platform? Email us and a person will reply — not an automated sequence.
The Care Royal